However, “Ace” has sensed a change lately regarding his relationship with the UFC and pointed to a recent interview with Dana White for reference.

In a July conversation White explained Franklin hadn’t been pulled from UFC 133 after his original adversary, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, went out with injury but rather that Franklin turned down the bout he was offered.

“We had another opponent for Rich but Rich didn’t want to take that fight. He said, ‘You know what, man, I’m at a stage in my career where I only want to fight the top of the heap. I want to fight the top name guys,” the UFC President revealed to AOL.

“I’ve never ducked any other opponent in my life,” Franklin stated in response today on The MMA Hour while expressing his disappointment in White’s comments.

“That feeling of family, it’s dissipated a little bit,” the 37-year old continued. “It’s not the same as it used to be when I first starting fighting for the UFC, and I basically told Lorenzo Fertitta that. I said, ‘Hey, I feel like sometimes you guys don’t really have my back,’ and he told me that they’d been really busy with the FOX deal and all that kind of stuff.”

Ever the “company man”, a label the surefire Hall of Famer acknowledged in its basis, the 28-6 middleweight said his immediate focus will be on recovering from shoulder surgery and returning to the ring at some point in 2012. However, the weight the match-up will take place at, or when he’ll actually be scheduled to fight, are things he plans on leaving up to the UFC based on his divisional limbo as an undersized 205er who has struck out twice against 185-pound title-holder Anderson Silva.

“If the UFC said something to me about fighting at middleweight again, I’d be great with that (but) if they’re not going to let me work toward a title, in the meantime, as long as I can just work at putting on exciting fights and that stuff, then I’m good with doing that.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Rich Franklin

Franklin recently opened up about his first professional fight, a bout showing just how green (but talented) he was at an early age.

“This is how dumb I was: we come out and we’re mixing it up, and I end up taking him down,” Franklin candidly began in an interview with MMAFighting. “I’m kind of cross-mounted on him and I have a submission, but I let it go and go to another submission, and I have a shoulder lock almost completely locked out, but then I thought, you know, I trained all these months, all these years, for a 30-second fight? I’m going to let him up. So I just let go, and the crowd – all 200 of them or whatever it was – went from screaming and yelling to completely speechless.”

“He got up and we mixed it up on our feet some more, but it was clear to me that I was just a step above this level of competition,” Franklin continued.

The popular 185er ended up finishing off the fight with a knee to the body when the referee stepped in before any more punishment could be unleashed. The bout gave him plenty of confidence, a point made clear by Franklin who said, “Early in my fight career, I really thought I was the baddest man on the planet. I was young and stupid.”

Eventually, the promoter of the company asked Franklin to leave because he didn’t have any fighters that could match skills with “Ace.” Another promoter offered him a sizable raise, and Franklin knew he had a new career.

“Before that I’d make a thousand bucks here or there and have a little extra money to buy Christmas gifts or something,” Franklin explained. “But to do this and really make money at it? That was a pretty wild idea. The sport was only just then evolving to the point where people were starting to make real money at it.”

Franklin went on to win the UFC middleweight title and defend it successfully twice. He is 28-6 in his career, including fifteen knockout wins and ten submission victories including past victories over Ken Shamrock, Evan Tanner, Matt Hamill,  Yushin Okami, Wanderlei Silva, and Chuck Liddell.

Currently, the 37-year old is sidelined with a tear of his labrum which he just had surgery to repair and won’t be back until 2012.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

“The timing of this shoulder injury is unfortunate considering my fight was pulled from the UFC 133 card, but I know everything will go as planned and that I will recover quickly,” said Franklin while referencing a cancelled bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira last month when the Brazilian hurt himself while training.

“The UFC is being supportive, and I hope my fans also will be understanding – I promise to get back in the Octagon and fight again as soon as possible,” the popular 36-year old continued.

The former middleweight champion was rumored for a rumble with Tito Ortiz at the UFC on FOX event coming this November but with this week’s news, as well as the announcement of Ortiz vs. Nogueira, clearly no such thing will be taking place.

Franklin is 2-3 in his last five fights with wins over Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva while falling to highly-skilled foes Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, and Dan Henderson. He holds a 28-6 record with an incredible twenty-five wins via some sort of stoppage.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the August 6 pairing was announced on the UFC’s Twitter feed.

The match-up with Franklin should be a welcome change in style for Nogueira after facing wrestlers in his previous two appearances. “Little Nog” is 19-5 overall with victories over Luiz Cane, Vlad Matyushenko, Dan Henderson, and Alistair Overeem while only having been beaten a single time by way of strikes.

Fan-favorite Franklin was last seen in action a few months back at UFC 126 where he was unanimously outpointed in a close fight with Forrest Griffin. Though a solid grappler, “Ace” has never shied away from his love of stand-up with more than half of his twenty-eight total wins coming as the result of a TKO.

The two talented 205ers will join Vitor Belfort and Yoshishiro Akiyama in co-headlining UFC 133 with other scheduled fights including Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara and Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

As expected, Anderson Silva will put his middleweight belt up for grabs against former 205-pound champ Vitor Belfort in the evening’s headlining match-up on February 5 at UFC 126.

“This is a fight I’ve been looking forward to for a while,” Silva said of his upcoming defense against Belfort. “Vitor is a very talented striker and a tough competitor. I am training very hard and I know that the fight could go anywhere, but I expect a standup war. I also want to say that I’m very excited to be fighting in Las Vegas again. I have a lot of fans in Vegas and it’s been a while since I’ve fought there. The fans are always very loud in Las Vegas and I feed off that energy.”

“UFC fans expect big things from us every year for our Super Bowl weekend show, and this year could be our biggest ever,” an equally excited Dana White said. “Silva vs. Belfort is a fight fan’s dream match. It’s a fight people have wanted for years. Don’t blink because both of these guys have dynamite in their hands and can end the night quickly and in very exciting fashion.”

Also slated for action against each other are two of the UFC’s most-popular fighters, as well as former champions in their own right, Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin. Griffin has not fought since his split decision win over Tito Ortiz in November 2009 and will no doubt be anxious to engage with “Ace” once the cage door closes.

