Quick Hits: Luiz Cane Wants to Fight Rich Franklin, Bobby Lashley to Fight in September, Diego Sanchez to Get Next Title Shot, and More
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Jul 3, 2009 at 1:23 pm ET47 Comments
- The MMAFrenzy.com rumors section has been completely updated. [MMAFrenzy.com/rumors]
- UFC fighters Rousimar Palhares and Thiago Tavares are likely to return in the fall from injuries. [MMAjunkie]
- With just one fight remaining on his current contract, Rich Franklin is ready to renegotiate with the UFC before his next fight. [MMAjunkie]
- Roger Gracie will make his Strikeforce debut against an opponent to-be-named at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15.
- Featherweight contender Wagnney Fabiano will fight at WEC 43 on September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio. An opponent has not yet been set. [MMAjunkie]
- Bobby Lashley will next fight in September. [MMA Fanhouse]
- Gilbert Yvel vs. Paul Buentello has officially been added to the fight card for Affliction: Trilogy.
- Heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson has signed with Ohio-based NAAFS and will debut against Tony Sylvester at Rock N Rumble III at the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland.
- A timetable for UFC heavyweight Heath Herring’s return has not yet been set. [MMAjunkie]
- Middleweight Rob Kimmons has signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC. [MMAjunkie]
- Mark Hominick vs. Deividas Taurosevicius and LC Davis vs. Javier Vazquez have been booked for the HDNet-televised “Affliction: Trilogy” preliminary card
- Weigh-ins for UFC 100 will take place on Friday, July 10 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the same venue which will host the July 11 pay-per-view event. (Note: MMAFrenzy.com will be providing a live stream of the weigh-ins)
- WEC lightweight contender and former champion Rob McCullough is likely to return in the “late fall” [MMAjunkie]
- Diego Sanchez will get the next lightweight title shot against the winner of the August 8 matchup between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Ticket sales for UFC 101 on August 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia have surpassed 14,000 for a Pennsylviania record-breaking $3+ million live gate. [MMAjunkie]
- Strikeforce will hold a press conference for the promotion’s August 15 matchup between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos on July 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- Luiz Cane wants to fight Rich Franklin. [MMAjunkie]
- UFC heavyweight Antoni Hardonk thwarts a robbery in LA. [Yahoo! Sports]
[Pictured: Rich Franklin]
Note: Items without bracketed-links ([]) have either been officially announced or confirmed by MMAFrenzy.com
Tags: Antoni Hardonk, Bobby Lashley, Deividas Taurosevicius, Diego Sanchez, Gilbert Yvel, Heath Herring, Javier Vazquez, Jeff Monson, L.C. Davis, Luiz Cane, Mark Hominick, Paul Buentello, Rich Franklin, Rob Kimmons, Rob McCullough, Roger Gracie, rousimar palhares, Thiago Tavares, Tony Sylvester, Wagnney Fabiano
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luiz and franklin are both so good but i’d have to give that fight to lui, ever since his lambert win i knew he was something special
The guy is doing the right thing by calling out someone with a name. He needs a big win over someone recognisable to make him more marketable(like when jardine beat Forrest)Plus Liddell and Rich is still a rumor so there could be other options. I actually think that he could beat Franklin to. His strikes are powerful fast and technical. Id see him putting Rich away after landing one of his big combos. Cantwell had a chin of steel in their fight which is was took it all three rounds. I realy started paying attention to him when he smashed Sokoudjou.
ya, cain is definetly a contender and that would be a graet fight, i’m not sure which i would prefer franklin gegen liddel or franklin gegen cane….
Thats cool about diego getting the next shot at the belt . He has earned it for sure like Florian did .Dont know who he will face … got a feeling it will be Penn . Also Roger Gracie at strikeforce in August is interesting …..
why is Roger fighting in August for StrikeForce interesting, other than he has backed out of his last 3 “rumored matches”
I realize that Luiz Cane is a real talent and a favorite of some here at the forum, but is the guy really ready to take on a fighter of Rich Franklin’s experience?
Also, a question for the collective :
In light of Diego Sanchez being granted a title bout against the winner of Penn-Florian, does that mean if Clay Guida had won the fight, he’d be receiving the title shot?
Also, how would this have played out if the Sanchez-Guida fight had ended in a draw, the way a lot of MMA enthusiasts out there think it should have? Who would have gotten the next LW title shot then?
