So who's going to win, The Axe Murderer (Wanderlei Silva) or the man they call Ace (Rich Franklin)?
What Wanderlei Silva brings to UFC 99: In his prime, Silva was one of the greatest MMA fighters to ever enter a cage (or in his case, the PRIDE ring). The dominant and longtime PRIDE Middleweight Champion is one of the most vicious strikers of all-time, particularly when it comes to his Muay Thai clinch and ability to close out a fight. Adding to his diverse striking skills and power on his feet is some solid takedown defense. Though Silva has never proven much of a submission fighter in his MMA fights, he certainly does have good submission defense .
That said, age and battle scars are catching up with Silva. Along with this, a jaw once thought to be near- impenetrable is now showing signs of being anything but, as he's dropped four of his last five fights by way of some terrible knockouts.
What Rich Franklin brings to UFC 99: Franklin is quite frankly as well-rounded as well-rounded gets. He possesses very solid technical striking skills and a lot of power on his feet. Further, he's a very underrated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist and his takedowns and takedown defense are more than solid. Add that to some of the best cardio going and you have the man they call Ace.
That said, the only proven way to defeat him is to be a top level striker that connects (see Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida) or an upper echelon wrestler that grinds it out (Dan Henderson).
Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin Prediction: This bout will be fought at a catch weight of 195, but don't expect weight to be a problem for either combatant. The bigger issue may be Silva's recent losses. In the end, it's hard to escape the fact that he's taken some seriously hard strikes. He's a warrior, no doubt, and he'll come to fight. But lately that's equated to him getting hit hard. One has to think that taking shot after shot like that has changed him, and not in a positive direction.
Regardless, the striking skills are pretty close in this one. Silva definitely has the Muay Thai edge in the clinch, but Franklin's hands may be a little bit better. However, when it comes to the ground game, Franklin's game is more complete, despite Silva's BJJ black belt.
Silva's best chance at winning is likely one big strike and the flurry that's sure to follow. Franklin has the ability to do that as well but has more going on the ground. In the end, expect Ace to hit home with some nice strikes on his feet against an adversary that will likely be far more worried about going to the ground than he will be. These strikes will eventually set him up to finish things on the canvas.
Rich Franklin wins via TKO in round two.