In addition to Griffin vs. Franklin, the UFC confirmed another pair of light heavyweights would be facing off at the event – Jon Jones and Ryan Bader. Bader is currently undefeated in thirteen professional appearances, while Jones’ only loss was the result of landing an ultimately meaningless illegal elbow in the process of pounding Matt Hamill out last December and being disqualified. Both are coming off impressive victories, albeit of a different variety. Bader out-pointed Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119 in September, while Jones has back-to-back first round TKOs over Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko since the disappointing “DQ” defeat to Hamill.

Ariel Helwani Interviews Dana White in England After Oxford Address (MMAFighting.com)

Bobby Lashley Surprises Strikeforce Officials with Decision to Fight Outside Organization this December (MiddleEasy.com)

Frank Shamrock Cuts a Promo for EA Sports MMA on Why Retirement Sucks (Heavy.com)

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin Rumor Heats Up (Versus.com)

Bellator Middleweight Hector Lombard Wants to Fight Josh Barnett for Personal Reasons (CagePotato.com)

MMA Agent Gives Readers a Look Behind the Scenes (WatchKalibRun.com)

Strikeforce Scott Coker Waxes Poetic on “Diaz vs. Noons II” and More (FIGHT! Magazine)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Gets Animated! (MMAScraps.com)

Jon Jones is Tired of Wrestlers and Explains Why (MMAConvert.com)

Before I get into the actual “pick em” part of this article let me preclude the breakdown of bouts by saying one of the things about Mixed Martial Arts I’ve always loved is its unpredictable nature. I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction with a little insight/opinion included in the deal, but readers would be wise to avoid laying down money on my attempts to glimpse into the future. Beyond that, please don’t hesitate to share your own thoughts on any or all of the scheduled fights in the “Comments” section below, and let’s get this show on the road…

PRELIMINARY CARD

Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox

This fight has a “loser leaves town” feel to it, especially in the case of Pyle, so I expect both men to leave it all in the cage on Saturday night and open up the show properly in the process. Pyle is a better grappler with Lennox being the superior striker so the winner should ultimately come down to which of the two will be able to dictate where the fight takes place. I favor Pyle in that equation based on his experience and training partners at Xtreme Couture. He should be well-prepared for anything Lennox brings and have little problem taking him down, if for no other reason to grind out a decision.

Winner – Mike Pyle via Decision

Claude Patrick vs. Ricardo Funch

Patrick should have a ton of support from his fellow Canadians in his UFC debut and will likely send them home happy when things are said and done against Funch. He’s on a ten-fight winning streak with eight of his dubyas coming in the first frame. Funch has been relatively inactive for the last few years, competing only three times since the start of 2008, and will have to rely on Patrick to keep things standing in order to have a decent shot at emerging victor. While Patrick may be known for his submissions he’s also gone three full rounds with the hard-hitting Drew McFedries and has two first-round TKOs on his record as well. I think he’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with Funch if necessary while having a significant advantage on the ground (not to mention a stout guillotine he can use if Funch attempts to shoot in).

Winner – Claude Patrick via Submission Round 1

James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta

This match-up clearly caters to the international audience brought on by the show’s location as Wilks is originally from England and Sobotta from Germany. Wilks is obviously the bigger name based on winning his division on the ninth season of the Ultimate Fighter but fans shouldn’t discount Sobotta simply because they’ve never heard of him. The 23-year old has a fairly balanced attack and was able to go a full fifteen minutes against respectable veteran Paul Taylor in his UFC debut last June. I’m a bit wary of his year-long hiatus from competition but then again Wilks hasn’t stepped foot in the Octagon since November 2009 so it’s not as if he’s in a much better position where activity is concerned. All that being said, I think Wilks’ stand-up is good enough to bang with Sobotta and his submissions are somewhat slicker so I expect him to get back on the winning track this Saturday.

Winner – James Wilks via Submission Round 2

David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda

I doubt I’m alone in my excitement regarding Loiseau’s return to the UFC. Though he may not have panned out to be quite the fighter people felt he was 4-5 years ago, “The Crow” is still entertaining to watch and one of the sport’s classier characters. He’s shown an ability to hang with any opponent regardless of their specialty and should be more motivated than ever to get his first win in the Octagon since the late, great Evan Tanner in October 2005. Miranda has solid striking but I don’t think it’s as powerful or diverse as Loiseau’s and he definitely doesn’t have the jiujitsu to finish things on the ground.

Winner – David Loiseau via TKO Round 2

Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman

I have high hopes for this bout in terms of entertainment value. Danzig and Wiman can both bring it in the ring, are experienced competitors, and should be enticed by the proposition of stringing together consecutive wins after each losing a few in a row. I think Danzig’s grappling is better, as is his boxing, but Wiman is more of a threat in terms of kicks and knees. However, I also believe they’re comparable enough that a finishing performance is unlikely. Look for them to constantly engage, even drawing a few “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd, but don’t expect a knockout or submission. In the end I believe Danzig’s overall technique is better and as such he’ll be able to defend on his feet, then take Wiman down and control him long enough in each round to earn the decision win.

Winner – Mac Danzig via Decision

Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham

In this week’s Grappling with Issues I listed this bout as having potential for the biggest upset of the evening for a few reasons. My reasoning is as follows:

“Griffin has struggled to finish opponents in the Octagon, so he leaves a lot of time for his foes to slip in and steal bouts (Sean Sherk and Frank Edgar clearly being the best examples based on their actual success against the Xtreme Couture OG). Dunham is a solid grappler with nice hands and reminds me a bit of a 5’10, stronger, paler version of the 5’6 Griffin. It was hard not to be impressed by his submission of Efrain Escudero at Fight Night 20 last January, and he’s undefeated ten fights into his career, so I won’t be surprised if he walks away with a decision win against Griffin. However, I think a lot of fans will be and I don’t just mean the Zuffa Zombies out there.”

I’m not 100% positive Dunham will win, but there is one thing I am certain of – if either man finishes the other I will be utterly shocked. They’re fairly familiar with each other based on their shared choice of training center and even if they weren’t flying Xtreme Couture’s flag both are relatively skilled in every facet of the game.

