UFC is rightly called the young man’s sport. Fighting is always young man’s sport and it is true. If one had seen the fight between Wnaderlei Silva and Rich Franklin in the Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germnay UFC 99 one would believe about UFC. The fighters were engaged in an entertaining three round battle that saw Franklin emerge victorious via unanimous decision in the UFC 99 main event. The scores of Franklin were twice 30-27 and 29-28.
Franklin fought Silva at catchweight of 195 pounds said after the fight, “After my last fight in Dublin, it was a disappointment going to a decision. I didn’t want to go to a decision again, but Wanderlei’s way too strong of a fighter.” But Silva had different opinion and he was crowd favorite. He told after the bout, “This is my victory. I fight for my fans. I wanted to give a show for them. They’re the reason why I’m here today.”
After a touch of gloves to initiate the action, Franklin and Silva circled, each waiting for the right jiffy to appoint. 90 seconds in, intermittent bursts of accomplishment started appearing, with no solid shots being landed. That changed moments shortly as both gained with strikes, but the first major unpleasant move of the competition saw Silva trip Franklin to the picture and start on a ground and pound attack as the crowd chanted his name. With under a minute left, the fighters rose and Silva tried to lock in a decapitate choke and pull guard, but Franklin slide free instantly and when the two rose, the former UFC middleweight champ grounded with a hard kick that jarred Silva just earlier than the bell rang.
Franklin tried his luck with kicks early in round two, and when he added in punches to the head, he put Silva off balance as he tried to counter. As the round entered its third minute, Silva began to get a look in his eye like he was about to ignite the match on the war, but Franklin’s effectual movement and truthful shots kept ‘The Axe Murderer’ at bay. With 1:15 left, Silva landed an overhand right, his best punch of the fight thus far, and moments later, he landed another, staggering Franklin. The two then traded trips to the canvas as they tried to land haymakers that missed, and the crowd roared in appreciation for the show these two battlers were putting on.
The best exchanges of fights came in the third round and the crowd went electric for the efforts of Franklin inside the Octagon. As the final two minutes approached both the fighters were seen pushing their best shots on each other and landed with some hard shots. Franklin had been able to take the composure, kept on scoring and ended the game in his favor with few points ahead. With the win, Franklin improves to 27-4 with 1 NC; Silva falls to 32-10-1, 1 NC.