Just curious…
Another Gracie rising in MMA is always an interesting proposition for the fanbase…
I doubt that Guida would get the shot if he had beaten Sanchez, I still think that Gray would of gotten the shot (also I think he should still get the shot)… If the fight ended in a draw then ya Gray might have gotten the shot….. But you have this crazy person (Diego) claiming he is ready and deserving the shot after to decision wins.. If KenFlo does beat Penn then it is a no brainer easy hyped fight, If Penn wins then you got Crazy guy v Guy who wants your blood sooo that works out as well….
why aren’t u a member
This is I think the second time someone has asked me about being a member, and I’m not sure I understand the question.
Sorry for being clueless, but what should I be a member of exactly?
well one reason WHY you should be a memeber is you enjoy giving your opinion clearly and are respectful of others, with your questions (which are usally well thought out) you could post often in the forum section that is just one reason,,,, but hey if you don’t want to be no worries just was wondering
Thanks for saying so, fr702.
To be honest I’ve never specifically checked out the forum section, so I didnt know what being a member was all about.
I much appreciate the clue-in…
guida probaly woudln’t get title shot if he one this close decision but if he was dominating then got a KO or Tko a title shot or a ight w. maynard for title shot.
I think the major problem with Gray not being the #1 contender is that outside of die hard MMA fans, no one is really talking about him. I mean Diego mentioned him in an interview, but his fights have not been receiving main even status like Diego. Also I think they are taking into account Diego’s achievements as a WW. Diego is a real contender at 155lbs for sure so I’m not offended that he gets the title shot. But I hope to death he never wears that belt, not because he would not deserve it, but because Rashad’s swollen ego will look like a proton compared to Diego’s.
LOL, nice science reference.
If he couldn’t stop Cantwell, what makes you think he would beat Rich? Rich is way more well rounded than Steve. Sanchez did no where near the work Florian did to get his shot. Florian will beat Bj and then Sanchez then who’s next?
on paper rich is way better than cantwell but i knew that when cain and cantwell fought two of the best LH’s in ufc were fighting, i’m sure of it
Cause i hoestly feel that if Cane starts tagging Rich with some of those combos that he hit Cantwell with it will be a short night for him. But if Franklin fights like he did in that first round against Wandy he would be ok. I liked his footwork accuracy and headmovement, then he got dragged into a brawl with silav.
i personally think that frankie edger should be in serious contention after his win over sherk.And i guess you can what if all day but the fact still stands that diego did win,unfortunetly.
Edgar almost seems like the forgotten man to me in the UFC LW mix. Maybe after the whole, “Penn-Florian-Sanchez” car crash gets sorted out, someone in the matchmanker’s office will take notice of Frankie Edgar…
i reckon luiz will be too much for franklin even tho franklins got experience luiz will take W in dat one hes striking is far superior than richs .imo.
i dont realy think diego deservers a title shot yt i realy want to c edgar in the mix he tottaly outclassd sherk in their last bout who was the former champ i defintley think maynard, sanchez and edgar are nxt inline but i think thy prolly need atleast one mre fight tho
translation DBIZ?
jokes
Rich v Cane is a interesting fight purposal and I gotta give it up for Cane calling out Franklin, very nicely done… This fight does everything for Cane and not much for Franklin..
Cane a “up and comer” in the LHW division is well simply on a roll and if he beats the great Franklin then he definately is capable of talking about a title shot, hell if Diego gets one whynot right
I do like Cane and I like this move for him and his career.. If he were to lose to Franklin well then so be it right u lost to a guy who has only lost to the greats of the sport(A.Silva 2x, Hendo, Lyoto) soo it would be more acceptable if you will..
And that is the kick in the asss, if Rich lost to Cane where does that leave him in his career? Cane is yet to be one of the greats (timosykilla yes I know that Lyoto had his 3rd fight ever when he (t)ko’d Rich sooo just chill)
but if Rich were to lose to Cane it could seriously hender his career in the UFC especially with this being his last fight on his UFC contract the guy debuted @ UFC 44…
So the question is do you take the fight with the hungry young lion to remind everyone the dog still can fight or do save that fight for another day?
ha, i was just gonna make the comment about lyoto tko’ing franklin in his 3rd fight
I have to admit that I’m no fan of guys that duck fights, but in some situations business has to come first. Recently I’ve been reminded more than once here that MMA is not just a sport, but a thriving business enterprise.
By extension, the fighters are not just businessmen, but independent contractors who sign short-term agreements to ply their trade with one promotion or another.
In most cases, if called out by a lesser known and lesser accomplished opponent, I would suggest taking the fight and throwing the guy a serious beating, or even cinch in a leglock and leave it on a second or 2 longer than needed to remind the guy that he talked $#!t and called out the wrong man.