Winner – Evan Dunham via Decision

MAIN CARD

Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald

This is by far the most important fight of Condit’s career and that includes his title run in World Extreme Cagefighting. He entered the UFC 14-months ago with a ton of hype behind him, much of it deserved in my opinion, but has been disappointing for the most part since. He’s 1-1 with two split decisions against respectable fighters but hasn’t been close to the same dominating force he was in WEC. A second loss in the Octagon won’t destroy his reputation, especially to an undefeated opponent like the 20-year old MacDonald, but it will definitely bump him a number of spots down the world’s collective rankings and have people questioning whether or not Condit will ever live up to the potential most saw in him. MacDonald, a Canadian, will want to please the crowd in Vancouver, and is facing the biggest “name” in his career, so I suspect he’ll have trained his ass off and won’t be afraid to let it all hang out in the cage. Condit is also fearless in his approach to Mixed Martial Arts, so don’t be surprised if this ends up being a “Fight of the Night” contender. MacDonald can strike and grapple, as can Condit (with an edge in both categories), so I expect there to be a number of evenly matched flurries on their feet and on the mat with the former WEC Welterweight Champion getting the best of his less-experienced adversary enough times to win the judges’ favor.

Winner – Carlos Condit via Decision

Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel

Without a doubt Rothwell will attempt to take Yvel down from the opening bell and work his mat-based attacks in hopes of either ground-and-pounding him or procuring a choke hold. “The Hurricane” has 31 TKOs in 36 career wins, and Rothwell has been rocked a few times over the years, so obviously Yvel’s best bet is to throw strikes while fending off takedown attempts. However, Rothwell is a solid wrestler who can also strike in addition to having above-average submissions for a heavyweight. He should be able to control most of the match’s positions, so unless the Dutchman lands a big shot early in the fight I don’t think “Big Ben” will have a hard time coming away victorious and possibly even end Yvel’s recent run in the UFC as a result.

Winner – Ben Rothwell via TKO Round 3

Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann

I don’t think people are giving Kampmann enough credit in this bout where he chances of success are concerned. Keep in mind his only losses have been by way of knockout while the only strike-based TKO of Thiago’s career came in his shocking upset of Josh Koscheck. Additionally, the Brazilian special forces operative owes eight of his thirteen wins to submissions while the “Hitman” has yet to tap out in nineteen professional fights. Kampmann is well-versed on the ground and is a legitimate striker as well. Both men faced Jacob Volkmann in the last year and where Thiago won a decision the Dane submitted Volkmann in the first round. I’m not a fan of “MMAth” but there’s definitely something to be said when the bouts being compared came in such close proximity to each other (less than 2 months apart). Thiago vs. Kampmann should be a hotly contested fight and is one of the many match-ups on the card worthy of a proverbial coin-flip when it comes to picking a winner. However, the more I think about it the more I feel Kampmann will open some eyes on Saturday night so I’m going to simply put my money where my keyboard-stroking fingers are and say…

Winner – Martin Kampmann via Decision

Pat Barry vs. Mirko Filipovic

I know I’m supposed to be unbiased as a journalist but in full disclosure I have to say Barry is one of my favorite fighters based on both in-ring style and overall character. Fortunately, objectivity won’t need to be shelved in this instance, as I think “Cro Cop” is also an outstanding individual with a list of accomplishments worth respecting and a terrific personality rarely associated with him based on the seriousness with which he approaches fighting. It’s a tough match-up to pick based on their in-ring similarities and knockout power each produces. One kick to the head or a series of shots to the thigh/midsection could end the night for either man, while jiujitsu and wrestling are almost certainly going to be thrown out of the cage-door before it closes and the action begins. I believe Barry will win based on age/athleticism as long as he doesn’t become too emotionally involved in the fight, and thereby distracted, based on his admiration of Filipovic. He’s faster and fresher than “Cro Cop”, and in that regard I think he’ll be first to the punch and ultimately shed a few tears in front of the camera before heading home to his momma.

Winner – Pat Barry via TKO Round 1

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin

I can see this fight going a number of ways though of course none of them involve submissions. Neither fighter will have to worry about clinching or getting taken down and worked on unless deciding to sneak in a shot or two with hopes of winning a particular round in the mind of a ringside judge. Both men appear to have questionable chins and have made their living with strikes so expect that to be the target of choice for each. However, Franklin mixes in kicks with a great deal of success and would be wise to do so against the “Iceman”. If he stays active, opting for more lateral than forward movement, he has a good chance of taking home a decision or eventually catching Chuck on the button. However, if he spends more than a few seconds exchanging blows at any point or makes the mistake of rushing in there’s a good chance he’ll be put to sleep.

Winner – Chuck Liddell via TKO Round 2

The loss to Belfort was Franklin’s second consecutive fight at a catch weight match-up; his first was a unanimous decision win against Wanderlei Silva back at UFC 99 in June. But with the loss on Saturday, what do you do with him now?

Dana White expressed in the post fight press conference that he and the UFC will remain loyal to Franklin and figure out what’s next for the former champion. Franklin has undoubtedly been the UFC’s workhorse, not only by headlining cards for the pay per view ratings when no other star names were there, but by never taking seemingly easy fights. His last three fights alone have been all been against former champions, and although his record stands at 1-2 against them, I believe he actually won the fight against Dan Henderson.

However, at this stage in his career, does Franklin still have what it takes to be a champion? At middleweight there seems to be no interest in another run at current champion Anderson Silva, Franklin himself admits he doesn’t want to face the Spider again. So unless for some reason Silva decides to let his future opponents hit him on purpose, I don’t see any of the top contenders taking his belt away anytime soon.

At light heavyweight, a division Franklin is very familiar with, he will have even more trouble finding his way to the top of the ladder. With the most stacked division in MMA, the UFC boasts more talent in the light heavyweight division than other promotions have in their entire stable of fighters. Franklin could most certainly put on great fights with some of these guys, Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin come to mind, but I’m not sure he could make it to the top of the heap. He currently has a loss to current champion Lyoto Machida, and then there’s that Silva guy again, who seems to have set his targets on the light heavyweight belt as well.

