(Once Bisping sees Franklin’s Harlem Shake call out video, this shit will be on like Donkey Kong.) 

In a recent interview with MMAWeekly, former middleweight champion Rich Franklin dispelled rumors that he would be retiring following his brutal knockout loss to Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 and stated that he would in fact like to face outspoken middleweight contender Michael Bisping next, possibly even at one of those catchweights he loves so much:

I look at my Twitter and a lot of people talk about (Michael) Bisping. That would be an exciting fight and something the fans would want to see. I’m an exciting fighter, he’s an exciting fighter, and we both like to throw down. Since my ultimate goal is not to go back and capture the 185-pound title, it doesn’t really matter to me if it’s at 185 or a catchweight or 205. Wherever the UFC needed me, I would fight, as long as the fight made sense. 

While this matchup does possess some novelty value and the potential to secure an end-of-the-night bonus at the very least (not unlike Franklin’s pairing against Forrest Griffin at UFC 126), it would also represent a significant regression in the title aspirations of Bisping. Considering Franklin has no intentions of fighting for a title in the future, let alone the one controlled by the incubus of his neverending nightmares, agreeing to the fight would in its own way represent a Michael Bisping who has potentially reached the same realization. Which would be kind of sad, because honestly, a humbled Bisping is a boring Bisping.

Then again, if we’ve learned anything in the past few months, it’s that wins are wins regardless of weight class. If Bisping were to accept the fight, he might do so under the belief that a win over a post-prime but still dangerous legend like Franklin would do more for his career than a win over the likes of say, another Alan Belcher. In either case, would you be interested in seeing this fight come to fruition?

Vote in our poll after the jump and make your case in the comments section. 

(Click chart for full-size version. For previous Databombs, click here.)

By Reed Kuhn, @Fightnomics

The UFC Middleweight division has long been ruled by the most feared and successful striker in MMA history, champion Anderson Silva. And perhaps more so than in smaller divisions, striking has been a good predictor of success at Middleweight. So examining this division in core striking performance metrics should provide good insight to how fighters will fare against each other in standup. A full explanation of the chart and variables is included at the end of this post.

But first, let’s see how the whole division stacks up against each other, and look at the winners and losers.

The Winners

Sniper Award: Two fights into his UFC career, cross-trained Dutchman Michael Kuiper has landed 49% of his power head strikes. We’ll see if he can maintain this in his upcoming matchup with veteran brawler Tom Lawlor in Sweden. Honorable mention must be given to Anderson Silva who has maintained 40% accuracy over his lengthy and dominant career. And also noteworthy is Italian boxer, Alessio Sakara, currently on the bench for health reasons.

Energizer Bunny Award: Strikeforce veteran Roger Gracie has been almost doubling the striking output of opponents on his way to a string of submission wins in typical Gracie fashion. Some grapplers use strikes to set up their mat-work, others don’t. Honorable mentions go to former champ Rich Franklin, and Strikeforce champ and crossover contender Luke Rockhold, who each tend to outpace their opponents by over 80%.

Biggest Ball(s) Award: The UFC record holder for knockdowns is Anderson Silva. He is literally the best in the business at dropping dudes. Statistically, when Silva lands a power head strike, there’s a 27% chance it will result in a knockdown, which is just ridiculous. These skills have won him Knockout of the Night honors seven times in the UFC.

(“Look, I’m an escort not a hooker. I’m just here for good food and good company, and whatever happens later…well, it happens. You’re not a cop, right?“)

I can’t tell if this is a better or worse deal than talking to Ken Shamrock on the phone for $11.99 a minute. A “sports fan experience” company called Thuzio is now selling personal interactions with former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. Leading off their menu of services…

“Lunch or Dinner: $1,000
Invite Rich to join you and your guests for lunch or dinner. You choose the restaurant and you choose what you want to talk about. Ask Rich questions about his career as a professional mixed martial artist. (Up to 2 hours)”

Man, I really want to start a Kickstarter account just so I can take Rich to Arby’s and talk about Anderson Silva‘s career for two hours. Does that make me a terrible person? I don’t know. But if I’m shelling out a friggin’ thousand bucks, I want to make sure my guest of honor is having as bad a time as possible.

(Febreze: It really is that fresh.) 

Although it wasn’t exactly cram-packed with exciting finishes, UFC Macao provided us with plenty to talk about nonetheless. Let’s not act like Bruce Leroy’s Haiduken punch just didn’t happen, because it did and it was either awesome or the dumbest f*cking thing we have ever seen. We can’t tell yet.

