Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin Preview
by Zak Woods on Jun 12, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
in Previews
Email
Print
UFC 99 is aptly named "The Comeback" due to its main event featuring two fighters that are in need of a win.
Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1) may be the more desperate fighter of the two. E. Spencer Kyte does an excellent job breaking down the possible repercussions of a loss for Silva. Suffice to say Wanderlei is 1-4 in his past five fights, with three of those losses coming by knockout. One more loss and Silva may be looking for a new line of work.
On the other side of the cage, Rich Franklin (24-4), has found himself trapped in fighter's limbo. Unable to beat the middleweight champion, yet able to defeat all middleweight contenders, Franklin decided to move up to light heavyweight. There he beat Matt Hamill and then lost a split decision to Dan Henderson. Franklin, ever the good Zuffa employee, took the Wanderlei Silva fight. However Silva was moving from light heavyweight down to middleweight and Franklin wanted to remain at light heavyweight, thus the bout became a 195lbs. catchweight fight. Franklin doesn't have as much riding on this fight as Silva but a win would still go a long way in establishing Franklin as a top light heavyweight.
There are two competing trends in this fight. For Rich Franklin he is faced with the difficult task of an opponent that utilizes the Muy Thai clinch. Said clinch has proved kryptonite to Franklin as Anderson Silva used it twice to knock Franklin out (in both cases Franklin's nose was broken). With Wanderlei's similar style to Anderson's Franklin will have to be diligent to avoid the clinch. A task made all the more difficult due to Rich's fondness for the inside game.
The case for Wanderlei Silva is far more serious, as there are whispers that he can longer endure the punishment of a fighter; that he has suffered too many knockouts in succession for a 32 year old to handle. However, there is hope for Silva's supporters. While he has shown a propensity to being knocked out such a result did not occur in the Chuck Liddell fight. Silva did take damage and buckled a few times but he was able to finish the fight, though in a losing effort. When one compares Rich Franklin's power to Chuck Liddell's, Liddell is clearly the stronger puncher. If Silva could survive Liddell without being knocked out it stands to reason he can do the same thing against Franklin. Ultimately this fight will be a great case study to see what kind of chin Wanderlei has left.
2 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
One thing no one has touched on, when it comes to the Muay Thai clinch is that Anderson is 4 inches taller than Wanderlei and in that, being taller than Franklin. Wand is a bit shorter than Franklin. I think that will have an bearing on the effectiveness of his clinch as opposed to Anderson’s. It should, key word being should, be easier for Franklin to break the clinch of a shorter fighter.
I’m still picking Silva to win but I think he’ll have to hurt Franklin on the outside before moving in for the kill with clinch, kind of like the second Franklin/Silva fight.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