I have always enjoyed watching Rich Franklin fight, he gives everything he has and leaves it all in the octagon. He has become a true poster boy for what Mixed Martial Arts has become and has not disappointed in that role. He is a class act in victory and has always been gracious in defeat. He is a fighter that has become a role model for the sport and a future hall of famer; I just hope it’s not the beginning of the end.

By no means does one loss become a precursor for the end, but I just hope the UFC has a plan for him. I hope he doesn’t become a stepping stone for future stars or the guy in between divisions, fighting for no reason.

The news comes directly from Franklin himself who posted the news of the bout’s catch-weight agreement via his personal Twitter account.

“Just found out I will be fighting Vitor at a catch-weight of 195 as per his request,” recently tweated the former UFC middleweight champion.

The bout with Belfort will mark Franklin’s second 195 pound fight in as many bouts. His last trip to the Octagon saw him on the winning end of a hard fought decision over Wanderlei Silva competing in the same weight class.

Belfort was recently signed by the UFC after the cancellation of “Affliction Trilogy” where the Brazilian knockout artist was scheduled to face off with Jorge Santiago. his last appearance saw him crush Matt Lindland with a series of punches in a middleweight contest held at “Affliction: Day of Reckoning in January of this year.

The bout between Franklin and Belfort was recently made in favor of a previous headlining bout between Rich and Dan Henderson that many fans had voiced displeasure over.

UFC 103 will be taking place on September 19 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

A full list of the bouts now expected for UFC 103 are listed below:

Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort

Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick

Junior dos Santos vs. Mirko Filipovic

Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg

Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca

Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller

Sean Sherk vs. Gleison Tibau

Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal

Eliot Marshall vs. Jason Brilz

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Robert Emerson

According to Franklin, the bout makes more sense than initially meets the eye.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Franklin for an exclusive interview which was featured in Extreme Fighter Magazine, and the former UFC champ made it quite clear that he still felt as if he had some serious unfinished business with Henderson left over from there back and forth brawl in January of 2009.

When asked whether or not he believed he had done enough to be awarded with the decision in his UFC 93 headlining bout with Hendo, Franklin wore his heart on his sleeve, “I do believe that I did. It’s difficult for me to accept losing a fight when really, I never ended up getting hit flush at any point in that fight where I was like “Wow”, not even when we were on the ground. The only time that he mounted any kind of damage on the ground was midway through the first round when he had me against the cage, but still, nothing really landed. Even when he had me against the cage, he couldn’t land a punch to my head so he had to resort to kneeing me in the back of the leg, and I stood up from there. From that point on, I just don’t feel that offensively he did a whole lot in that fight, and I did.

“I was very effective on the feet if you look at the punch stats. I don’t think that the judges took the amount of body shots and body kicks I was landing into consideration. At the end of the fight there was more damage inflicted on him than there was on me. He was able to take me down a couple times, but I was able to get back up. Even when I didn’t get back up he wasn’t able to advance out of my guard or improve position.

“The only damage he really did to me was from the headbutts and the eye poke.”

Even when the conversation turned to other topics, the bad taste left in his mouth from the controversial loss at the hands of Henderson had a way of spilling over.

It truly seemed like Franklin had a desire to fight Henderson for the second time more than anyone he had ever wanted to face before.

“The first fight with Anderson is a good example, and this will tie in; In the first fight with Anderson I had some things going on in my life and I wasn’t really zeroed in on that fight the way I should be, and with a fighter like Anderson, that’s not going to work,” explained Rich when asked whether or not he would like to avenge his loss to Lyoto Machida in the future. “So after the first fight there was a desire to fight him again, but the second time he just legitimately beat me. Well, he legitimately beat me both times, but even if I wanted to fabricate some excuse, I just couldn’t. The same thing goes for Lyoto. He’s a great fighter, and he beat me. I can put my head down on my pillow at night and say, ‘These are the fights that I’ve lost.’ If I don’t fight them again I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

“However, you take a fight like the Henderson loss, where I really, truly feel like I won that fight, then that’s the one that I would definitely like to fight again.”

As we all know, Franklin has recently been granted his wish. Now it’s up to him what he does with it.

One thing is for certain though, Rich will have redemption on his mind when he climbs into the Octagon this September.

Extreme Fighter Magazine is authorized and sold in America’s leading supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, bookstores and mass merchandisers retailers nationwide, including Wal-Mart®, Target®, Borders®, Barnes & Noble®, CVS®, Kroger®, and many others.

According to an announcement made on their website, former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin has been given an opportunity to avenge a razor-thin split decision loss to Dan Henderson from this past January.

Henderson is freshly off a UFC 100 highlight reel knockout of his foil on last season’s Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping, while “Ace” last thrilled fans in Germany for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99.

UFC 103 will take place on September 19th in Dallas, Texas.

Other announced bouts on the card include Mike Swick fighting for welterweight title contendership against Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck welcoming veteran Frank Trigg back to the Octagon, and a lightweight clash between Tyson Griffin and Hermes Franca.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Sean Sherk are also reported to be in action at the event.

A rumored main event between Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell at UFC 103 in Dallas won’t be taking place.

The news comes courtesy of a recent report on MMAJunkie.com.

Apparently Franklin has been approached with a list of fighters as possible opponents for a main event bout at UFC 103 but Liddell isn’t one of the options.

Franklin was originally looking to return to the octagon in December after defeating Wanderlei Silva last month but UFC officials approached him about headlining the UFC 103 event in Dallas.

Dana White and Co. are most likely looking to ride Franklin’s momentum after his exciting slugfest with Silva.

Franklin is currently without a contract. He fulfilled his obligations with the UFC after his fight with Silva. Although he is expected to sign a contract with the organization in the coming weeks, so don’t expect Franklin to end up with another promotion.

Franklin is expected to appear in the main event against an opponent to be named later.

UFC 103 is also expected to feature Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg, Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin, and Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller.

In an article by Dan Stupp in the Dayton Daily News, sources close to Anderson Silva have confirmed that he will indeed be working with Franklin as he prepares to meet the “Axe Murderer.”

Franklin’s manager, J.T. Stewart, was asked to comment on the unusual pairing but declined to be interviewed.