Elsewhere on the card, some people beat some other people by decision, so join us as we decipher the judge’s scorecards and try to determine who the night’s biggest winners should face next.

Cung Le: Despite being a healthy underdog with a significant size and slight age disadvantage, Cung Le was able to deliver a spectacular knockout in arguably the most high profile fight of his career. That being said, we’re not going to fool ourselves into thinking the 40 year old is truly in the title mix just yet. At this point, Le appears to be more invested in his film career than in that of his mixed martial arts one (and rightfully so), but the man is still a draw who can both deliver exciting finishes and hang with more than most, so it only makes sense to give him another high profile, low risk fight.

The problem is, there simply aren’t that many of those kind of fights available for Cung in the UFC’s current middleweight pool. Most of the division in currently tied up and Cung has stated that he would like to take some time away to spend with his family, so we think it would be best to give Cung some time off and have him face the winner of the Hector Lombard/Rousimar Palhares battle at UFC on FX 6, or maybe Chris Leben if he is able to get by Karlos Vemola at UFC 155. Who would you prefer, Taters?

(Bruce Lee would be pleased with your performance, but sort of disappointed about how much of your life you spend on the Internet. Images via Lancaster/Roots of Fight)

Let’s have another round of applause for Cung Le, who gave China its first-ever epic UFC punch-face on Saturday, then followed it up by scaring the crap out of cutman Don House. Only a handful of you predicted that Cung would knock out Rich Franklin during last week’s fight-picking contest, and only two of you thought it would happen in the first round, and that it would net Le a Knockout of the Night bonus. They were…

- Blakethoria: Cung Le Defeats Rich Franklin via TKO @ 2:21 of round 1
KO of the night [Ed. note: The comments section of the fight-picking post is only displaying the most recent 25 comments for some reason, but believe me, it's there.]
- Sniffer-Piffits: Le def. Franklin via TKO @ 4:17 of RD 1, KO of the Night, bitch…..

Well, I don’t think the profanity was necessary, Sniffer, but nevertheless you and Blakethoria have won spiffy new Bruce Lee Movember t-shirts from LancasterLTD. Shoot your real names, sizes, and addresses to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll get you hooked up soon. The rest of you should consider buying one of Lancaster’s Movember tees. A portion of all sales benefit the cause, y’know.

Speaking of which: How are your moustaches coming along, anyway? Post photos of your mo’ progress on our Facebook page, and there might be a $50 StubHub gift card in it for you. And thanks so much for your continued donations to the Mo’Tato Nation team page!

Props: Nixson Sysanga via mmafanmade.tumblr.com

If I were to have told you before this event that a FUEL TV caliber card will have seven out of nine fights go the distance, it is doubtful that many of you would have watched UFC on FUEL 6. If I were to have reminded you that because the fights were live from Macau, China, you’d have to wake up at 9 a.m. ET to watch said card, I’m willing to bet we would have had a pretty vacant liveblog this morning. It isn’t often that a card with so many decisions is worth waking up early for, but UFC on FUEL 6 proved to be an exception.

Expectations weren’t exactly high for the evening’s main event, a middleweight contest between Rich Franklin and Cung Le. With neither fighter in the title picture – or even near it – and forty year old Cung Le bloodletting his foot just one week before the fight, this fight had a very high bust-potential. Most of us assumed that Ace would exit the cage with his first victory at middleweight since 2008, and that we wouldn’t be missing much if we started our afternoon nap a little early.

Instead, Cung Le gave us a Knockout of the Year candidate, countering a leg kick with a devastating right hand that secured the victory just 2:17 into the fight. Being the only knockout on the card, Le took home the $40k Knockout of the Night award, but even if every other fight ended in a knockout it’d be hard not to award such a brutal finish the honor. If you happened to miss it, here it is in all of its animated GIF glory:

(Unfortunately, Bruce Lee’s ghost suffered a knee injury in training and will be unable to float above the fighters tonight. Hey, that’s why they say “card subject to change.” / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

It’s Saturday night in Macau, the special administrative region that never sleeps. While us North Americans are pouring cereal and rubbing crust out of our eyes, the UFC’s first-ever show in China is already in full swing at the CotaiArena. In the main event, a couple of middleweight battle-axes named Rich Franklin and Cung Le will be slugging it out, refusing to go gently into middle age. Supporting them on the main card is an array of international matchups, including Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov, Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago, and Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig.

