Rumor: Henderson vs. Belfort, Franklin vs. Ortiz Possible to Headline UFC 103
The recently-announced UFC 103 main event rematch between Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin could be off following this weeks collapse of Affliction’s MMA promotion and Tito Ortiz possibly returning to the Octagon.
As soon as it was made official, many questioned the headlining matchup between the middleweight contender Henderson and light heavyweight contender Franklin. The fight guaranteed a loss for one of the fighters and forced Henderson to move up to light heavyweight despite being in line for a 185-pound title-shot with his UFC 100 knockout of Michael Bisping.
Though announced, Franklin-Henderson has yet to added to the official fight card for the pay-per-view and rumors are now making the rounds that Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin vs. Tito Ortiz could co-headline the September 19 event in Dallas.
Even before Affliction’s decision to shut down its MMA promotion this week to return to the UFC as a sponsor, UFC President Dana White had announced his intention to bring veteran Vitor Belfort back to the UFC, possibly for a fight against middleweight champion Anderson Silva, should he win his August 1 bout against Jorge Santiago. With the fight now canceled and Belfort left without a promotion to call home, a bout against Henderson at UFC 103 could determine the top contender in the middleweight division.
Tito Ortiz’s UFC return has been called a “possibility” by White, and UFC 103 could be the opportunity for “The Huntington Beach Badboy” to make his UFC return. Though Ortiz hasn’t won in three bouts since his last victory in October 2006, he’d still offer a good test for Franklin, who is likely several wins away from a title shot at 205-pounds.
Though far from official, the changes could boost the event’s lineup by offering a bout between legitimate middleweight contenders in Henderson and Belfort as well as a fight pitting two of the most popular fighters in Ortiz and Franklin head-to-head.
Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC news and UFC rumors.
[Pictured: Dan Henderson]
Tags: Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort
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Oh God…I think I just made a mess in my pants.
Hendo vs Belfort AND Franklin vs. Ortiz.
This would be awesome if the UFC makes these changes, please make it happen Dana.
This I would like to see.
This is waayy better than it would have been had Henderson-Franklin 2 taken place. Henderson vs Belfort would be an awesome fight, Ortiz Franklin would be a perfect headliner beacuse both guys are very popular and former champs looking to rebound and have some taste of glory once more.
Belfort could prove to be a deangerous matchup for Henderson being that Belfort is very fast and has devastating ko power and has a good overall game, but his striking is very good and could cause bug problems for Hendo, unless Hendo does what he does best and take Belfort down and punish him there. This could be the best 185 fight so far this year.
If Ortiz vs Franklin happens i’m rooting for Tito to put a hurtin’ on Franklin. Franklin obviously has the better stand-up, but i honestly feel that he has shown that he wants to fight the true elite at 205, i honestly feel he’s trying to sneak his way into a title shot by fighting guys like Wanderlei who are pretty much in the last chapter of their career,(or maybe i’m soooo wrong and i don’t know what the hell i’m talking about). This could be a fight that can end in many ways, Franklin has the striking advantage and Tito has the wrestling and ground advantage, but his ring rust will for sure cause him some probles.
These two fights would for sure save this card from becoming what it was going to be when they announced Hendo-Franklin 2, this would be a perfect card for this event.
If Tito wins, he’d problably be 2 or maybe even 1 fight away from getting a title shot, but i feel that Franklin would be at least 2 fights away from a title shot, unless he beats Ortiz decicively and beats a top 5 contender after.
If Silva loses to Forrest, the nest title fight at 185 should happen at the end of the year instead of a superfight with S. Silva and GSP.
Awesome post MK4.
I really never understood the appeal of Hendo-Franklin 2. It just didn’t make sense for the two fighters since they are trying to make a run at the belt in two different weight classes. Also, I’ve noticed that Ortiz’s takedowns have not looked the same in his past few bouts, I don’t think that they will be effective if this match occurs. On the other hand, maybe it was just his bad back that was causing his takedowns to look sloppy and his surgery has fixed it. In any case, this is a much better headline than Hendo-Franklin 2.
Rich dose not pick his fights Joe silva AKA(Matchmaker) chooses them Rich has never turned down a fight nor has he choosen his oponents.
The reason the the Hendo rematch was on the card is the fact that many fans felt Franklin won the fight . And frankly this fight was better than Shamcock and Tito 2 and 3 complete blowouts.
No one claimed that Franklin was picking his fights.
Oh, and Franklin did not win that fight.
