The former school teacher got schooled.
Rich Franklin came into UFC 64 having never lost a fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was unbeaten in nearly three years and widely regarded as not only one of the elite fighters in the UFC, but in MMA in general. Then, Mr. Franklin met Anderson Silva.
Silva gave the middleweight champion a lesson in Muay Thai. The challenger got Franklin in a tight Muay Thai clinch and Franklin either couldn't break free or chose not to. Either way, Franklin had no answer for a fighter who was stronger and technically superior.
Silva came into the bout with a reputation as a deadly striker. Ironically, he didn't land a punch in the fight that influenced the outcome.
Rarely do you see a fight in which a champion is so thoroughly destroyed by his opponent. We saw it Saturday night. So much for the pre-fight conjecture about Silva, 17-4, not deserving a title shot.
As for what's next for Silva, he jokingly said at the post-fight press conference that he'd like to fight a "clone of himself." That might be the only guy who has a shot against this well-rounded fighter. Based on what we've seen from "The Spider" in two UFC fights thus far, I don't think there's a middleweight in the division right now who would pose a serious threat to the Brazilian.
Silva's easy-going charm outside the octagon belies his ferocity inside it. This guy is scary good. Mike Swick stopped short of calling out Silva at the post-fight presser, but he made it clear that he'd take on Silva now - and, yes, Swick was witness to what Silva did to Franklin
*****
was rooting for rich franklin to win the fight but you know how it is in ufc... there will always be upsets and some shits do happen there all the time...
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