Of course many of you know it was Franklin whom Silva defeated to gain the middleweight championship he still owns at UFC 64 in October of 2006. They fought once again at UFC 77 a year later and the results were pretty much the same only this time the fight ended early in the second round as opposed to the first round.

Franklin has since moved to the light heavyweight division but this fight will be contested at a catch weight of 195 lbs as Wanderlei Siva is trying to get adjusted to fighting at a lower weight after announcing plans to drop from a light heavyweight to a middleweight earlier this year.

It appears that Franklin will be training in Seattle with normal training partner Matt Hume and will then head to California to start training with Silva soon afterwards.

Franklin can learn a lot from Silva in regards to his Muay Thai skills and he will certainly need to enhance that area of his game as Wanderlei has a vicious clinch and sick knees much like Anderson Silva possesses. Who better to learn from than the master himself? The pairing of these two as training partners goes to show just how much respect these men have for one another.

This will only enhance the war that has begun to develop between Anderson and Wanderlei who have had a problem with each other since Anderson broke away from Chute Box. Recently Wanderlei has criticized Anderson for his lackluster performance against Thales Leites at UFC 97. Now the two have even more to argue about and this may lead to a match-up sometime in the near future.

UFC 99 will take place in Cologne, Germany and will emanate from the Lanxess Arena. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and UFC President Dana White were present at a Monday press conference in Cologne to officially announce the event.

The event has been subtitled “The Comeback,” to help characterize the stakes involved with the show’s main event. Confirmed as headlining the show is the previously reported 195 pound catchweight bout between former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva and former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

“We are coming with a stacked card and a unique main event,” White is quoted as saying in a press release. “Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva is another of those dream fights fans never thought they’d get to see – but we are making it happen in Germany.

“Everyone knows Rich moved up to light heavyweight a couple of fights ago while Wanderlei is planning on fighting at 185lbs from now on, but this fight is too exciting a match not to happen and both these guys deserve a ton of credit for taking this fight at 195 lbs.”

As of now, the UFC has yet to officially announce additional fights for the event. However, published reports indicate that fights featuring Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders, Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher, Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring, and Todd Duffee vs. Mustapha al Turk are expected as well. Paul Taylor and Stefan Struve could also be added to the card as well, in separate bouts.

Tickets for the UFC 99: The Comeback” go on-sale this Friday. The event will also mark the promotion’s continued expansion into Europe, with recent shows having been promoted in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“Our vision for the UFC has always been global,” Fertitta is quoted. “Following on from our successes in the United Kingdom and Ireland, our first card in mainland Europe is another significant step towards making the UFC’s brand of mixed martial arts the biggest sport in the world.”

The news was first reported by MMAWeekly.com, which cites multiple independent sources as having confirmed the bout.

MMA Weekly also adds that the fight could take place at catchweight of 195 pounds. The reasons for why the bout could be contested at catchweight has to do with the fact that Silva has flirted with the idea of dropping to middleweight while Franklin has fought most recently at 205 pounds.

Silva finds himself at a true crossroads in his career having lost four out his last five fights. His most recent loss took place at UFC 92 this past December, where he was knocked out in the first round against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Prior to the defeat against Jackson, Silva had recorded a 36-second knockout over Keith Jardine at UFC 84 this past May. However, his three previous fights were losses to Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, and Chuck Liddell.

Franklin will also be looking to return to his winning ways following a split decision loss last month against Henderson during UFC 93. Despite the fighters’ storied histories as middleweight, the fight was contested at light heavyweight. Franklin’s previous fight took that place at UFC 88 this past December was also fought at 205 pounds. Facing season three veteran of The Ultimate Fighter Matt Hamill, Franklin recorded a third round TKO.

In addition to Silva vs. Franklin, a lightweight bout between Caol Uno and Spencer Fisher is also reportedly scheduled for UFC 99.

Rich “Ace” Franklin (24-3) has enjoyed one of the most prosperous MMA careers in the sports young history. He is a former UFC middleweight champion and has only tasted defeated three times in his career, at the hands of the undefeated Lyoto Machida and the best pound-for-pound fighter Anderson Silva (twice).

Silva has dominated the middleweight division in the UFC since defeating Franklin at UFC 64 for the middleweight title, defeating anyone that has challenged him, including Franklin again at UFC 77. So rather than attempt to fight Silva for a third time, Franklin decided to move to light heavyweight to start another run at a title. It looked like Silva would no longer impede Franklin’s path to glory.

It’s rather cliché to say, “life comes full circle” or “that many roads have the same destination” but it applies to Franklin. His first fighter against a light heavyweight title contender is against Dan Henderson, but there’s a catch. The winner will coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Bisping. At the conclusion of the show they will face off at middleweight with the winner getting a title shot against…Silva.

Franklin now finds himself between a rock and Anderson Silva. He’s stated that he would rather not coach a second season of TUF, and he would also prefer not to face Silva for a third time, as he was never really in the fights the first two go-rounds. Yet if that is what’s laid before him then he’ll do anything and everything to win. And losing to Henderson isn’t an option as it would cause him to get lost in the shuffle at 205.

Going into the fight with Henderson one would have to wonder what Franklin’s mindset is. He left his comfort zone at middleweight to avoid one person, so is he prepared to travel down the road that leads to Silva again. It’s said that “the third times a charm” but does that hold true when battling your archenemy?

It could come down to a nearly unstoppable force clashing with an immovable object for their final showdown. Silva has said he plans to retire in about years time from now. By the time this potential fight with Franklin would happen, it could mark the end of Silva’s career. How fitting would it be for Franklin to be the final test of Silva’s career, where things would come full circle for both men.

One thing is for sure, Franklin is and always has been a warrior in the cage. Any challenge thrown his way he has overcome, with very few exceptions. Now as another road to a title is paved before him can he final exercise the demon known as “The Spider” from his life and recapture the title he lost back in 2006?

Although Franklin has yet to take the first step on this journey, and for all we know the dream may all fall apart before it really begins, but to watch him battle his way back to the top is a compelling story fit for the silver screen of Hollywood. The dream could start with Franklin defeating Henderson at UFC 93, and if he does it will offer fans a storyline like none other in 2009, as Franklin once again looks to be called a champion in the UFC.

