Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin
Despite my absence from MMA blogging, a very interesting matchup between Chuck "the iceman" liddell, and Rich "ace" Franklin, had sparked my interest.
Liddell, coming off from retirment, is back inside the octagon, taking on one of the most dangerous strikers in the game today, Rich Franklin. This fight is very important to the careers of both men. Franklin's losses to Anderson Silva have set him back in the rankings, and he is working his way back up the ladder to a title shot. His last win, a win over Wanderli Silva, was a great start. He was then backtracked by a loss to Vitor Belfort. Liddell on the otherhand, needs this to prove his legitimacy as a UFC hall of famer.
What this fight will boil down to is who can utilize their striking better. Liddell is an aggressive counter striker, with knockout power in both hands. Franklin, is more of a gameplanner, who will be trying to find his shots, and set Liddell up for the KO. Both men tho, are standup fighters, and this fight is guarenteed to be a standup war!
The way i see this fight going, is simple, stand and slug it out and see who falls first. Though there is little chance of takedowns, the possibility is there. Liddell and Franklin both utilized their underated wrestling games, in their wins over Wanderli Silva. Franklin has more submissions than Liddell does, but Liddell's takedown defense and submission defense are prone to make Franklin work hard to use any slight ground advantage he may have on Liddell. "The Iceman" is very popular for his ability to sprawl and brawl, and punish opponents who attempt takedowns. wich more than likely will force Franklin to stand with Liddell. Not taking away from Franklin, but let's face it, if Tito Ortiz couldn't take Liddell down, it's highly unlikely that Franklin will find a way to plant him to the mat.
However, i think that takedowns are going to be rare in this fight, and Franklin will be doing what Franklin does best, standing and trading punches. This fight features two of the best, if not, the best, standup fighters the UFC has on it's roster. I give A Slight Technique advantage to Rich, but a slight power advantage to Chuck.
For Chuck to win this fight, he needs to make Rich uncomfortable in the standup, not an easy deed. Chuck will have to work more leg kicks than he is used to, and expect more as well. Franklin is a world class striker, and when he starts to get comfortable, it's only a matter of time before he finds the shot he is looking for. Chuck will have to find his angles, land big shots when they are there, and make Rich want to take him down. That way he can work on taking control of Rich, and find his shot before Rich finds his.
Franklin on the otherhand, will have to pick his shots very wisely throughout the fight. Liddell is one of the world's best counter strikers, and can drop you while backing up. If Rich plays into that and chases Chuck it could very well be lights out for "ace". Franklin will have to use many leg kicks to get in and hit chuck with his powerfull hooks. Trying to stun Chuck will be the key here, because that will be his oppurtunity to hit him with the knockout punch, or shoot for a takedown.
Though it's a hard to pick a winner, given these are two of my favorite fighters, as well as two of the best strikers in the world, i personally give an edge to "the iceman" in this fight. First off, despite Rich's amazing power, i'm not completely sure that he has the power to KO chuck, but Chuck does have the power to KO Rich Franklin. The longer they stand and trade, the more time Liddell has to land his devestating knockout punch. Liddell should be able to avoid taking too big of a shot from Rich, and defend takedowns, if Franklin chooses to shoot. Another thing to keep in mind is, Chuck was expecting to fight Tito Ortiz, his biggest rival, and you can be rest assured that Liddell came in with all the motivation and confidence in the world! An opponent switch will not throw Chuck off his game, but rather, irritate him further, and make him put that frustration on his new opponent, who in this case is Rich Franklin. Both fihters have had some lackluster performances as of late, but have shown potential for a career comeback. Liddell should be a bit quicker, and stronger, and has more defensive weapons than does Franklin. Expect a 3 round war, that goes to Liddell by way of Unanimous decision.
Enjoy!!!
Liddell, coming off from retirment, is back inside the octagon, taking on one of the most dangerous strikers in the game today, Rich Franklin. This fight is very important to the careers of both men. Franklin's losses to Anderson Silva have set him back in the rankings, and he is working his way back up the ladder to a title shot. His last win, a win over Wanderli Silva, was a great start. He was then backtracked by a loss to Vitor Belfort. Liddell on the otherhand, needs this to prove his legitimacy as a UFC hall of famer.
What this fight will boil down to is who can utilize their striking better. Liddell is an aggressive counter striker, with knockout power in both hands. Franklin, is more of a gameplanner, who will be trying to find his shots, and set Liddell up for the KO. Both men tho, are standup fighters, and this fight is guarenteed to be a standup war!
The way i see this fight going, is simple, stand and slug it out and see who falls first. Though there is little chance of takedowns, the possibility is there. Liddell and Franklin both utilized their underated wrestling games, in their wins over Wanderli Silva. Franklin has more submissions than Liddell does, but Liddell's takedown defense and submission defense are prone to make Franklin work hard to use any slight ground advantage he may have on Liddell. "The Iceman" is very popular for his ability to sprawl and brawl, and punish opponents who attempt takedowns. wich more than likely will force Franklin to stand with Liddell. Not taking away from Franklin, but let's face it, if Tito Ortiz couldn't take Liddell down, it's highly unlikely that Franklin will find a way to plant him to the mat.
However, i think that takedowns are going to be rare in this fight, and Franklin will be doing what Franklin does best, standing and trading punches. This fight features two of the best, if not, the best, standup fighters the UFC has on it's roster. I give A Slight Technique advantage to Rich, but a slight power advantage to Chuck.
For Chuck to win this fight, he needs to make Rich uncomfortable in the standup, not an easy deed. Chuck will have to work more leg kicks than he is used to, and expect more as well. Franklin is a world class striker, and when he starts to get comfortable, it's only a matter of time before he finds the shot he is looking for. Chuck will have to find his angles, land big shots when they are there, and make Rich want to take him down. That way he can work on taking control of Rich, and find his shot before Rich finds his.
Franklin on the otherhand, will have to pick his shots very wisely throughout the fight. Liddell is one of the world's best counter strikers, and can drop you while backing up. If Rich plays into that and chases Chuck it could very well be lights out for "ace". Franklin will have to use many leg kicks to get in and hit chuck with his powerfull hooks. Trying to stun Chuck will be the key here, because that will be his oppurtunity to hit him with the knockout punch, or shoot for a takedown.
Though it's a hard to pick a winner, given these are two of my favorite fighters, as well as two of the best strikers in the world, i personally give an edge to "the iceman" in this fight. First off, despite Rich's amazing power, i'm not completely sure that he has the power to KO chuck, but Chuck does have the power to KO Rich Franklin. The longer they stand and trade, the more time Liddell has to land his devestating knockout punch. Liddell should be able to avoid taking too big of a shot from Rich, and defend takedowns, if Franklin chooses to shoot. Another thing to keep in mind is, Chuck was expecting to fight Tito Ortiz, his biggest rival, and you can be rest assured that Liddell came in with all the motivation and confidence in the world! An opponent switch will not throw Chuck off his game, but rather, irritate him further, and make him put that frustration on his new opponent, who in this case is Rich Franklin. Both fihters have had some lackluster performances as of late, but have shown potential for a career comeback. Liddell should be a bit quicker, and stronger, and has more defensive weapons than does Franklin. Expect a 3 round war, that goes to Liddell by way of Unanimous decision.
Enjoy!!!
