Franklin back at 185? Seems like a strange move at this stage of his career. You'd figure he wouldn't feel like going through the cut again. Looked it up, he hasn't fought that low since he faced Lutter four year ago. Regardless, I'll be cheering for him. He'll never be champ as long as Silva's around, but there are plenty of interesting fights for him at middleweight.A middleweight matchups is official for the UFC 148 as Rich Franklin (28-6 MMA, 13-5 UFC) faces Cung Le (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
UFC officials today announced that verbal agreements are in place, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.
Franklin fights for the first time in more than a year. The former UFC middleweight champ, who had recently been competing at light heavyweight, had been sidelined with injuries since a February 2011 loss to Forrest Griffin. Franklin was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira this past August, but a shoulder injury and surgery forced him to withdraw from the matchup.
He meets Le, who seeks his first octagon win. The 39-year-old former Strikeforce champ debuted for the UFC in November and looked comfortable early against Wanderlei Silva before eventually falling victim to a second-round barrage of punches and knees. Le has fought just once in each of the past four calendar years.
He's stuck in a tough spot. I don't ever see him beating Silva at 185, but there are plenty of guys at 185 that he can beat. On the other hand, in his last fight he lost to Forrest. I don't see him faring well against Bones Jones, Rashad, Shogun, Hendo, Machida, or even Rampage either.
If he can handle the cut, might as well drop back down.
I think two of his fights since then though have been at 195 so I dont see him having many problems cutting to 185. Forrest was just way too big for him in their fight, even though I think Franklin is the better overall fighter.
If Rich tries to stand and bang with Cung then I think he will be in trouble. If he fights smart and works to take Cung down then I think Rich should win this fight. I consider him to be the better overall fighter.
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