The bout pits two of the sports premier athletes up against one another in a match that gives both men a golden opportunity to breathe new life into their MMA careers.

Since falling short in his attempt to regain the middleweight championship that he lost at the hands of Anderson Silva, Franklin has been on a mission to reestablish himself among the top fighters in the UFC. The first two steps on his mission saw him stop Travis Lutter at 185 pounds before moving up to 205 pounds to finish Matt Hamill impressively.

Henderson is in an extremely similar position. After becoming the first fighter to hold titles in two separate weight classes in a major organization the Team Quest fighter dropped consecutive bouts to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva for both the 205 and 185 pound titles before rebounding with an impressive victory over dangerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88.

The match up between the two former champions will take place in UFC’s light heavyweight division. In an exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com, Franklin said that he feels better than ever since moving back up to 205 pounds.

“I think my timing is better at 205 than it was at 185,” said Franklin. “Not that I was ever a sluggish fighter at 185 pounds but I think that not cutting weight keeps me that much more fresh at 205 pounds.”

Although Franklin will never be one of the biggest guys at 205 pounds, he feels as if the slight lack of natural size will give him a very distinct advantage against the rest of the competition in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

“I’m dealing with bigger fighters at 205, which for the most part are going to be a little bit slower,” said the former middleweight champion. “I feel like in the light heavyweight division I may be a little bit faster than most of the competition. Not quite as big, not quite as strong but perhaps just a bit faster. I think that because of that I may have an advantage at 205.”

Going into his fight with Henderson, Franklin knows that he will be facing one of the most dangerous men he has faced up until this point in his fighting career. The type of preparation that goes into a bout with this kind of importance comes with plenty of homework to be done and numerous game plans to be developed.

“At this point we have looked at and studied his tapes,” said Franklin. “We look at the way he throws his punches and sets things up then of course we’re looking at how he works in the clinch and all of that kind of stuff.”

“Dan’s not really big on throwing jabs. Most of the punches that he throws are just power shots. Big crosses and big hooks, he throws a lot of things that are designed to knock you out.”

“We’re focusing a lot on those things and then of course we’re always spending some time on our takedown defense. Really, in this fight in particular we’re not worried so much about defending the takedown but more just making the takedown difficult.”

Both men have their fair share of highlight reel knockouts throughout the duration of their fighting careers but that is where the similarities end when comparing the pairs striking styles. Franklin has the more technical boxing and likes to punish his opponents with powerful leg and liver kicks while Henderson has a huge right hand and the ability to end any fight in the blink of an eye.

The fact that Henderson has faced a who’s who of dangerous strikers in MMA and has yet to be knocked out has to be weighed into any equation involving a stand up game plan for Franklin.

“I think my foot work on my feet is better than his and I feel like my hands are sharper than his but Dan has a really tough chin, he’s resilient and he hits very hard,” said Franklin. “Sometimes with a fighter like that you have to be careful because it wouldn’t pay off to give three to trade for his one.”

Franklin is right where he needs to be physically going into his fight with Henderson. Well rested since his stoppage victory over Hamill, the Jorge Jurgel and Matt Hume trained fighter has had another successful training camp that has him peaking and ready for battle.

“I’m feeling really good, my conditioning is right where it needs to be and I’m mentally in a good place,” said Franklin. “I’m not beat up or worn down at all.”

Just prior to his fight with Hamill, Franklin ventured away from his usual stomping grounds and training camp in Cincinnati to put himself through a full training camp with Matt Hume in Seattle and the results spoke for themself.

“Going up to Seattle and training with Matt Hume and bringing my boxing coach Rob Radford with me has really helped me gauge my training as far as whether I’m over training or under training,” said Franklin.

As he explained, sometimes going too hard at too many places would end up leaving him drained and not at a hundred percent.

“I think that here in Cincinnati I’ve kind of had a problem with over training because I’m constantly going to a bunch of different facilities,” said Franklin. “I’m still working with my Muay-Thai coach Mike Rielly and then I do a lot of my training at JG MMA Academy and then I have a separate coach at Power Station.”

“I’m training at all of these different facilities in Cincinnati and it gets really difficult because every time I go for a workout someone is constantly wanting to run me into the ground.”

Chalking it up as a learning experience, the former coach of The Ultimate Fighter knows that there are benefits that he gets from training in both Cincinatti and Seattle and he expects to bring all of those benefits into the octagon with him at UFC 93.

“I think that because of the way I approached my training leading into this fight with Henderson that I’m in a really good place,” explained Franklin. “I split this camp about in half. Basically I did the first two weeks here in Cincinnati and then I went up to Seattle for about for weeks and then I came back home to Cincinnati. I had to come home for the holidays and see my family and all of that stuff.”

“I’m going to finish up my training here in Cincinnati and then Matt, Rob and I will fly out to Dublin together.”

Training is Seattle with Hume has not only benefited him by allowing him to train at the proper speed but Franklin also found one of his most useful training partners in his coach.

“Really for this fight in particular, because Matt has such a history with Dan and because Matt himself is a really good wrestler himself, he has been a really good training partner for me in Seattle,” said Franklin.

“I have a good group of individuals that I’ve been training with. Some really good wrestlers. Guys that can mimic Dan Henderson and some guys that can kind of just mimic him naturally.”

The bout with Henderson will mark the second time Franklin has headlined a card in Ireland with his first appearance coming against Yushin Okami at UFC 72. Fighting in unfamiliar territory is nothing new for Franklin. Having fought in Japan, Ireland and Canada, he is far from an unfamiliar face outside of the United States.

“I had a good fan reception the last time I was in Ireland,” said Franklin. “I guess it always amazes me, the way fans react to me in different countries. I’ve fought in Montreal and Ireland and I’ve always had a good fan reception. I get really good responses on my website from the UK and various other places so it’s really nice to know that I have a good international backing.”

His opponent is no stranger to international fame either. Henderson established himself as one of the sports top athletes and created quite a fan base for himself while competing overseas in Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships. This bout will pit two of the game’s more beloved fighters against each other in a fight that for many, will be hard to route against either guy..

