Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva II announced as new UFC 147 main event in Brazil

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC 147 has its third scheduled main event following the injury to Vitor Belfort this week, as the UFC announced on Wednesday that Rich Franklin will move up two weeks to meet Wanderlei Silva in Brazil.

Franklin was originally scheduled to take on Cung Le at UFC 148 on July 7, but will now face Silva for a second time in this bout. The two squared off in the main event of UFC 99 in Germany, with Franklin earning a unanimous decision win after three rounds of action.

This fight will be contested as a five-round main event, and will be a 190 lb. catchweight fight. Franklin will return to action for the first time in 16 months after injuries sidelined him in the last year. His last appearance was a decision loss to Forrest Griffin in February of 2011.

Silva last fought in November, knocking out Cung Le in the second round at UFC 139. The win was a rebound from a knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132 last July.

The fight will headline a card from Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, Brazil on June 23.

Penick's Analysis: They sacrificed a vastly more interesting fight between Franklin and Le at UFC 148 in order to put on a rematch no one asked for on this card. This event has just been cursed by bad luck, and it's the least interesting main event fight the UFC has had on a numbered event in a really long time. The first fight was fine, but no one has been clamoring for No. 2, and with interest already waned for the Silva-Belfort rematch as a headliner, this is just a poor replacement, especially since it takes away the Franklin-Le fight. If this is still a pay-per-view event, it will be the least watched pay-per-view card in some time.

[Rich Franklin art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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