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Rich Franklin Prepares For UFC 99: “Wanderlei Is Very Dangerous”

 rich-franklin ready

Rich “Ace” Franklin has started to do his homework as he prepares for a catchweight at around 195 pounds.  Franklin understands the history behind Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and won’t underestimate his potential coming into this fight at UFC 99. 

Both fighters are coming into the octagon with a loss.  Franklin was defeated by Dan Henderson via a split decision in the UFC 93 main event which was held in Ireland back in January of 2009.  Silva lost to former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via KO in the first round. 

Snip from Rich Franklin:

“Our main event is one of those dream fights fans talk about but are still surprised when they actually happen. It is a great introduction to what our sport is all about for Germany, and gets our business going in Germany with a huge bang…Wanderlei is very dangerous. You can’t discount all that he did in Pride. Those knees and his aggression are legendary in this sport and that’s what I am going in against. You saw what he did to Keith Jardine in, what was it, 36 seconds? He can do that in a heartbeat if I let him.  This is going to be a tough bout to prepare for and I’ve got to be careful with my execution in the fight. I am going to work very hard on my timing, kicks, and working in the clinch and on avoiding knees and elbows…I don’t expect him to go for any takedowns, but I learned the hard way not to underestimate anybody in any area. I really thought that, before I fought Anderson Silva, that because I was bigger I would be stronger and in my sweet spot in the clinch. I made an assumption and what happened, happened. I won’t be making those assumptions again.”

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