OH and Franklin did not win that fight! Get out of my sad box!
Thanks for agreeing.
You’re in a sandbox? I wish I was in a sandbox but instead I’m in my florescent lit cubicle. It’s sad really.
redhead basterd, listen new guy,
everyone knows that Joe Silva makes matches, i never said that franklin choses his opponents, but i bet he sure had something to do with possibly getting a rematch with Henderson, especially if it were to be at 205, AND for the record, just watch the fight again, Henderson clearly won and the eye poke had nothing to do with it, there was 12 seconds left when Franklin got poked, i’m sure he wasn’t going to land a miracle punch that was going to ko Henderson.
carls, wat up dude
…. but did you really have to bring up the WWE and Franklin in the same sentence?? AND did you read what i wrote above, i wrote “or maybe i’m sooo wrong and i don’t know what the hell i’m talking about”,
“sneak his way into a title shot” ??????
Franklin never fought for the WWE, and he doesnt go over to Dana’s house for a BBQ once a week so I dont think that would happen.
Franklin has been wanting to fight the top 205ers since he jumped back up to LHW.
He fought Wandy at a catchweight as a favor to the UFC, not because hes trying to catch a break and a whuppin by sneakin into a fight with Machida.
The guy on several occasions has said that he is interested in putting on exciting fights for the fans.
Sorry MK4, but show Franklin some respect.
MK4, Franklin was landining all the punches and kicks in that fight in fact he even broke Disision Dans rib in the fight. So yes Franklin was going to land that miracle punch as you so described and Dan was informed by his corner Listen carfully in round 2 Dans corner man sad Dan move your head more Rich is loading up on the left miracle punch , Dan when leaving his corner is herd saying OH ****! KIRSPLAT shouts out gouge his frickin eye out which I dont know if they pratice that move in his camp but it was clearly efective. And that is why we need instant replays.
carls, dude i have great respect for franklin, thats not even important..
Redheaded Basturd – It’s called a period, use it.
Well then dont accuse him of sneaking his way into title fights and I wont question your lack of respect for the guy.
Mk4
Maybe I’m sooo wrong I dont know what I’m talking about sounds about right.
question MK4
Why would Tito need 2 maybe 1 fight to be in title fight when he has lost his last 3 fights???
Why would Franklin need 2 or more when he won his last fight??
I say neither deserve jack since neither is top 5 unless they beat 2 top 5 205ers is that what you were saying????
MK4 was right though with 12 seconds left if you have not KO’d Henderson by now you aint gonna KO him with 12 sec. left Sorry dont see it.
Miracles do happen just not in MMA. God is a little busy dealing with other stuff, you know trying to provide a escape for all Mankind type stuff..
Etherbunny
F.Y.I I had a (Historectmie) I no longer have periods. A littel sensitivity please !
Onlytrue1, what up dude
i said Tito might need 2 or if he were to really put Franklin away(doubtful), don’t forget that this is a business and Titio is a huge name, i mean Lesnar got a shot at the title after 1 win, they can make that happen again if they wanted to.
carls, you can question my lack of respect all you want dude, i’m not here to prove that to you dude.
What is with you guys the last few days, Fedor has you gents a bit irritated huh? Marvel is respectful and just talking shhh (kinda) and Carls is standing by his opinon (clearly) OT1 h3ll I don’t know
, and REDHEAD well, I’m sorry you have a sad box… play nice gents you all good in my book, be happy its Monday!
24 July 2009 is the day everything changed.
Clearly the effects are spilling over into the frenzy, because the once-civil discourse is becoming fairly…uncivil?
I love you too Fr702!
My roll dawg!!
i think it should be franklin vs ortiz headlining UFC 105. i think its about time the uk had a more exciting main event for their fight cards. Getting bored of most of the cards being UK Fighters.
Totally agree, EB…Combine this with what is already on the rumors list and I put this card above 100 in terms of the potential number of high-quality fights.
It’s debatable but yeah, this card is extremely stacked. So stacked that if this rumor is true then they will have to bump a card that is already listed on the Main Card down to the prelims, but which one? I wouldn’t want to miss out on any of the fights that is currently on the main card. I would have suggested that they move a fight from this card to UFC 104 but that card is already stacked too. Maybe push one fight back to UFN but that card is pretty stacked too. Suggestions?
DANA AND COMPANY….MAKE IT HAPPEN NOW….. AND YALL WILL FOR SURE PUT MAYWEATHERS PUNK A$$ TO SLEEP ON SEPT. 19TH
These two fights would go a long way in helping the UFC top Mayweather on sales.
