He's also one big hombre.
What Rich Franklin brings to the table: Franklin is a very diverse striker that brings low kicks and solid hands to every fight he competes in. He also has very underrated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission skills. From a wrestling perspective, he has good takedown defense, takedowns, and ground control.
In the past, when Franklin has had trouble, it's been against an elite striker (Belfort and Silva) that brings some athleticism. Against these two, he went down each time by way of (T)KO.
Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin Prediction: These UFC 126 fights are all interesting and hard to call, and this one is no different. Franklin seems to be the more athletic fighter. He has faster hands and feet, and hits hard enough to hurt people in the light heavyweight division. Griffin, on the other hand, never looks particularly athletic out there and generally doesn't tend to take people out with one punch. That said, he is very skilled and big. This will allow him to win out in some spots here on reach alone.
Which makes this one tough to call.
Expect Franklin to hit home a lot early in the fight with low kicks, which will be a little quicker than his adversary's. Guess is that he won't be able to take Griffin out if Quinton "Rampage" Jackson couldn't. That said, Griffin will also connect with shots in spots due to his reach and size advantage. And his shots may be a little harder, due to his size.
If the fight hits the ground-which it probably won't very often- we're talking about somewhat of a stalemate, with Franklin possessing the better submission skills and Griffin the better ground control.
In the end, I just don't think that Griffin will be able to take Franklin out. And when he doesn't get knocked out, look at the record. Franklin nearly always wins.
Rich Franklin defeats Forrest Griffin by decision.