Handling liveblog duties for us this morning is Jim Genia, who will be stacking round-by-round results from the UFC on FUEL 6 main card broadcast after the jump, beginning at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT. Refresh the page for all the latest, and let your voice be heard in the comments section. Thanks for being here, guys. We can all take naps later.

(The Comeback of Buck Rydell, episode 1. Any similarities between Buck and a certain UFC legend are purely coincidental. Keep an eye on the Buck Rydell YouTube page for future installments of the series.)

- Dan Henderson Says He’s Fighting Lyoto Machida at UFC 156 (BleacherReport)

- Pros React to Ronda Rousey Joining UFC, Dissolution of Strikeforce (MMAFighting)

- Rich Franklin Expects Plenty Of Tricks From Cung Le (Fightline)

- Anderson Silva and Jon Jones Kidnapped and Forced to Fight (prebek)

- Dave Herman Agrees to Drug-Rehab Program (MMAJunkie)

- To be fair, we heard his first words were “Hello Japan!” (Facebook.com/CagePotato)

- UFC Primetime: St. Pierre vs. Condit Episode One (HeavyMMA)

- The Best-Ever Bond Villains (MensFitness)

- The 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Beats of All-Time (Complex)

- It’s Thanksgiving: Let’s Make a Horrible Music Video (EgoTV)

- The 50 Weirdest Photos on the Internet (WorldWideInterweb)

- 9 Bad Tattoo Ideas No Man Should Ever Get (MadeMan)

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

For those of you who weren’t already planning to sleep in tomorrow, CagePotato will be liveblogging the UFC’s first event in China, which will be broadcast pretty damn early in the morning for us Westerners; the main card kicks off on FUEL at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT, so be here if you can.

The weigh-ins went down earlier today, with the Cung Le vs. Rich Franklin main event and eight supporting bouts becoming official — but not everybody made it to the scale. Hours before weigh-ins, doctors declared that Korean rookie Hyun Gyu Lim was medically unfit to compete, and he was pulled from his prelim bout against David Mitchell. Though Lim’s medical issue was not disclosed, MMAWeekly.com says it was a problem related to his weight cut. Mitchell, who was coming in as an injury replacement for Marcelo Guimaraes, will be paid his show money but won’t be competing on the card.

Lim is the second South Korean fighter to drop off the Macao event, following Kyung Ho Kang‘s injury withdrawal. Replacing Kang against Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres will be Pancrase/DEEP standout vet Motonobu Tezuka. All told, eight of UFC on FUEL 6‘s nine scheduled bouts will feature an Asian fighter, although only one of them is actually Chinese. Full weigh-in results are after the jump. So you gonna watch this thing with us, or what?

(“If this isn’t a world where Mitt Romney is president, you can just put me back to sleep thank you very much.”) 

As we mentioned in our head to head assessment of this weekend’s UFC Macao main event matchup, Rich Franklin is one tough SOB. So tough, in fact, that he not only managed to fight through a broken arm in his UFC 115 match against Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, but even made sure to finish Liddell before the bell rung, for the fight could have likely been called in Liddell’s favor had both men made it to their corners.

So with the main card action kicking off at a completely reasonable 9 a.m. EST this Saturday, the UFC has released a couple of Franklin’s (as well as Le’s) fights online to give us all a little refresher course on what our two headliners have been up to. It’s a noble effort, but there’s simply no way in hell I will have recovered from my night of binge drinking, bum fighting, and huffing paint thinner through an old grease rag in time to catch any of the main card matchups live. They’re called priorities.

Anyway, head after the jump to take a stroll down memory lane, even though you probably remember the intricacies of this fight better than ol’ Chucky boy does.

This weekend, the UFC will be making its first ever trip to China, which totally explains why they decided to stack a garbage ass card with Japanese fighters and put a Vietnamese guy in the main event, because close enough, right kids?

All kidding and racially misguided motivations aside, we will be in for a hell of a fight when Rich Franklin and Cung Le throw down this Saturday. Both men are known for turning in crowd-pleasing performances each and every time they step into the octagon — thanks in part to Rich’s fearless demeanor and Cung’s Cirque du Soleil-esque kicking ability — and both have gone win-loss in their last four fights. It’s not exactly a must win for either of these company men, but with Franklin currently standing at around a -300 favorite heading into fight night, we figured we would take a look at just how well these two match up, Head to Head style. Enjoy.

