Rich Franklin already has a date set for his return to the octagon. On the 3rd of March, the ex-UFC middleweight champion will face the Canadian Jason MacDonald at UFC 68, in Ohio. -----
Cool!
That should be a good fight. I searched and found some of McDonalds past fights in other orgs online, and he has some decent ones. Hopefully Franklin isnt gun shy after the beating he recieved by Silva.
The Crow didnt seem the same in his last fight vs Swick (?) after Franklin rung his bell. Evan Tanner hasnt fought since a few UFC’s back, although he looked decent that night, he never seemed to be the same after his bloody defeat by franklin either. Swick and McDonald seem to be the new blood at 185? Id like to see Grove fight again also.
The TUF Killer is out of his league here. Franklin by ass whupping.
I think I’m gonna have to say Franklins’ stand up is miles ahead of McD’s. Only hope for McDonald is to get it to the ground. I think Franklin by overwhelming (T)KO…
I like MacDonald, but I don’t know if he’s ready for someone like Franklin, who’s extra motivated following his defeat to Anderson Silva. MacDonald’s stand-up game isn’t great. He has great submission skills, but Franklin’s no slouch on the ground, either.
I say Franklin by 1st round TKO.
[quote]snipeout wrote:
I think I’m gonna have to say Franklins’ stand up is miles ahead of McD’s. Only hope for McDonald is to get it to the ground. I think Franklin by overwhelming (T)KO…[/quote]
Exactly, I see him getting obliterated standing. Plus I think Franklin is savvy enough to stop McDonald’s ground game. Possibly before it even gets to the ground via a good sprawl and or a kick to the face. FACE!
Although I’m a fan of Franklin, I think he’s over-rated.
Sure he’s 20-2, but if you look at his opponents, who has he beaten thats considered elite? Evan Tanner maybe?
He was lost against Silva’s Thai Clinch. Its not like it was an advance technique for the counter (bring Silva’s hips in).
Until I see Franklin win against an a top caliber opponent, I will only consider him a good fighter and not great.
[quote]DaMadMonk wrote:
Although I’m a fan of Franklin, I think he’s over-rated.
Sure he’s 20-2, but if you look at his opponents, who has he beaten thats considered elite? Evan Tanner maybe?
He was lost against Silva’s Thai Clinch. Its not like it was an advance technique for the counter (bring Silva’s hips in).
Until I see Franklin win against an a top caliber opponent, I will only consider him a good fighter and not great. [/quote]
I agree with all that, but what do you think of his chances against McDonald?
I think it will be closer than most ppl predict it will be.
Franklin overrated vs. McDonald underrated
McDonald is tough to judge based on two fights I’ve seen against the Herman and Leben.
It will be good fight either way.
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[quote]DaMadMonk wrote:
I think it will be closer than most ppl predict it will be.
Franklin overrated vs. McDonald underrated
McDonald is tough to judge based on two fights I’ve seen against the Herman and Leben.
It will be good fight either way.[/quote]
I don’t think it is going to be that close. Franklin is a better wrestler and won’t let it get to the ground unless he is on top, and in view of mcdonald’s two victories in the UFC, I don’t think he’ll stay on the ground with him
I’d like to see McDonald win. I like watching his ground game, it’s a nice contrast to all the young strikers getting the hype.
But, I wasn’t that impressed with McDonald’s countering Leben when standing up, and I think Leben is no where near as good of a striker as Franklin.
What happened to that Quarry guy that Franklin KO’d?
[quote]treco wrote:
What happened to that Quarry guy that Franklin KO’d?[/quote]
He had a back injury unrelated to the Franklin fight, I haven’t heard anything definitive, but it came down to him being unable to continue fighting.