Hit the Mat 01.12.09: Sleeping on a Dream

Posted by Matt McEwen on 01.12.2009

Rich Franklin vs Dan Henderson. If you think Saturday's main event isn't a fight worth looking forward too, read on to see why you're wrong.

What happens when you put on a dream fight, and everyone sleeps on it?

It's an odd question, but it's also one we'll be getting the answer to Saturday night (or, rather, afternoon). When Rich Franklin steps into the Octagon in Dublin to take on Dan Henderson, he will be taking part in one of the biggest fights of his career, with just about no hype at all. 411's own Todd Bergman made the case late last week that no one should even really care about the fight.

With all due respect to my ostensible coworker, that is just so wrong.

So why should we care?

First, it's a fight with some interesting threads of story weaved into it.

Prior to the dominance that has been Anderson Silva's run as middleweight champion, shockingly less than three years ago, this was one of the fights that fight nerds everywhere were dying to see. Franklin was in the process of cleaning out the UFC middleweight division and making a name as one of the faces of the company. He was on a two year winning streak since dropping down to 185lbs, including brutal beatings of well thought of (at the time) contenders Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. A more natural fit at 205lbs, Franklin's run of dominance was prompting people to ask if anyone would stop him before he killed off the entire division.

Among the more discriminating fight fans, the answer to that question was often the PRIDE middleweight champion, Dan Henderson. He had been a tournament champion from the early days of the UFC, but had then moved to the Japanese promotion prior to the change over to ZUFFA ownership. Becoming arguably the most successful American fighter in the Far East, Henderson proved to be a dangerous opponent against larger fighters (and an eventual two weight class champion in PRIDE), and a dominant force at 185lbs.

So, had this fight happened in mid-2006, it very well could have been one of the biggest fights ever. Instead, a combined three losses to Silva later, we get this fight, but with almost no fan fare, and on a card destined to be lost in the shuffle between the New Year's and Super Bowl shows.

And of course, it's no longer a fight between two of the top middleweights in the world, but rather between two top fifteen light heavyweights who could very well be on the verge of title contention or......returning to the middleweight division as a TUF coach. An odd set of circumstances, but it does at a further level of intrigue.

While the winner here would certainly make an attractive potential title contender at 205lbs (picture it - either Franklin tries to become only the third man to win titles in two divisions, or Henderson tries to regain the crown he lost in the unification fight with Jackson), the UFC seems to want the winner to drop back to 185lbs, coach a US squad on TUF, and then fight Michael Bisping at the end of the year in a fight that Bisping would be given little chance of winning.

Like I said, there are many interesting story lines weaved into this fight. But at it's base, this is just a plain old interesting fight between two very skilled, elite level fighters.

Franklin has been tagged as a "Jack of all trades, master of none" type of fighter, but that is demeaning to his talents. He's a good kickboxer who, even with the move up in weight, still has good power. His return fight to 205lbs featured him picking Matt Hamill apart on his feet and winning with a body kick. Not exactly and easy fight to take as his first at a new weight class, and even though he was a bit of a favourite, many people expected Franklin to have a lot more problems with Hamill than he did.

Beyond his kickboxing, his jiu jitsu is a part of his game which he rarely shows off, but when he has Franklin has shown good skill on the ground. Just think back to his fight with Travis Lutter and that nice escape he made from what seemed like a fight ending armbar attempt. Training with Jorge Gurgel for as long as he has means that Franklin has enough skills to compete with just about anyone at 205lbs on the ground. His wrestling has always been a bit of a question, but he has shown enough skill that he can keep fights standing up against the will of more wrestling versed opponents.

Of course, in the world of MMA, they don't come much more wrestling versed than Dan Henderson., a two time Olympian. And while wrestling may be his base, Henderson has, like Franklin, become a "Jack of all trades," though he's obviously mastered the wrestling portion, and his left hand is a difference maker no matter who he fights.

So, how do they actually match up? Possibly the most interested observer of anyone, Michael Bisping figures the fight will will go like this:

"Rich Franklin is probably the smarter fighter out of the two. I think he's got better footwork, probably more technically composed fighter. Dan's got great knockout power obviously. They're both fantastic fighters," Bisping commented.

"If I had to pick a winner, I'd probably go out on a limb and say Rich Franklin by decision, to be honest."

Perhaps not the most mouth watering assessment of the fight, but an interesting one none the less. The fighters themselves have gotten into the act, with Henderson predicting that if he can't beat Franklin up on his feet, then he'll take him down and "beat the shit out him there."

No THAT is how you hype up a fight a bit better.

In response, Franklin applied a bit of grace and wit, but you have to imagine he has the same intentions. If he is looking to get into title contention at 205lbs, he will have to keep the fight standing, hope he is strong enough in the clinch to control Henderson - which is no easy task - and, of course, avoid the power in Henderson's left hand.

Ideally, win or lose, it will be Henderson who coaches against Bisping in the coming TUF season. If he beats the Brit, which would be expected, a rematch with Anderson Silva isn't entirely unattractive, but there aren't too many people out there who want to see Franklin/Silva III. In the interest of PPV building and star building, Henderson belongs on TUF. And if he wins, Franklin is most likely only one high profile fight away from a title shot.

So, yes, some of the shine might be off the main event Saturday as opposed to 2006, but if you aren't looking forward to this fight, are you really an MMA fan?

********

The main event isn't the only fight that should be worth watching Saturday.

The semi main of Mauricio Rua and Mark Coleman should be a spectacle, for lack of a better word. A rematch of a controversial PRIDE fight, the fight marks Rua's - the former consensus #1 205lber in the world - return from double knee surgery, Coleman - the first UFC heavyweight champion - returning to the Octagon and debuting at 205lbs, all at the same time. That's a lot in one fight, and add in the fact that with a good showing Rua could be right back in title contention, it's one you should not leave the room for.

The rest of the televised card features a big UFC debut for Dennis Kang who, if he can get back in form, could be a factor in the middleweight division, a grappler's dream match of Rousimar Palhares and Jeremy Horn (thought the latter might be past his sell by date at this point) and guaranteed fire works between Chris Lytle and Marcus Davis.

It may not be the greatest card in history, but I have a feeling when Sunday rolls around, the pundits will be talking about as yet another top to bottom solid PPV from the UFC.