(Bruce Lee is “the father of mixed martial arts” — which more than qualifies him for a spot on the next UFC event poster. Video via LancasterLTD)

As we enter the first full week of Movember, your moustache-in-progress may be looking thin, patchy, and unattractive — more befitting a McPoyle than an alpha male. Stay strong and stick with it, because you have greatness in your future.

Thanks so much to the folks who have already contributed cash to our Movember team, the Mo’tato Nation; your money will help fund awareness efforts, research, and other critical support for men’s health issues. Last year, the Break and Friends network (which we’re a part of) raised over $40,000. If you want to help us smash that mark this year, please register and donate.

Onto the business at hand. Our good friends at Lancaster LTD — who are also celebrating Movember with a series of limited edition t-shirts — have pledged us a couple of their new Movember Bruce Lee tees for the Mo’tato Nation. To win one, simply guess the exact outcome of this Saturday’s main event fight between Rich Franklin and Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 in Macao, along with which bonus(es) the fight will earn, if any. Your entry should be in this format…

(“Whoa, tiger-claws, huh? Alright! Well, see ya later.”)

Despite regular treatments of…ugh…bloodletting?…Cung Le‘s right foot is still not fully recovered from the injury he received during his victory over Patrick Cote at UFC 148. That’s a problem, considering that his main event bout against Rich Franklin at UFC Macau (aka UFC China aka UFC on FUEL 6) is only nine days away. But as he told Ariel Helwani recently on The MMA Hour, the importance of competing in China is worth the danger of fighting hurt. Or at least that’s what he’d like us to believe:

“I would say [my foot is] 80% now. I’ve kicked a couple of my training partners in the head, [and] it still hurt a little bit, but I’m hoping by the time the fight comes on it’ll be 100 percent…whether I’m 80 or 100, I’m gonna fight…if [this fight] wasn’t in Macau, China, I’d give myself the right amount of time so my foot could really heal…I feel like martial arts basically started from China and my roots are the Chinese martial arts, and of course the UFC needed me to fight…I was not even cleared yet, [and Dana White] was like, ‘Cung’s gonna fight.’ So, a little bit of pressure, but pressure’s good.”

(Props: fueltv)

Well this might be the most disturbing video-promo in UFC history. Here we have Rich Franklin and Cung Le — who are set to headline the UFC’s first China event on November 10th — spending a full minute talking about how great their opponent is. What the hell? Whatever happened to cartoonish, pro-wrestling style bravado? All of sudden, it’s not cool to insult your opponent’s fighting style, or vow to literally kill them?

I wonder if cultural factors are at work here. Keep in mind that I’m completely talking out of my ass, but maybe the local Chinese audience would be turned off by two fighters acting like conceited assholes, as we expect our fighters to act during pre-fight promos. That could be a stretch, but it’s worth noting that the promo also describes Le as a “kung fu master,” when his background is actually in Taekwondo, wrestling, and Sanda/Sanshou (which only has a loose connection to kung fu), so I think there might be a little pandering going on here.

And I’m going to let you in on another secret: Cung Le? Vietnamese, not Chinese. I’m just saying. Follow the money.

The current lineup for “UFC on FUEL TV 6: Franklin vs. Le” is after the jump.

(Shattered nose: Who wore it best?)

As long as Cung Le is healthy enough to compete, the UFC will pair the middleweight striker against former champ Rich Franklin at UFC on FUEL 6, the promotion’s November 10th China debut at the CotaiArena in Macau. UFC president Dana White revealed the booking plan yesterday in Calgary. Both fighters are coming off of decision wins in recent fights, with Le shutting out Patrick Cote at UFC 148, and Franklin out-slugging Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147.

The Vietnamese-born Le came out of his last victory with a “pretty banged up [knee],” which is keeping him out of the gym for four-to-six weeks, but he’s expected to be ready by the November date. No word yet on if the fight would take place at middleweight or at a catchweight; Franklin hasn’t competed at 185 since April 2008.

Speaking of middleweights, Dana White also teased some “crazy shit” he’s planning for the middleweight division, which has some speculating about a 185-pound tournament. Those plans will be finalized and announced after the Hector Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch scrap this weekend at UFC 149, which will help solidify the UFC’s middleweight contender picture.

(Thanks to tufentertainment.net for the fitting logo.)

By Nathan Smith

With the recent announcement that Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin have been named as the coaches for the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter series, the MMA universe immediately launched into a full-blow orgasmic ticker-tape parade complete with tons of flying confetti and a marching band belting out death metal tunes. Once I heard the news, it was as if my life instantaneously turned into a beer commercial and the entire Potato Nation was invited. There was a rad pool-party, barbeque, a plethora of hotties, endless alcohol, and an overall quest for fun.

