UFC 99: The Comeback Officially Announced, Headlined by Franklin-Silva
Rich Franklin
On the heels of their official announcement of UFC 98: Lesnar vs. Mir 2, the UFC officially announced today UFC 99: The Comeback, which is slated to take place on June 13th at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.
Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva will meet in a in a 195-pound catchweight bout to headline the UFC’s first trip to Germany.
Tickets for UFC 99 are priced from 250 Euro to 45 Euro and go on sale to UFC Fight Club members on Monday, March 9th and for UFC Newsletter subscribers on Wednesday, March 11th. Tickets, which are available via eventim.de or from the Lanxess Arena, will then go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 13th.
Unofficially confirmed bouts for UFC 99 include Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher, Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy, Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders, and Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring. Paul Taylor and Stefan Struve are also expected to be in action on the card.
UFC 99 will air in the United States on tape-delayed pay-per-view beginning at 10pm ET.
For the latest UFC 99 fight card check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
Tags: Ben Saunders, Cain Velasquez, Caol Uno, Dan Hardy, Heath Herring, Marcus Davis, Mike Swick, Paul Taylor, Rich Franklin, Spencer Fisher, Stefan Struve, Wanderlei Silva
Loading ...
Sick, I think Frankilin vs. makes an interesting match-up but I still don’t see the point of the catchweight. The both weigh over 205, why strain the body when it’s not necessary. And yes, I’ve heard everyone’s point that this is test for Wanderlei to make middleweight. I’m sure he can make 185 in the gym and spar hard the next day to test it rather than this catchweight bout.
Regardless, I’ll be happy and disappointed no matter who wins, as I like both these guys. I think Wanderlei is more desperate for the win though.
Actually, they don’t both weigh over 205. They both weighed in under 205 for their last fights, and maybe only walk around as high as 208, where Forrest Griffin walks around at 225. Also, this is an “on the way down to MW” fight for Silva I believe, and making 185 in the gym and sparring the next day isn’t a proper test for fighting in a real fight, because you don’t have all the pressure that goes along with it.
True enough, but I’m sure Franklin walks more around 215. I’ve read somewhere that Wanderlei is around 208 though. I understand your point as I’m sure we went over this in a prior thread, I still feel the same way though.
Reading “Ufc 99: The Comeback” has placed LL Cool J firmly in my head. Damn it.
should be an interesting fight, I give the advantage to wandy. hopefully he can regain his pride form when he murdered everyone. I like ace but he hasnt been the same since spider destroyed him the first time. go wandy. tko in the 3rd.
This fight has me very nervous. Wanderlei is my favorite fighter and I do not want to see him lose again. I think Franklin is the more techniqual striker of the two but Wandy definitely has the power advantage. Very nervous.
Going to be a great fight i hope wandy wins cuz he needs one bad. Plus i’d like to see him actually make it down to middle weight and begin his massacre of the 185 div.
i really like both fighters so this’ll be a tough one. Bigchris…when he was murduring everyone, remember when he’d land a punch then immediately go for a muy thai clinch and start the knee barrage? how come he doesnt do that anymore…we all know franklin is succeptible to the clinch…
glad to see this fight happening, and at 195 where both fighters can come in comfortable. Im going with franklin on this one i expect him to beat wandy like chuck beat him, one could only hope for a war like that thow. Although its a long shot i would love to see houston fight wandy someday, although he definately needs some wins first.
i like wandy and agree he was a murderer but like wit shogun i cant help but think that the stomps and kicks on the ground added to his mystique. i got franklin by tko in rd 2 for my fantasy but i hope rich gets his nose smashed in by anotha silva
like both will be happy who ever wins hope wanderlei does a little more so when he goes to MW he becomes champ!
and i can’t beleive they’re actually doing a 195 pound thing.
I believe that the no stomping and knees to the head not being allowed in the ufc took away from wandy and shogun’s “mystique” those guys were absolute monsters in pride and coming over to the ufc seemed to take away some of their aggression. add to that the fact that wandy is getting older and isnt the same dominant fighter he was in pride, it sucks. I really enjoyed watching those two not to mention cro-cop in pride. they have not been the same since they came to the ufc. I think pride allowed for more aggression in their fighters, and the ufc has more rules, its different than pride and is a adjustment for the aggressive fighters. i.e. wandy, shogun.