“Dan’s a well known fighter because of all of his experience in Pride,” said Franklin. “People really like Dan. I’m sure that a lot of people that know about this fight are kind of torn like ‘I don’t know who to root for. Both of these guys are good guys and I like both of them and they’re both great fighters’. At the same time I think people are really excited to see this fight.”

Having once held the championship gold around his waist , Franklin would like nothing more than to capture that feeling once again but whether he ends up a champion or not, he will not allow it to define who he is as a fighter.

“I remember before I ever had the title that it was the most important thing to me,” explained Franklin. “I wanted the title and I wanted to be the champion. Now that I have been a champion I want to be a champion again. As far as my fighting career goes, nothing would please me more than becoming a champion again.”

“On the flip side of that, if I was never a champion again I don’t think that I would be one of those guys that go into a severe depression or become an alcoholic for the rest of my life.”

Rich Franklin would like to thank the following people for supporting him in his career. J.T. Stewart, American Fighter, Fight Factory, Panther Arms, Spencers, Bodybuilding.com, MMAdhouse, support the heroes.org, real american fighters.org, zappos, Maxus Tools

The upcoming battle between the two former champions has been a long time coming. For months before the bout was formally announced, fans and insiders alike openly speculated on what the outcome would be if the two top level athletes were ever to lock horns.

All questions will be answered on January 17th in Dublin, Ireland when Franklin takes on Henderson in the main event of UFC 93. The highly anticipated match up between two of the biggest stars in the sport promises to start the new year out with a bang.

There is more on the line than just the win in this fight. UFC president Dana White has already announced that the winner between Franklin and Henderson would be the second head coach for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Michael Bisping was the first head coach to be announced in a season that will feature both lightweight and welterweight fighters in USA vs. UK match ups.

Although the announcement was made in mid December, Franklin told FiveOuncesOfPain.com in an exclusive interview that he has yet to be formally approached about the spot.

“The UFC at this point haven’t technically talked to me about the show,” said Franklin. “I don’t know any of the details like how many coaches I would be bringing. I know Bisping has named a couple of his coaches at this point in time.”

With many different details to be ironed out should he come out on top in his clash with Henderson, Franklin confesses that there is definitely one uncertainty that he is most concerned with should he wind up on the other side of Bisping as a coach.

“I guess the big question from me that remains to be seen is, since me and Bisping have both fought at 205 and 185 pounds, what are they going to do with this fight between the two of us,” said the former 185 pound champion. “I’m assuming that they’re trying to work him into a possible title spot or something so it wouldn’t make much sense for him to not fight at 185 pounds.”

“I’m guessing that they’re probably going to ask me to drop back down to 185 pounds but this is all just speculation at this point.”

Self admittedly, Franklin isn’t overly enthusiastic about the prospect of being named the next coach of The Ultimate Fighter. After already coaching alongside Matt Hughes in the second season of the show, the experience would not be a unique one for the Cincinatti, Ohio native. Combined with the fact that the stint would mean even more time away from his family makes the position that much less desirable.

“I’ll just say that I’m not as excited to do it this time as I was to do it the first time,” explained Franklin. “I’ve already been through the experience now.”

“The main reason why I’m not that excited about it is that I just spent four weeks in Seattle and then I got to come home for a couple weeks. Now I’ll be leaving for my fight in Ireland shortly and then from my fight I would basically go straight to Las Vegas for six weeks.”

Even though being a coach on the next season The Ultimate Fighter isn’t exactly on the top of Franklin’s list of things he wants to do, he is absolutely willing to step up to the plate and do the job if need be.

“It just gets to a point where it can get a bit difficult to be away from home for that long but this is the lifestyle that has been bestowed upon me so if that’s what I have to do then that’s what my job is,” explained the always dependable UFC veteran. “If that’s what the UFC wants and that’s what they need then I’m all for it. I’m always willing to do whatever they ask me to do.”

If Franklin ended up dropping back down to 185 pounds to face off with Bisping at the conclusion of the show there would be a possibility of a third match up with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Having come up short in his two prior encounters with Silva, Franklin feels confident that he would be able to turn the tables on the reigning champion in a third match. However, if that rematch never comes to fruition, it’s not something that he’s going to lose any sleep over.

“The competitive side of me always says ‘Yeah, I’m willing to do that’ but really I don’t have a problem putting my head down on my pillow at night and not avenging that loss,” said Franklin. “I had two chances and I came up empty handed. Given a third chance I feel like the outcome would be different but if it doesn’t work out that way, it doesn’t.”

“The UFC had spoke with me about moving up to 205 and my move to 205 was based on their suggestion that I do so. They weren’t interested in doing a third fight with Anderson Silva if I made my way back to the title. I guess they didn’t think that the fans would be interested and that it wouldn’t make good pay per view buys so really they kind of encouraged me to move up to the light heavyweight division. When the UFC asked me to move up to 205 pounds it was my intention to make it my home for at least a while.”

Despite the fact that retirement is nowhere in the immediate future for Franklin, he knows that it never hurts to plan for the future. Realistically no man can fight forever and in a business where your paycheck depends on your bodies ability to perform at the highest level it could never hurt to take out an insurance policy in the form of a career back up plan.

“I was talking to my business manager about things that I could or would want to do when I retire from fighting,” said Franklin. “I know that I can’t do this forever. I’m 34 years old and I realize that my end is coming at some point in time. I don’t know when, but one day it will be upon me and I don’t plan on doing this until I’m 43 like Randy.”

Sitting down with his business manager, Franklin entertained numerous possibilities for ways he could transfer what he has accomplished in the world of mixed martial arts into a career that he would enjoy after his fighting days are over.

“We talked about commentating and different things and my business manager asked me if I would possibly be interested in some acting,” explained Franklin. “I said ‘Yeah, sure. That would be cool. I wouldn’t mind a little role in a movie or something like that’.”

When he had first entertained the idea of venturing into the world of acting Franklin’s initial thoughts were that it would be exciting to have a small appearance somewhere to get his feet wet. Maybe even a minor speaking role was something he would consider.

“I thought in my head when we had spoke about this that I would be like a bouncer in a bar, a door guy or a bartender or something like that,” said the former high school math teacher. “Just some small role that had like three lines and that was about it. Just a little cameo type appearance.”