Well . . . . . actually, none of that happened. In fact, when word spread that Nelson and Carwin would helm the next season of TUF, it was officially filed under “WTF?” Judging from the comment section, most of the CP brethren didn’t care for the choices either. TUF is coming off a season that saw the ratings dip lower than they ever had, which could partially be blamed on the move to FX and the dreaded Friday night time slot. Regardless of the variables for the ratings drop, something drastic needs to be done, but is anybody really convinced that Carwin and Nelson are the answer to TUF’s slow and painful demise? Let’s start from the beginning and take a look back to see if this runaway train can be coaxed back onto the main rail.

The Season That Started it All 

The inaugural season of TUF featured future Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as the competing coaches who would go mano y mano at the PPV after the season finale. For fans of the UFC, that was good enough for most to initially tune in for the Fertitta-funded experiment. It still remains the best crop of young talent and personalities to ever grace the show; future stars like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Josh Koscheck, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, Mike Swick, Kenny Florian, and Nate Quarry were all complete unknowns vying for stardom in a fledgling sport. You mix in the whole “fatherless bastard” angle and the show was off and running even before the awe-inspiring climax between (pre TRT) FoGrif and The American Psycho. Even before that, we were treated to the greatest speech of all time that has since been condensed into a few words. “Do you wanna be a fighter?” Though there were other memorable moments from the seasons that followed, Zuffa should have quit while they were ahead because it would never be this good again. The unrefined personification of immature talent, undeniable aspirations and gonzo-sized balls oozed from the boob tube during every episode.

(No, you can’t do that… you can’t triple jab a double jab, you can’t triple jab a double jab! Ace!)

Perhaps this news shouldn’t be all that shocking, considering that MMA is as popular in Brazil as, well, pornography is in Brazil. In either case, you might be surprised to learn that the incredibly weak lineup of UFC 147, which faced enough injury withdrawals to give Joe Silva a heart attack twice over, drew in over 20 million viewers, as reported by Tatame.com. That’s only three million less than UFC 142 brought in back in January, which featured Jose Aldo’s destruction of Chad Mendes, Edson Barboza’s destruction of Terry Etim, and Anthony Johnson’s destruction of a nearby Chima Steakhouse.

By Elias Cepeda

(At UFC 147 Rich Franklin proved that he could survive even the most brutal of hair cuts and go on to win in impressive fashion)

Sometimes, while covering an event, the perfect story book ending intersects with what a writer personally wants to see happen. But most of the time, it doesn’t. At UFC 147, it nearly did, sort of.

It is time I stop hiding it because you’d undoubtedly see through me at some point, potato nation – I am a huge Wanderlei Silva fan. If he’s not my all-time emotional favorite, he’s no worse than at the 3 spot. As such, I enjoyed seeing him tear fighters apart as Pride contender and champion and, for the past six years, have watched him fight with more and more trepidation each time out, worried that the brain damage he’s sure to have accrued over two decades of professional fighting was growing with each knock out loss or even hard punch landed to his tattooed dome.

But even when a slugger’s reflexes have slowed and their chin softened, their power stays with them. So, since Wanderlei insisted on continuing to fight, and he took on Rich Franklin in the main event of last night’s UFC 147, I secretly hoped that Wand could stay safe on the feet long enough to land a bomb of his own and put Franklin out.

What a note that would be to go out on for Silva – returning to his home country to fight for the first time in twelve years, as a legend and champion, and avenging a loss in dramatic fashion in front of the largest indoor stadium crowd in Brazil. Perhaps then Wand could be convinced to retire and move on to an ambassador role for the surging sport and UFC organization in Brazil and across the globe.

I didn’t think any part of that scenario was likely, the playing it strategic and safe, the winning, the retiring, but I hoped. However, the Wanderlei Silva we saw Saturday night was much better than any we’d seen in some time and he nearly toppled Franklin before ultimately losing a unanimous decision.

(“You look very familiar, bro. Verrrrry familiar.” / Image via buzzbox.com)

The UFC makes its first stop in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, tonight for an extraordinarily cursed card that, let’s face it, we probably wouldn’t be watching if it wasn’t our job. Wanderlei Silva is fighting Rich Franklin again, this time at a 190-pound catchweight. (Also known as “middleweight plus.”) Fabricio Werdum is battling fellow big-man Mike Russow. And some guys from TUF Brazil are fighting too, although not all of the ones who should be. It is what it is. I’m guessing that very few of you will be buying this card, but if you’re out doing something more interesting tonight, please use your smart phones to follow along when you can.