Ortiz just started training again after back surgery. No way he is ready to fight by UFC 103. Come on this is just speculation and crazy talk. 3 months is the usual training period leading up to a fight, Ortiz wouldn’t even get that. Just not possible and not after back surgery.
As for Belfort vs Henderson! I love it! This fight alone makes much more sense and is a far better fight for fight fans than that pointless Hendo/Franklin 2. Which to me, NEVER made sense.
These match-ups look a lot better. Even though I’d like to see Franky get his revenge after that bull$hit decision he lost. Man, Belfort has a good chance to beat Hendo. His punches are way quicker and he has power. As for the Franklin/Ortiz, ahhh not to excited honestly for that one. I’m looking for franklin to out point Tito. Could be a boring fight actually Imo.
Vitor and Hendo fighting one another is definately winner gets a shot at Anderson Silva at the end of the year (depending on injuries and such)… I personally don’t like the idea of Franklin v Ortiz being the “main event”, for me the “most important” fight should headline if there are no title fights on the card..
Ortiz v Franklin well I can’t get into this fight rightnow, I’m not sold on Jacob what so ever and well its a super dangerous fight to come back to imo we shall see, perhaps on the 31st some of this nonsense will be cleared up..
These fights imo sound much better than hendo vs franklin 2…!
I’m hella excited to see tito return but i have to agree with FR702, this is a dangerous fight for ortiz to return to simply because he’s been out of action for so long and because he’s coming off an injury.
As much as i think hendo deserves a title shot after ko’ing bisping, this fight against belfort, if belfort returns makes perfect sense to determine the #1 guy @ 185. Also, since anderson is fighting forrest next week, the ufc could have been caught in the same situation as maia vs marquardt with hendo and belfort.
Damn dude, i hope this rumor’s a true one because this will not only be a great card, but a great promotion to challenge that dickhead mayweahters fight!
Ortiz is a washed up chump whose ground and pound has been focused on Jenna Jameson so long….
Do I really need to finish that?
The guy is the only “high level” MMA fighter I can think of with a weaker recent history than Fedor.
(Said channeling the voice of that annoying MMA guy on HDNet)
SHE’S TAKEN MORE HITS THAN SNOOP DOGG’S BONG!!!!!!
HE’S LAYING AND PRAYING LIKE THE POPE ON A BENDER!!!!
HIS RECORD IS WEAKER THAN A 105LB NOODLE ARMED MOUTH BREATHER!!!!
HE HAS FEWER QUALITY WINS THAN I HAVE SETS OF CLEAN UNDERWEAR!!!!
HE’S MORE WASHED UP THAN A BEACHED WHALE!!!!
MY VOICE IS MORE ANNOYING THAN THAN MY DRYER EATING A SOCK!!!!
THIS POST IS FINISHED LIKE SPRITE ON A MOJITO!!!!
Bsbiz that’s awesome lol. I just wanna hop your the tube and smack his head whenever I hear some of the worst analogies come out of his mouth
I thought I was going to see some fighter bashing, kinda prepaired myself for but alas not so much
FR, you should know that I’m better than random fighter bashing.
can’t wait if these happen lets go franklin and hendo. please someone beat Anderson. belfort and hendo have a good chance IMO. even though i see franklin beating Ortiz i don’t think he’ll ever become LHW champ.
I was a little confused when I read Hedo vs Franklin II. This makes MUCH more sense
The UFC should finalize this card fast to built up the hyoe and promote this event properly because Mayweather is fighting that day and we don’t want that boxing event to out perform this event(at least i don’t anyway), this card could be strong enough to have a lot of drawong power.
I need a moment…
*sniff* *sniff*
I smell bleach…
not that kind of moment… that’s saved for the hope of seeing MCC at light heavy or a Wandi-Vitor rematch or the Jaguars winning the Super Bowl… close though…
I have a better chance of getting scurvy than the Jags winning the Super Bowl.
The dedicated Jville fan in me is hoping that you neglect your vitamin C intake then…
man so far this card look AMAZING!!!
and Kris,
you have typing error on your UFC 103 rumors it says
rich franklin vs. rich franklin.
Fixed it.
Rich feels there is no better person to face than himself at this time . He will win be split dis !
I would love to see these 2 fights happen, they have so much more appeal than the hendo vs franklin 2. At least with these 2 fights the winners are going to be climbing up their relative rankings to a title shot in their own weight category rather than pitting a middleweight against a light heavy which makes no sense really.