When Franklin’s manager came to him with a script for an upcoming movie it didn’t take the UFC superstar long to realize that the role he was to audition for in this script was just a little bit bigger than what he had been anticipating for in his first role.

“Then next thing you know, I had some down time after the second Silva loss last year and they came to me with this script and they wanted me to read this part,” said Franklin. “I’m like ‘OK, what’s my character’s name’ and I’m sitting there reading it and when I get about a third of the way through I called my business manager. I was like ‘Hey, did you realize that this is like the main role’ and he said ‘Yeah, exactly’. I was like ‘I don’t think I’m ready for something like that’ but they convinced me to give it a shot. So I was like ‘OK, whatever’ and really that’s how it all came about.”

Franklin made his acting debut in the John Stead film entitled Cyborg Soldier which was released in 2008 by Peace Arch Entertainment Group. The film is done in the tradition of hollywood blockbusters such as The Terminator and Universal Soldier and has been recieving positive reviews from both mixed martial arts fans and movie critics.

Franklin’s first experience in show business helped him to realize that it’s not nearly as easy as he had previously expected. Even though it may be something that he would like to do in the future, let’s just say that he has no plans of quitting his day job any time soon.

“I think that I didn’t too bad with it being my first movie and everything but I feel like I have a lot to learn in that industry,” confessed Franklin. “Acting is definitely something that I wouldn’t mind being involved in for the remainder of my career but I wouldn’t want to make that my ful time job because it’s really long hours and hard work. Until you actually do something like that it’s a real eye opener to see how much time and effort goes into it.”

Acting was a great experience for Franklin but if you ask him, it’s a different side of the movie business that he is best suited for.

“I think honestly that I’m more cut out to be a stunt man than I am an actor,” said Franklin. “They had a stunt man on the set there the whole time and of course there weren’t many scenes for him to do.”

“I remember I asked my stunt man ‘If I do my stunts, do you still get paid?’ and he said ‘Yeah but it makes a boring day’. I said ‘Sorry to keep you bored but I’m going to do as much as they will let me do’. He pretty much sat around the whole time watching me do my thing.”

“In one of the beginning scenes of the movie when they show my character climbing up the rock wall, that actually was not me. It wasn’t until I had a chance to watch the movie I realized that that scene was in the film. I was so irritated that I didn’t get to do that but apparently the day they had that guy climbing the wall they had me like running through the snowy tunnels and a bunch of other stuff. A lot of that stuff just flat out comes down to time. You just don’t have enough time on the shooting schedule for you to be at all of these different places at once.”

With a teaching career to fall back on, the option to coach and work in mixed martial arts in a number of ways and a budding acting career, it’s safe to say that Franklin will have plenty of choices for how he decides to spend his time when he decides to hang them up for good. For now, that day will have to wait as there is no place that Franklin would rather be than in the center of the octagon putting it all on the line.

“The crazy thing is that when I talk to people a lot of them ask me what I’m want to do when I’m done fighting,” said Franklin. “At this point in time I still want to fight so the thought of sitting behind a camera all day isn’t really appealing to me. Then again, maybe one day it will be. So I always tell people that I don’t really know what I want to do when I’m done fighting but I know that I have options.”

A class act inside and outside of the ring, Franklin is always looking for different ways to share his success with some of the less fortunate individuals that may not be able to find the help that they need in other places.

“The Keep It In The Ring Foundation is a non-profit organization that we have,” explained Franklin. “We do charity events and things like that. Sometimes the UFC Fight Club people will make donations with some of the money that they raise. Sometimes we use the money for domestic violence organizations and a lot of the money goes to after school programs for the kids like karate programs and different things. Stuff to just keep them out of trouble.”

Rich would like to thank the following people for supporting him in his career. J.T. Stewart,  American Fighter, Fight Factory, Panther Arms, Spencers, Bodybuilding.com, MMAdhouse, support the heroes.org, real american fighters.org, zappos, and Maxus Tools.

CLICK HERE FOR PART II

TUF 9 will feature fighters at lightweight and welterweight representing both the U.S. and UK in a head-to-head format. Michael Bisping has already been announced as the head coach of the UK team and it’s expected that he will square off against Henderson or Franklin in a pay-per-view matchup to be scheduled after TUF 9 has finished airing.

White’s proclamation that the winner of Franklin vs. Henderson would be named the U.S. coach couldn’t have been expressed any more definitively. However, revelation was still somewhat surprising considering that Franklin has been lukewarm about the idea of a second turn as a TUF coach after having served in that capacity during the show’s second season. But the former UFC middleweight champion never completely ruled the possibility out and it’s possible that recent progress has been made towards securing a commitment from him.

Tryouts for TUF’s ninth season were conducted in England and Chicago during October with many fighters expected to travel to Las Vegas later this month for followup interviews. The finalized cast for the show will likely be determined by mid-January with taping possibly beginning in Las Vegas soon after. The show is tentatively scheduled to premiere in early-April and will be preceded by a live UFC Fight Night telecast.

UFC 93 will emanate from the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to the main event between Henderson and Franklin, the show will also feature the return of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua taking on UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman.

In addition to featured matchups between light heavyweights Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Mark Coleman, fights between Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher, Andre Gusmao vs. Antonio Mendes, Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle, Jeremy Horn vs. Rouismar Palhares, Tomasz Drwal vs. Ivan Serati, and Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway have all been confirmed by the promotion.

Kang, Serati, Egan, and Hathaway will all be making their UFC debuts on the card.

According to the site, as of now, the bouts scheduled to be telecast are Franklin vs. Henderson, Coleman vs. Rua, Kang vs. Belcher, Mendes vs. Gusmao, and Siver vs. Mohr. However, changes to the preliminary TV schedule could be made, as it is unlikely that Siver vs. Mohr would make the telecast ahead of Davis vs. Lytle, a battle of professional boxers that could contend for “Fight of the Night” honors.

Also, the UFC has yet to announce whether UFC 93 will air in the United States on Spike TV or on pay-per-view. Previous reports indicated that the promotion was in talks to possibly broadcast the event free of charge on Spike TV, but with each day that passes without an agreement, the more likely it is that the event will be a PPV.