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The fight that should have been made for UFC 88

UFC 88 is set to take place in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 6th. and so far it’s shaping up to be a great night of fights. There are several big names on the card and the show will have a main event of Chuck Liddell taking on Rashad Evans. There is one fight that isn’t on the card but should be. Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin are both on the card but should be squaring off against each other.

Rich Franklin is moving up to light-heavyweight to face Matt Hamill although Franklin may still be the best middleweight in the world other than Anderson Silva. Franklin has fought at light-heavyweight in the past and, at least on the surface, it seems like a smart move for him. He has several new fights ahead of him that would be great for him and MMA fans. However, I think staying at middleweight would be best for his career. There are still many good fights for him at 185, and anything is possible if Silva would lose the belt.

Dan Henderson is making his second fight at middleweight and will face Rousimar Palhares, who submitted Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84. Henderson is coming off back-to-back losses, although both were against current champions, Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva. Henderson was actually winning the fight against Silva before being submitted in the second round. Henderson is the type of fighter that could eventually knock Silva off his throne. If Henderson picks up a dominant win over Palhares, it might be enough for a re-match with Silva. Although a match with Franklin to determine a true number one contender would be an outstanding fight.

A Franklin-Henderson match up would be a classic bout between the striker and the grappler, although both men possess all-around games that could take the fight almost anywhere. Dana White and Joe Silva need to give serious thought on making this fight. It’s a fight that could main event any pay-per-view and both fighters would have something to fight for. I think this fight will take place eventually, but it should be taking place this September.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm and is filed under Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, In the Cage, Rousimar Palhares, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Pay-Per-View, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson, UFC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.