The thought of seeing Belfort back fighting in the UFC is making me a very happy fan indeed and pitting him in against Henderson is even better. The winner should definately get a title shot against the spider, and i think if anyone is capable of beating him on his day it’s Belfort. Im not a big Franklin fan but i think a fight with him and Ortiz would still be a great fight.
Looking forward to this friday for the big announcements to come as well, it s great reading the different thoughts on here on what people think they are going to be
lol sweet deals now thats a pay per view man!!! hope this is the one we get
You know hendo wants revenge on belfort for ko ing his best buddy lindland. I look for Danny to gnp belfort for a decision. I hope this happens!
Oh i will….TRUST!!!
omg…. they better make this happen cause i don’t like being teased like this… those 2 fights make this card very solid.
when do you think they will officially announce the 103 headline??
I’m guessing that this will be a part of the “huge” annoucement on the 31st. That’s my best guess anyway.
I would assume on the 31st T3 (Friday) but that is just a guess…. Hell if Dana says welcome back Tito Oritz and Vitor Belfort you might think that Hendo and Belfort are going to fight one another for the #1 title contender spot….
I also believe that the loser of the rumored bout of Henderson and Belfort will have a MW match~up v Wanderlei Silva in o I don’t know Febuary, which would be a reamatch either way you look at it.. If Vitor Belfort gets signed back to the UFC the MW division has just become very exciting…
either way they need to announce the headliner soon imo. and yes all the above matches mentioned would be awesome. if hendo comes away with a win in this matchup i believe he could carry all that momentum into the dethroneing of Silva. As for Wanderlei, if he rematched vitor i don’t think he would stand too much of a chance seeing what vitor did in his last fight…
actually wanderlei gets the short end of the stick come to think of it…
Belfort is gonna whup henderson ……….. then he will destroy silva . Time for anderson to look human again .
Who has put a “whooping” on Hendo before, and no I’m not taking about being stopped (BlackHouse gang) but just a good ol fashion arse whooping…
I’m not sure how Vitor is going to fair, lets be honest beating Ivan Serati, James Zikic, Terry Martin and Matt Lindland since losing to Hendo isn’t stuff of legand… I really like Vitor but I’m just trying to keep an open mind about this matchup that I REALLY want to see in the octagon
I think that Vitor beating Lindland was a huge win for Vitor. Lindland is no push over and has gone up against some pretty stiff competition in his time and it was a pretty sick KO.
David Terrell
(Dr. Doom) I really don’t think you witnessed the first fight between Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort if you believe the fight will go that way. Vitor couldn’t get his striking off worth $hit because of Dan’s rhythm. I see this rematch being exactly the same as their first matchup, with Dan controlling it on his feet and taking action to the ground when he wants to.
The next fighter to “whup” Hendo will be the first…
this is awesome if its true, but if not then UFC 103 its not worth my money, I would love to see Belfort VS Hendo has the main event.
Might I reccomend your local BWW? Even though you will probably be spending the same amount in wings, biggie beers and jager shots. My friend introduced me to a shot called “acid”. Turrible (* with a charles barkley accent). It’s 151 and Wild Turkey mixed. Perfect for your friend on his/ her next birthday.
You would have to get there a couple hours before the start time to get a seat, but it is generally a good way to bust the married guys out of prison for a night….
BWW is where the married guys go down here in san antonio when there is a UFC event. i like hendo-vitor for the next title shot. i didnt agree when dana said vitor would get an immediate title shot if he signed. someone in the hendo-vitor match is going to be missing at least 1 tooth. those guys both have vicious heavy hands. should be exciting if it happens. im getting all antsy in the pantsy for the july 31st press conference. i wonder what is going to be announced. is frenzy going to have a live link to the press conference like it does with some of the weigh-ins?
“Antsy in the pantsy”
lol, did you just finish a syrup chugging competition?
So bigchris2328, is UFC 103 finally up to your demanding standards?
Assuming that these rumored matches are signed?
