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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva may be set to square off for the first time at UFC 99 in Germany, according to a report by MMAWeekly.com. Citing multiple independent sources, the report states Franklin and Silva have verbally agreed to a cath weight bout somewhere at or around 195 lbs.
It would be a transitioning step for Silva as he's stated plans to move down to the middleweight division following a devastating knockout loss to "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 92. For Franklin, it's a rebound fight following his loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 93 last month, and a definite challenge for the veteran of both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.
UFC 99 is set to come from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, on June 13. Although no bouts have been officially announced, it is expected that the event will also host the return of lightweight Caol Uno in a bout against Spencer Fisher.
Penick's Analysis: This is a really smart fight that Joe Silva's put together, if they for sure go with it. Both guys are very similar in size and can compete at both weight classes, and the catch weight in the middle allows Silva to make less of a cut to see how it works for him. On top of that, it could be a definitive fight for Silva in terms of whether he can continue in this sport after some of the vicious knockouts of which he's been on the wrong end. For Franklin, he's still a fight or three away from any sort of title contention in either division so it's a fight that keeps him in action against a big name opponent, and a victory will help him regain momentum after his loss to Henderson. The two fights talked about for this show are very, very interesting already, and they alone should provide plenty of action for the German fans getting their first taste of the UFC live.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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