In the specific case of Rich Franklin, however, I think it is in his best interests to use whatever political clout he has with the UFC to secure fights that do the most for his career in terms of title contention. Franklin has nothing to prove, and everything to lose, by taking a bout with Luiz Cane. The Liddell fight does next to nothing for Franklin, except maybe score him a nice payday and earn him some good will in the UFC front office.
I agree that it was a smart move for Cain to call out Franklin, because if he loses it’s not like his contention path becomes significantly more difficult, as its no sin to lose to a guy like Franklin. On the flip side, Franklin is already in a tough spot within the promotion, having been beaten twice and essentially run out of the MW division by Anderson Silva, and then trying to hang with some truly dangerous men [Jackson, Griffin, Rua, and champ Machida] in the LHW division.
As much as it goes against my nature as both an avid MMA enthusiast and former amateur sub grappler, I’d say Franklin waves off Cane and insists on a fight with contention advancement after he beats Liddell. If he were to somehow lose to Liddell, then a Cane fight would be in order, and probably necessary to show all concerned that he’s still a viable LHW pro fighter.
If Franklin plays his cards right, and catches a break or two as far as other contenders are concerned, he could be facing Machida by this time next year…
Jcohl
Are you really Rich Franklin posting on this site as Jcohl???
Dude you just systematically dissected the whole reason why Franklin should not fight Cain. And what should happen to youngin’s who call out Big Dawgs to fight..
I totally agree with ya and as calculated as Franklin is i’m sure he thinking the same thing.
Ya great post dude.
OnlyTrue1, carls, thanks for the kind words, but if I were in fact Rich Franklin I would be spending my spare time dogging the UFC front office to do something about getting me into position to make a reasonable run at the LHW title, rather than throwing me into the cage with a respected but past his prime guy like Chuck Liddell, or an equally respected but near-pointless bout with Wand.
Thats not to say I don’t really enjoy my time here at mmafrenzy, but IMO Franklin is walking a thin line between loyal company man and dropping into the “gatekeeper” slot.
While it’s true that gatekeepers enjoy success with their respective promotions, they rarely receive title opportunities, and almost never more than one. To my thinking being an MMA promotion’s divisional gatekeeper is like getting stuck being the hot girl’s “friend”, in that sure it has it’s rewards, but you’re most likely not going to get where you want to be anytime soon, if you follow.
Franklin, by all accounts an understated but very intelligent sort of competitor, kind of like an anti-Diaz in that regard, needs to “make some noise” about wanting a title shot, as opposed to getting called out by guys looking to make a name for themselves at their better’s expense…
Jcohl
You make a great point, no need to sit around becoming a Gatekeeper at 205 that is a horrible job… Ask Keith Jardine…
But you are right no need to fight nonsense fights at this point. However I do feel the Wandy fight was a good fight for him. Being that they where trying to put on a great show for Germany and the UFC needed a guy like Franklin to be an Intelligent Spokesman and a true warrior in the ring who will put on a show. I think they count that fight as a win in the 205er section for Franklin. Besides If Wandy would have won he Automatically had a title fight agains A. Silva @ 185 so 1 more big name for Franklin and He may get a title shot helll Diego did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But to get a shot at the title he would have to face either A Rampage A Evans A Forrest A Shogun or A “NEW ERA” MACHIDA KARATE!! And all that does is equal = A Well Whooped A$$!!!
He maybe able to compete with Forrest maybe or Shogun but the rest shhhhhhhhhhiiiiii****!!!!!
And the only reason I say {compete against} those two is because Forrest doesn’t knock people out he is drag you into a dog fight type of fighter. Shogun still has yet to impress me in the UFC.
IMO If Chuck is fighting another fight it very well could be Rich who he fights. AS sorta of a passing the tourch type thing to the last of the “Old UFC Era” guy in Franklin if he wins, and in that case yeah they {UFC} will give him a shot at the belt. Rematch Franklin VS Machida
Equal = Same result as the 1st fight if not worse!!!
I dont know if Rich would “beat” any of the current top five LHW, but the guy could definately hang in there a make a good fight with any of them(except Machida). Like the guy had a good close fight with Hendo, and nobody was saying that he wasnt relevant. His fight with Wandy is also a good showing of where he is right now.
Heres a look at the way Id see some fights playing out.
Id see him winning a fight against Rashad unless he gets taken down, or cought. He would stay busy enough to probably win some rounds. Espeacially early when Rashad is usually dancing. Would probably be a good fight that I think could go either way.
