195 lbs. Rich “Ace” Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort
Main Event Odds: (-145 Franklin / +115 Belfort) at Sportsbook.com
Prediction: I see Belfort landing a big haymaker in round three for the victory. Bet on Belfort at +115 underdog
The evening’s main event, a 195 pound catchweight bout, pits former Middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin against returning UFC legend Vitor Belfort. Franklin, after suffering two vicious losses to Anderson Silva, has found himself stuck in sort of an odd place in the sport, and a high-profile win against Belfort could help re-establish him as one of the sport’s top stars. Belfort, once considered done due to painful personal problems, has been on a tear recently, and will be looking to continue riding that momentum back into the Octagon where he was once a huge star.
Franklin is in an extremely odd spot. Heading back to Middleweight would not be advisable after the way he was destroyed by Silva, and the current Light Heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida, also destroyed him years ago and has only gotten more dominant since then, leaving Franklin without a real home. Still, he is one of the best fighters in the world, with deadly striking, great takedown and submission defense, and a relaxed style that makes him hard for opponents to deal with. From a technical standpoint, he will enter this fight with a striking advantage, although he will give up a lot in power and explosiveness. If Franklin uses his speed and footwork to keep Belfort at a distance and uses his jab to set up punches, this is a very winnable fight for him.
Of course, Vitor Belfort has proven that he is a hard nut to crack over his last few fights. A major star in the early days of UFC, Belfort fell off almost completely following some personal tragedies. In his last two fights, though, he has shown a lot of his old brilliance, destroying his opponents with huge punches. If he wants to return to his old stomping ground triumphantly, he is going to have to show the aggression he has shown in his last two fights, pushing the issue and trying to get to Franklin with his huge power punches.
I think that Belfort has a great chance at pulling off an upset here. Franklin’s boxing is definitely more technical, but he is not known for outstanding knockout power, which means that if Belfort needs to, he can take a few of Franklin’s less powerful punches to hand out a few of his own power shots.
Ultimately, I don’t think Franklin’s boxing is stifling enough to keep Belfort from landing his shots, and eventually one of Belfort’s haymakers is going to get the job done. Belfort by TKO, round 3.