Wanderlei v Franklin in Germany as a main event, ya Im good with that… Catch weight is a nice weight for the both of them I believe, they both have power in their hands and both condition like animals (literally) so stamina won’t play any factor here.. Wanderlei being a BJJ blackbelt and Franklin escapes armbars by BJJ blackbelts, clinch work goes to Wand as do the leg kicks…Franklin isn’t fond of people attacking him(he doesn’t like to backwards) and Wand promises violence. As long as Wanderlei doesn’t attempt to “box” with Ace (like he did v Rampage III) he should be able to stay out of Franklin’s reach advantage.. All and all this is a very close match on paper, I like them both soo we shall see I guess.. But no matter who wins, imho the loser is not getting to cut they both are wayyyyy too famous and a huge draw to cut…
i agree fr about the being cut….the ufc would be dumb to drop either of these guys because if they went to affliction or strikeforce it could be bad for the ufc
I cant see wandy winning this…Its sad to say but hes just not the same wandy and franklin will tko or ko him sometime in the late first round or the early second round……..they need to build wandy up imo and put him against some easy competition to build some momentom because he is facing more competition in too many matchs he hasnt even had a little break i mean look at his last fights….
jackson
hunt
yoshida
nakamura
arona
arona
fujita
cro cop
hendo
liddell
jardine
jackson
and now franklin
wandy facing the stiffest competition and i think its just tiring him out and finally tearing his body apart add that with his age and being close to being done and you get a wandy that has trouble with stiff competition and big hitters…I just cant see him beating franklin unless he catches franklin early
but i hate fights like this and love them too…There both great and it will be a great fight but i cant stand to see either of these guys lose..i like them both so much but i like franklin a little more so ill be rooting for him
This is good match and I’d watch it BUT this doesnt help anyone of them. If Ace wins how will this help him in the LHW div? And for Wandy, he should be facing a MW now to get his feet wet, maybe a gatekeeper like Jason macdonald. BUt hell, great match, wanna see it!
i dont know ifwandi is ready for a jason macdonald yet..seriously because macdonald could pull the upset for wandi’s first MW fight id give him a tomato can to ko first
I wouldnt want Wandi to fight a total Can- he would get destroyed and when Wandi wins, he destroys. Macdonald could upset Wandi, yes but if he cant beat Macdonald, then I think Wand should hang it up. I get your point though. Build up Wand slowly for a shot at the MW gold.
hopefully wandy can win a few fights before his contract is up that way he goes out on a nice win streak. hopefully he does not turn into the next ken shamrock. remember when shammy was doing good then started the downslide of his career. I would hate to see wandy go through that.
I want to see Wanderlei ko Rich because Rich is becoming to cautious when he fights wich makes him gun shy and scared to really engage his opponents. I want Silva to make a run at the 185 crown
wand and franklin should be great at this weight rather than an arbitrary 205 or 185 – it might be optimum. i always feel the gaps are too big 20 lbs is pretty big to put on or off.
what if it went
170 183 195 210 230 250+
(my math is flawed but you see the point – more divisions, more guys at optimum form_ the sport has grown to accomodate i believe.
also i think the weigh ins should be on the day of which would mean the fight night weight is their real weight
Just because the weigh-ins are the same day does not mean they fight at their real weight… maybe closer to their real weight, but I’ve seen guys weigh-in same day for wrestling matches 5-10 lbs below their “real” weight. The other factor is, if you really do make guys fight at their “real” weight, you just moved 90 % of 205ers that actually weigh 220 to having to fight at HW, and 90% of 185ers that actually weigh 195-200 up to 205. What you’re talking about would COMPLETELY change MMA the rankings and force the sport of MMA to dropback and punt in terms of how fighters train and fight. I also suspect that if guys had to fight at their “real” weight, you would have a lot more fighters not training to their full potential, a la “Fat” Brandon Vera at HW.