Handling the thankless liveblog duties for this evening is Anthony Gannon, who will be layin’ down round-by-round updates from the UFC 147 pay-per-view main card after the jump, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. And to prevent this from becoming the least-commented CagePotato liveblog of all time, I encourage you to use the comments section to discuss anything that comes to mind. Seriously, it doesn’t have to be UFC related. I’ll give you a topic to start off with: Germany invaded Poland earlier today. Do you think America should get involved?

Did that title totally blow your freakin minds?! We know it did, but for those of you who still remain on the planet Earth after reading it, prepare yourselves for a double dose of down and dirty gambling advice. Thanks to a pair of back-to-back cards and an injury curse the likes of which we’ve never seen before, this weekend’s UFC on FX 4 and UFC 147 events have just enough interesting matchups between them to help you prosper during the greatest American depression since the last great American depression, so lets do some (betting) lines!

UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida
Gray Maynard (-305) vs. Clay Guida (+275)
Spencer Fisher (+260) vs. Sam Stout (-290)
Brian Ebersole (-240) vs. T.J. Waldburger (+200)
Ross Pearson (-180) vs. Cub Swanson (+165)
Hatsu Hioki (-185) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+155)
C.J. Keith (+225) vs. Ramsey Nijem (-285)
Joey Gambino (-115 ) vs. Steven Siler (-115)
Rick Story (-380) vs. Brock Jardine (+290)
Luis Ramos (+145) vs. Matt Brown (-175)
Chris Camozzi (+175) vs. Nick Catone (-245)
Ricardo Funch (+375) vs. Dan Miller (-515)

UFC 147 
Rich Frankin (-170) vs. Wanderlei Silva (+150)
Cezar Ferreira (-260) vs. Sergio Moraes (+200)
Rony Mariano Bezerra (-280) vs. Godofredo de Oliveira (+220)
Mike Russow (+400) vs. Fabricio Werdum (-500)
Yuri Alcantara (+220) vs. Hacran Dias (-280)
(all figures courtesy of BestFightOdds) 

Thoughts…

(“Axe Murdering” — a Wanderlei Silva highlight film by Potato Nation hall-of-famer Perdew.)

By George Shunick

If it wasn’t for the utter disintegration of UFC 149, UFC 147 might be the most disappointing card of the year. Originally supposed to feature the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen in Brazil, then Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, we are now stuck with Rich Franklin squaring off against the latter Silva. Of course, it’s cards like this that always end up surprising all the naysayers with copious amounts of glorious violence, so maybe there’s hope after all! OK, so while you’re not going to go out of your way to buy this card any time soon, at least the main event still might be worth pirating online. (Sorry Dana, you’re the one who’s trying to charge $50 for this.)

Now I may be in the minority on this one, but I’m actually more excited for Franklin-Silva than I was for Belfort-Silva. Why? Because it’s not a glorified squash match. Look, I’m a big fan of Wanderlei. I can’t think of something more enjoyable than watching that bloodthirsty sociopath do more damage and evoke more terror in Japan in eight years than Godzilla did in over half a century. But between his once-granite chin being reduced to rubble, his age compromising his speed and cardio — all while retaining the punching technique of a wind turbine — Silva is no longer the force he once was. Against a heavy-handed striker, he’s in trouble. Against a striker of Belfort’s caliber, he’s toast.

Fortunately for Silva, Rich Franklin isn’t quite as dangerous. Despite a permanent role on UFC highlight reels with his knockouts of Nate Quarry and Chuck Liddell, Franklin can no longer be considered one of the top strikers in the middleweight division. Like Silva, he’s alternated wins and losses since their last meeting. Both have suffered a brutal knockout loss since then as well; Franklin to Belfort and Silva to Chris Leben. In fact, Franklin and Silva match up fairly well with each other; both have solid stand-up and sound – if unspectacular – ground games. Much like their previous meeting, this has the potential be a close, dramatic fight.

(Wanderlei Silva, seen here mirroring the feelings of everyone who purchased a ticket for any UFC event this summer.) 

The tales of UFC 147-UFC 149 are not unlike the tale of Meg Ryan. What started off as a moderately attractive, if not rather inviting group of cards, has undergone so many face lifts and botched botox injections that they have been left a hollowed, sun-dried husk of what it once was. It has gotten so bad, in fact, that most of us can’t even recognize the frumpy, blonde haired cards we fell in love with in the first place and now must resort to faking it. “It” being interest.

