Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rich Franklin defeats Wanderlei Silva This match was everything you could have hoped for. Both guys raised their game to a new level. The crowd was cheering for more. What more is there to say? Well, a fair bit actually... Rich Franklin executed his strategy the way everyone expected him to. He tried keeping his opponent at a safe distance in order to utilize his reach. In particular, his left body kick looked great. Rich’s conditioning looked good too, partly because he was striking for accuracy and not raw power. However, it wasn’t a perfect night for Rich. He got a bit lax in the second round and Silva was able to connect with a couple of powerful punches. The down side to Silva’s strategy is he burns himself out quicker than his opponent. The up side is that his punches are more dangerous because each one is designed to end the fight. Much like the first two matches of the evening, this was a tough one to score. In this case, it’s probable that Franklin landed more strikes than Silva did. No doubt both men would like this 195 pound weight class to exist as a permanent fixture in the UFC. Though, Franklin said he was willing to stick around at 205. He’s very good (not always great) at dealing with his opponents strengths. So, he should get big matches at whatever weight class he choses. While Silva didn’t win the fight, he did win the crowd that night in Germany. For him, that’s victory enough. Hopefully, the UFC gives him as much credit as the fans do. Go back to UFC 99 Results
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