UFC 99 – Franklin vs Silva official

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And keys to victory for both fighters…

 

Last week rumors surfaced that former UFC and Pride Middleweight champions Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva would face off at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany on June 13. The UFC today officially confirmed those rumors were in fact true and the two fan favorites would in fact headline the event at the Lanxess Arena.

This fight will be Wanderlei Silva’s first at a weight below his normal 205 pound class which he dominate for years as the reigning champion in Pride FC and is rumored to be taking place at a catch weight of 195 pounds. This fight will prove to be very important for Silva who has now lost four of his last five fights overall and two of three since returning to the UFC.

Wanderlei Silva must use his knees in the clinch if he intends on hurting Rich Franklin on the inside. While Silva was able to dominate in Pride with his knees and was able to escape for years throwing looping punches. Mirko Cro Cop who is an underestimated counter puncher used the ring to pick apart the aggressive Silva which swelled his eye shut until finishing him with his patented head kick at Pride Final Conflict Absolute. Dan Henderson actually tangled arms with Silva at Pride 33 at the end of their bout and finished him with a straight punch while his arm was still down. Silva must get on the inside and attempt to exploit Franklin’s problems defending knees in the clinch.

Rich Franklin lost in his last fight to Dan Henderson at UFC 93 in a close (Split) decision. Franklin was caught at the end of the third round with an inadvertant eye poke which required surgery on his retina. Franklin will attempt to bounce back at UFC 99 and make a statement against Silva.

Franklin can use Silva’s aggression against him

While Rich Franklin may not defend the knees from the clinch well, he does have a solid jab solid and Boxing skills. He also has a size and reach advantage over the shorter Silva. Franklin can use his jab and counter against Silva in this fight as long as he uses his aggression against him. Silva has shown in the past that he is susceptible to being knocked out by fighters with good technical Boxing skills. Franklin’s Boxing skills are excellent and packs power from both hands.

While most fans were hoping to see BJ Penn defend his Lightweight title against Kenny Florian at UFC 99, it appears that this will now officially be the main event for the UFC’s first German event.

Quick thought - With a less than stellar main event card and a overseas location perhaps we will see this card for free on Spike TV? There are no rumors as of yet, but we can speculate over free MMA all day.