So you’ll forgive our apathy as we inform you that TUF: Brazil finalist Daniel Sarafian has been forced to withdraw from his matchup with fellow finalist Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira less than a week out from UFC 147. UFC.com broke the news:

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil® middleweight favorite Daniel Sarafian, who earned a spot in the finals with an impressive flying-knee knockout, has been injured and cannot compete in this Saturday’s UFC® 147: Silva vs. Franklin II.

More from this story and the tattered remains of the UFC 147 fight card are after the jump.

Read More ADD COMMENTS (4) DIGG THIS

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

UFC 147′s replacement main event may seem like a re-tread of an old classic, but it’s the little differences, y’know? First off, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva will be fighting a five-rounder this time, which could affect their pace and game-plans, and allows each man more time to secure a finish.

Second, unlike their first meeting at 195 pounds, this one will happen slightly lower down the catchweight scale at 190. While that won’t matter much to Silva, who’s been competing at middleweight for the last two years, it’ll be the first time Franklin has had to fight below 195 pounds since he beat up Travis Lutter in 2008.

And of course, Silva vs. Franklin 2 will go down in Silva’s home country of Brazil, whereas their first fight at UFC 99 took place in the neutral territory of Cologne, Germany. Add up enough minor differences, and the tenor of the fight could change drastically. Franklin is a slightly heavier favorite over Wandy going into this fight (-155) as he was going into their last one (-140). Should he be?

As for the other fight on this card that you halfway-care about…

Yes, it’s ugly, trashy and tasteless to include Arianny on this list. Just like this t-shirt. Props: UFCStore.com

MMA fighters aren’t exactly known for their fashion sense. So it should come as little surprise that most MMA t-shirt companies produce some pretty questionable designs. The rampant abuse of foil print, skulls, chains, tribal designs and nautical stars among most MMA t-shirts is bad enough on its own; even worse when you consider that they sell for thirty bucks a pop.

Which I guess makes it all the worse when a fighter makes his way to the cage covered in an “athletic fit” Old-English mess. Not only is the shirt revolting, but it’s going to sell for an outlandish sum of money, and be worn by every overweight Texas Roadhouse chef, milquetoast tech support geek and muscle-bound frat boy.

Perhaps the reason that we’ve never attempted an “Ugliest Walkout Shirts” post is because ranking these train wrecks is like ranking, well, actual train wrecks. No matter what order you place them in, you’re a total scumbag for attempting to rank a tragedy from most to least depressing. And besides, you’re clearly wrong about which one belongs at number three. For that reason, these will not be ranked, per se, but rather categorized. How you feel these shirts fall into place is up to you.

Let’s start with the most obvious category:

(This one is for The Number 23, and the next one is for that God damn penguin movie!) 

Yep, that’s right. None other than former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin will be the man to fill in for Vitor Belfort against Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147. The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 190 pounds. Sound familiar? That might be because these two met at UFC 99 back in June of 2009 at a catchweight of just five pounds heavier (a.k.a Rumbleweight, Franklinweight, Moneyweight, or 195 lbs.). The fight was an action packed affair that saw “Ace” emerge victorious by way of unanimous decision.

As you may recall, Franklin was originally expected to take on Cung Le at UFC 148, who has now been left without an opponent. After Vitor was forced to withdraw from his rematch with Silva due to a broken hand, however, everyone from Alan Belcher, who also injured himself in the meantime, to Michael Bisping, who Wanderlei already defeated by UD in his UFC middleweight debut back at UFC 110, were being pegged as potential opponents, even in light of Bisping/Boetsch already being announced.

Though this matchup will more than likely make for an exciting fight (being that their first scrap took home FOTN honors), we may be looking at the possibility of UFC 147 being demoted from a pay-per-view to a free card at this point. And here’s why.

(Overeem, before adding horse-meat and anti-inflammatory meds to his diet.)

By Josh Hutchinson

Whether it’s Jon Jones wanting to move up to heavyweight, or everyone wanting Frankie Edgar to cut to 145, weight-class-shifting is a hot topic for MMA fans and pundits alike. And while we’ve recently covered the perils and benefits of dropping to a lower weight class, the same can be said for moving up in weight. After jumping to heavier divisions, some fighters’ proverbial stars have shined brighter, some have dimmed, and some have gone God-damn-supernova — and it’s never easy to predict which fighters will have success. Check out some notable examples below, and tell us which other fighters you think would do well with some extra meat on their bones.