I know at one point you were talking about waving off UFC 103 in favor of bombing on up to Oklahoma for UFN 19.
i am with chris on this one. they need these 2 fights to put on a good showing in texas and i also considered the 2 1/2 hour drive to OKC over 103…
He’s going to announce the Atencio will be fighting joe rogan on the 31st for UFN
Rogan by sub. rd. 1
I tried to say something to that effect earlier… bad server request… weak… haha
seriously though I’d take Joe Rogan by triangle choke and then finishing it off by saying “He’s going for the Kimura…”
Hmm.. i think that it will be interesting to see this fight between Vitor and Hendo being for title contension, but it seems as though we have all forgotten about the winner of Maia/Nate being in #1 contension. But it is all just heresay though because there is no formal title contender and i could be completely wrong and they will just be pushed aside which one could expect. I can see if Vitor wins then it would make sense for him to fight the winner of Maia/Nate before Anderson, but it wouldnt make any sense for Hendo to have another fight if he were to win angainst Vitor. i cant wait to see this fight because both fighters looked their absolute best in their respective last fights, and i cant wait to see how the scenario will play out for who will fight anderson.
the winner of maia/nate will get first title shot i see maia winning and taking anderson’s belt.
i see nate doing this before maia….imo…
Ya I truly believe that Maia will have his hands full with Nate. Maia is great but all his opponents losses come primarily by submission. This will be his big test IMO
NOW we are talkin! Those are some fights right there! Two Possible fights of the year.
nightmare you mightve missed the announcement on here a few weeks before 100, but the hendo-bisping winner was going to get the next title shot at mw. then if vitor came over he was going to get the first shot. maia should imo, but he has a tough test in marquardt at 102. if maia wins, and convincingly then he might be mentioned to get it. imo if he beats marquardt he is the #1 contender and should get the title shot.
@EtherBunny, yes i did finish a syrup chugging competition. great way to reference one of the funniest movies ever on the frenzy. just for that you get a “goddammn liter of cola”
@jcohl, if hendo-belfort is signed and tito-rich is, then 103 will warrant a buy from me on ppv[i dont have demanding standars, i just didnt feel that 103 was a good event a few weeks ago. we still dont know what events are signed]. i did get my ticket to the Ultimate Fight Night in oklahoma a few days before 103 and i am trying to get tickets to rampage-rashad, but alot of that depends on my army situation. if i have to ship out early for training then i will sell my ticket[s].
“easy Rod…easy Rod…”
you know where I stand on Maia(stupid Leites…) but I definitely see what you were saying about the MW title. I just think Silva is more apt to sign to someone with a name like Belfort since he already beat Hendo. That’s the only reason I think both Maia and Hendo are kinda screwed here. PLUS, like I keep saying w/ GSP not needing surgery it paves the way for that superfight with Anderson to end the year(not that I as a fight fan want it to happen but it’s good marketing).
hey bigchris2328, I was just goofing about demanding standards, but to be honest in 2009 ecery MMA fan has a right to a decent card for their money. You didn’t think 103 was up to snuff, and you said so.
Good on ya’ for taking a stand against the [bald] Man…
Wow, these fights are both exciting, but like someone else said, I don’t know if Tito will be ready for a fight of this caliber so quickly. They should allow him at least one “warm-up” fight before Franklin, but it does have drawing power. Hendo_Vitor, that’s the heat. Pumped about that, but have the UFC and Vitor even talked yet? If these fights do get signed I pray that they still show Trigg-Koschek on the main card. Lots of UFC events coming up.
Trigg-Kos will still be shown believe me… be pretty hard to relegate that fight to the undercard since it’s Trigg first fight back.
Here’s my view on the Tito “comeback” situation. Tito’s style is such that for the most part he’s ok to jump into bigger fights early since he has great wrestling. If he were a BJJ guy or a polished striker it’d take awhile to get the timing back. However, since he relies heavily on being so strong and having good take downs he has that to fall back on. As long as he comes in at full(even 3/4) strength he could always try to grind it out on his wrestling alone.
Although Hendo vs Belfort would likely be an exciting fight and a great headliner,I’m sure Hendo won’t be too happy about it as he thinks he has already earned another shot at Anderson(where does it put him if he loses?).I’m sure Maia is not happy with being looked over as well,as he has been deserving of a title shot for a while and if he beats Marquardt(which I think he will)how can you argue with that.
he is going to get the first title shot if he beats marquart because he earned it first.
and should’ve an A on my research paper this past semester because oh all the work I put in but I still got an 89.4…
It isn’t going to happen right away unless he KO’s Marquardt and being as only one guy has done that… don’t bet on it. Especially with Belfort possibly coming over and Hendo’s dominating performance against The Count.
wow fireworks
I guess my investment in these tickets will pay off!
I just read an article on fighters Only Mag. were A. Silva said Vitor is not my friend and Blah Blah Blah!! I thought they were friends< I guess not.