Him and Jardine would be pretty even. Both guys have suspect chins but recover well. Both look to push the pace and stay busy. Lots of body kicks here. Another close fight IMO
Shogun is tough to call cause he is so all over the place lately. But if atleast the guy who fought Chuck shows up id give it to Shogun. Both have good footwork and like to use angles, but at some point Rich would probably get cought.
Thiago Silva would be in alot of trouble in my mind and would likely get KOed. He would be best off taking the fight to the ground, but even there Rich would be ok.
A fight with Rampage would be similar to the one with Jardine.(rampage was overtrained in that fight) Id see Rich scoring well but getting dropped often or likely KOed. Hed be winning the fight up until then though.
Forrest in my mind gives him alot of problems though. Cause here is a guy that is bigger, taller, just as well rounded. Who has good hands and great kicks. This fight would likely go to Decision with Forrest winning every round.
Lastly a fight with Machida would unfortunately be even worse for Rich than the First one. With The Dragon putting him away first or second.
All of this is just my opinion of course, based on how all of these fighters have been competeing lately. Right now I see Rich as someone who is “relevant” to the division, who “could” be a contender but “wont” ever hold the belt.
carls i agree with some of your stuff but rashad is #2 in the world i’d have to give the fight to him if him and rich were to fight, he would catch him some time between the 2nd and 3rd round.
i agree with you about the jardine fight completely
i think the shogun fight would go how you said but in reverse, although everyone tells me i underestimate shogun
in my opinion thiago isnt even in the top 20 LH’s in the world think about it he’s a standup fighter who took his last two wins down, so yes he would be destroyed
i agree with you on the rampage fight aswell
i think forrest and franklin are very even but remember rashad beat forrest ands you said you think franklin would beat rashad but not forrest, i think it would be a decision with franklin winning
i agree with you on the machida fight aswell
Styles make fights dude thats why i think Rich would fare better against Rashad than Forrest, but yet Rashad beat Forrest. Evans was losing that fight but still won cause hes explosive and Forrest got lazy on the ground. Id give it to Griffin if they fought again. Thanks for all the feedback though.
Griffin didn’t get lazy on the ground!!!
It’s called hurt.. He was rocked and dazed from the blow that sent him to the ground {along with the leg grab by Rashad} plus the multiple hammer fists that landed..
I see Rashad over powering Franklin. Franklin wrestling defense is not good, He’s taken down pretty easy in his fights. He does push a good pace has a great straight left but his chin After the Face Rearrangements by A. Silva left his chin weak, well atleast his nose weak.
A fight between Franklin and Forrest would be great but as you said Forrest by Dec.
I feel for Rich cause I love him as a fighter and what he represents but he is definatly in Limbo right now.
on the Diego getting a title shot.
Again here we go with who WE fill Deserves a shot, when really it’s all about the $ and hype and who will make exciting fights.
Even though I fell if anything Diego should fight Maynard for #1 spot but who am I….
Maynard is IMO more Deserving of the shot but lets be honest he is no barnbunner and Diego as Crazy as he is will come to fight and Exciting fight.
How many people did Ken/Flo have to fight to get his FIRST/1st title shot at 155??????? 2 or 3 guys maybe at 155 soooooo hey???
Antoni Hardonk is superman!!! Gtreat story.
Who pulls a two inch blade ona 6′4 250 monster like hardonk. What were these guys smokin?
I hope this gets as much publicity as possible so that the nay sayers can see that MMA fighter arent just a bunch of blood thirsty dawgs, who are “professional” fighters and part time superheroes.
whatever they where smoking it must not have been that strong because they knew they didn’t have a chance…
I wish I could have seen it. I’d been on the floor laughing at three thugs suppossedly hard core thugs runing from 1 man when they had the dreded 2 inch duck taped blade. Toooo funnnyyy!!!
Thats like outta the scene from Crocodile dundee! In my best impersonation of a Australian accent
“Dhats nota Knife NOW Dere’s A Knife”!!
I can’t remember the details, maybe this can be found thru justi-pedia or something, but I seem to recall a few years back a couple of IFL fighters doing pretty much the same thing in a diner where they were eating when some numbnuts decided to start some.
Really great press for MMA in general and Hardonk in particular. The UFC should put their full promotional weight behind this thing to get it out there and spread the word.
This is also one of those deals where not only did Hardonk earn a ton of karma poinrs, but the publicity could help his career.