The Good

Alistair Overeem

(Same guy as above, same backdrop, and yet something is different…)

All insinuations aside, Overeem is a prime example of success at moving up a weight class. As I previously mentioned, Overeem has gone 12-1-1 since making a full commitment to heavyweight, and while the quality of opponents he faced was often questionable, that is still a hell of a good run. If you take a look back at his time at light-heavyweight, the stats are not nearly as impressive. Overeem’s losses usually came at the hands of the light-heavyweight division’s top guys, like Chuck Liddell, Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and Ricardo Arona. His run at light-heavyweight showed that he couldn’t hang with the elites of the respective weight class, and was vulnerable to being manhandled by stronger opponents.

After doing whatever it is he did to bulk up, he turned his fortunes around and achieved the greatest stardom of his career, becoming the poster child for successful jumps up the weight-class ladder. If it wasn’t for some bad decision-making, he would be fighting for the sport’s highest prize this weekend. Here’s to hoping he gets his shit together soon.

(Don’t play that shit around Senator Harry Reid. This is the man who *invented* invisible lat syndrome.)

As the editor of an MMA website, I’m constantly bombarded with images of tattooed skinheads engaged in gay foreplay. And yet, there are times when I’m faced with an image that even makes me uncomfortable. Check out 25 of the most chillingly awkward MMA photos in the gallery after the jump, laugh nervously, then avert your eyes in shame…

(Van Damme was convinced that the man before him was in fact Cung Le, no matter how much he pleaded that he was “just the delivery guy.”) 

Somewhere in between having his nose turned into delicious mashed potatoes by Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139 and accepting a match with Rich Franklin at UFC 148, it looks like Cung Le managed to squeeze in another movie to add to his list of credentials that includes such films as Fighting, Pandorum, and Tekken. Being the only one of the above titles I have seen, I can honestly say that Pandorum wasn’t half bad, and neither was Le in it. That’s more than anyone say for Rampage Jackson’s film career thus far.

In any case, Le’s newest entry is called Dragon Eyes, and despite it’s ridiculously cliche title, it looks like it could actually be a pretty damn entertaining flick. Co-starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Peter Weller, and JCVD film veteran Kristopher Van Varenberg, Dragon Eyes hits stores on April 9th.

Join us after the jump for the action-packed trailer. 

(I’ll take “Injuries that make me reconsider my line of work” for a thousand, Alex.) 

Good morning, Potato Nation. As we’re all still nursing hangovers from this weekend’s festivities and trying to cope with the fact that there will be no more The Walking Dead until next fall, let’s start the day off with a bit of light reading.

Firstly, a math teacher from Ohio and a movie star from South Vietnam have been booked to throw down at UFC 148, which features the completion of the Dominick Cruz/Urijah Faber trilogy as its headliner, and goes down from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on June 7th.

What’s that, you say? Rich Franklin is also a movie star and Cung Le could probably teach math? Well, there’s no room for that kind of intolerance around here, especially not this early in the morning, so we suggest you pull your heads out of your collective asses. Besides, Rich Franklin is definitely not a movie star.

This will be Franklin’s first fight at middleweight since April of 2008, when he dispatched TUF 4 winner Travis Lutter via second round TKO back at UFC 83. In fact, it’s been a while since we’ve seen “Ace” in the octagon at all. After dropping a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin at UFC 126, Franklin was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueria at UFC 133. The bout was cancelled, however, after Nogueria suffered a last minute injury, and a subsequent shoulder injury forced Franklin into surgery in October.

Cung Le appeared to be destined for victory in his UFC debut match against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139 last November, picking apart the former PRIDE middleweight champ with his patented arsenal of San Shou kicks throughout the first round. But as in his fight with Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Evolution, Le would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, eating one knee too many in the second round and dropping his second career loss to “The Axe Murderer” in the second round of their co-headlining scrap. Also similar to the Smith fight would be the horrific nose injury that Le would walk away with.

In other fight booking news…

(“Who wants some?”)

When it was announced yesterday that Mike Kyle sustained an injury, forcing him out of his planned Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey main card bout with Gegard Mousasi, speculation arose that Mousasi would likely be scratched from the event. If the UFC brass would sign off on a crossover bout between Gegard and one of its fighters, the fight could be salvaged and Mousasi could get an upgrade opponent in the process.

Check out who we’d like to see step up on three week’s notice to take on “The Dreamcatcher.”