Good stuff all around IMO…
jcohl,
I don’t know of the specific story you’re talking about, but it seems like at least once a year we read about an MMA fighter thwarting a crime in some way.
carls, somehow the nay sayers will find a way to twist and spin the hardonik story into something negative, i am sure that will happen. the reason frankie edgar seems forgotten is because he lost a decision to gray. he did look damn good imo against sherk though, but sherk had a bad game plan. how about tyson griffin getting some love? that cat is good, his two losses have been to sherk and edgar, but eh. diego shouldve fought at least two more guys like gray and edgar, but right now the ufc is concerned about giving guys who have selling power title fights instead of who is the #1 contender, or who should be fighting who so we can find out who ranks where in each division. i.e. maia getting screwed in the mw division, and now gray getting screwed in the lw division, not to mention cain getting carwin before he is ready for a guy with that much talent.
i guarandammntee gray wouldve fought the yes man, and more than likely won. all thats going to happen is kenny or bj will sub diego in the second round if not the first. bj is a more technical and precise striker than diego, and kenny can more than hang with diego in the standup as well.
Someone please tell me how Rich has a weak chin? Anderson dismantled his nose, I’m not positive but I believe he didn’t even hit Franklin on the chin so to say his chin is suspect is foolish. Who has even knocked Rich down, besides the Lyoto fight Years ago. Once again people aren’t giving a former CHAMP credit [same with Couture} but that’s you guys opinion’s. Cain hits hard no doubt but I really believe Cantwell’s chin isn’t as good as Franklin’s.
On the Edgar note:
He has great wresting, good take down defense, decent strikes BUT, NO jits were he would be in a lot of trouble against Bj or Florian, hell even Sanchez would make a quick night of Frankie so that pretty much puts that argument to rest IMO.
First, please let me say that I have a lot of respect for Rich Franklin as both a man and an MMA fighter. He’s intelligent, respectful of the sport and almost all of its participants, “does business” the right way within the UFC, and is an all-around great ambassador of MMA. If it weren’t for Anderson Silva, Franklin might very well still be the UFC MW champ. At some point after Franklin-Silva 2, Dana White said in an interview, “Rich Franklin is the best MW in the world, he just can’t beat Anderson Silva”.
But therein lies the “weak chin” issue. At MW, Franklin is bigger, stronger, has more cardio, and better “cage generalship” than most of his opponents. At LHW, Franklin will get muscled around the ring and hit MUCH harder than he would at MW. While his technical striking proficiency and cardio for the most part translate well for him at LHW, the power factor does not.
This being the case, his “chin” is now suspect. I don’t necessarily agree that Franklin has a weak chin at 205, but that’s the public perception, and the above is IMO the reason why.
Also, to put it more succinctly, it took Anderson Silva a barrage of strikes to finish Franklin, but in a projected LHW bout against someone like Rampage, if Jackson hits Franklin a “Sunday punch”, he’s going to sleep, no two ways about it. I don’t think the reverse can be said.
Hope that answers your question, Turk…
Yeah what Jchol said!!
That and the fact that everytime Franklin get hit square now he keeps saying he blacks out!!
I think the quote from Dana was “Rich Franklin is the best MW in the world, not named Anderson Silva.” But I could be wrong, that just seems like it makes more sense at least.
Am I the only one that thinks Gray Maynard is overrated?I think Edgar(though he lost the decision to Gray),Griffin(who lost a decision to Edgar),And even Spencer Fisher(who also lost a decision to Edgar)are more deserving of a title shot than Maynard.
ya ithink he is a little overrated but may be wrong he is undefeated. but edgar looked really impressive and has improved from his maynard fight. but still i think it should have been deigo vs maynard 4 title shot.
i know diego doesn’t really deserve a title shot yet but, Damn it i hope he wins. and KENFLO destroy BJ!
hope rich franklin wins. he got dis!
Granted he never realy does anything spactacular but hes one of the most solid fighters at 155 and like nightmare said is undefeated.
JAYMz,
You’re DEFINATELY not the only one who things “the bully” is overrated.
Luiz Cane would whoop on franklin. Luiz cane is not imo getting the fights he deserves. This would be a great fight for him to win and to get in the mix with the top contenders.
please gray maynard at this point in time is a joke i think the win over edgar was a fluke and if they were to fight again edgar would easily take him i think edgar expected more of a stand up fight and got caught off guard by the take downs besides maynard has fought no one so tht undeafted record is nothing to be proud of i hope huerta puts him in his place and after diego it should definatly be edgars turn edgar has proven himself and actually beat some good fighters