UFC 99: Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin AND Anderson Silva

by Nate Wilcox on Jun 10, 2009 6:27 PM EDT in MMA News

3614473111_565101cf45_medium As if Wanderlei didn't have enough troubles going into his bout against Rich Franklin this Saturday at UFC 99, former teammate Anderson Silva is training Franklin. Despite speculation that Wanderlei might be forced to retire if he loses to Franklin, it almost seems to me that he's looking past Franklin to Anderson Silva.

From CagePotato:

And what do you think of him training with Anderson Silva before his fight with you?

It’s good.

Good?

Yeah, because if he trains with Anderson, he won’t pass the second round with me. You’ll see.

I heard you offered to put $50,000 down on this fight in a bet with Anderson. That's pretty bold. Have you heard any word from him about whether he’ll take that bet?

No, no. You know, I believe in myself. I believe in the job I can do. And because of this I will put money down. But who will put down against me? He will not say yes, so you tell me who believes more.

Wanderlei talks more about his motivation to go after Anderson to MMA Weekly:

"Of course everyone want to fight the champion. I want to fight with him," said Wanderlei of the other Silva. The two have been part of an escalating war of words in recent weeks, Wanderlei especially critical of his former training partner's performance in recent bouts.

"Maybe now, after I pass Rich, it's possible I fight for the champion. I want to fight Anderson.

"Of course, I would have a lot of emotion (fighting him) cause I train with him a lot of times and I know his faults and he know my faults. I trained a lot after he leave. He train a lot. But I see him fight many, many times; maybe I know what I need to know to beat him."

For his part, Rich Franklin is pretty cooly logical about why he's training with Anderson Silva to prepare for this fight, from MMA Mania:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What was the experience of training with Anderson Silva like for you? Who approached who as far as setting that up? What was the motivation behind setting up that connection?

Rich Franklin: The big story here seems to be me training with Anderson for this fight. We have spoken several times about training together in the past, but schedules have been conflicting.

Anderson’s manager, Ed Soares, gave me a call inviting me to train in LA for this fight. They figured it would be helpful since Anderson and Wanderlei used to be teammates. I checked with my coaches Neal Rowe, Rob Radford and Matt Hume, and they all agreed it was a good idea.

I'm really going to be pulling for Wanderlei here, but I have to say the UFC isn't doing Franklin any favors with this matchup either. After his razor-thin loss to Dan Henderson, Franklin is further from contention than ever. Perhaps the UFC sees him as a kind of super Marcus Davis, a popular fighter who won't contend for a title but can be used to put on big fights in their European shows.

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Franklin is 100 times the fighter Marcus Davis will ever be

by StevenGiles on Jun 10, 2009 6:32 PM EDT reply actions

Hence “super.”

Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

by Richard Wade on Jun 10, 2009 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions

If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.

by BJJDenver on Jun 10, 2009 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions

sure

he’s a headlining version of Marcus Davis, the mid-card regular.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Nate Wilcox on Jun 10, 2009 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m pulling for Wandy, but I think it’s overall better for Franklin to win. His shelf-life is much longer & he hasn’t been brutalized nearly as much. If Silva loses this one decisively, he should retire out of safety. I don’t want him to die in-ring.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by Scott C. Broussard on Jun 10, 2009 6:37 PM EDT reply actions

So by helping out the gatekeeper, are Soares and Silva hoping to shield the title from any tough contenders?

by George Lucas on Jun 10, 2009 6:46 PM EDT reply actions

whatever happened to that unspoken brazilian rule? you know the one that says never help an american train for a fight against another brazilian.

by rickards on Jun 10, 2009 6:46 PM EDT reply actions

= p

lets get this straight… Anderson didnt set up train Rich ;Anderson’s management did for some reason w/o Anderson’s knowledge. And secondly Rich and Anderson trained briefly only a few days. When asked about it Andersom said he didnt think itd hwlp much. If tbeyre going to hype this they should at least do it well……..

by evilstuntz on Jun 10, 2009 6:47 PM EDT reply actions

note : im typing this on my phone so i may have typos…

by evilstuntz on Jun 10, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions

by Nick Thomas on Jun 10, 2009 7:02 PM EDT reply actions

Never thought I would ever see that.

Also, I want an Adidas Anderson Silva shirt.

by Tonley on Jun 10, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah isnt it funny how the Countdown said they didnt allow cameras and photos ane those pics came out weeks ago… my thoughts r that the ufc set up the session ane wanted to put it on Countdown but Anderson said no.

by evilstuntz on Jun 10, 2009 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions

A friend of mine took those photos.

He is friends with Rich and happens to live in LA. He is also Portuguese so he acted as a translator sometimes. He told me on the second day they asked him to stop taking photos. Rich’s boxing trainer is friends with the guy who owns the website that first ran those photos.
I went the last day Rich was training at the gym. The gym is awesome. It’s all black inside with an octagon and a ring. I was lucky enough to hang out with Rich for a while and watch him train. Besides being a beast in training, he is one of the coolest people I have met in my life.
Before I met him I was rooting for Wanderlei. Now, I’m just hoping for a great fight.

by Shatto1 on Jun 11, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Franklin is 10x the fighter Wand is now....

He’ll pick him apart. Wand is a legend, but his fans are blind to the fact that Franklin is a complete fighter.

by Dexerion on Jun 10, 2009 7:24 PM EDT reply actions

Franklin will win. He can still make a title run at LHW or wait for Anderson to leave and get the MW title back

by Flyghtt on Jun 10, 2009 8:07 PM EDT reply actions

Eventhough....

Wanderlei said he was going to ‘study’ Rich for the first round and then pick him apart in the second…… Yeah……… Right!

He’s trying to get the Ace to believe that and then flash him with punches early in the fight… Wanderlei needs to win or his days are numbered.

by MiCe on Jun 10, 2009 9:20 PM EDT reply actions

Both are great, I can’t root for anyone. I like both fighters equally for totally different reasons. We’ve seen pretty poor performances from wanderlei recently, he is the one that need to step up and show he is still competitive. I think franklin can still get a loss without looking TOO bad.

by spectaa on Jun 10, 2009 9:49 PM EDT reply actions

I like Wandy

but he should stfu about Anderson and worry about being picked apart by Franklin.

Kuwabara Kuwabara

by J. B. Maddox on Jun 10, 2009 9:56 PM EDT reply actions

My intuition is telling me that this fight won’t be as exciting as everyone thinks. Rich will keep his distance and pick apart Silva to a unanimous decision.

by goodbones on Jun 10, 2009 11:07 PM EDT reply actions

Cheer for Wandy, bet on Rich.

Keep firing Assholes!

Out out, you demons of stupidity!

by Ubernoober on Jun 10, 2009 11:47 PM EDT reply actions

I’m afraid you’re right on about that.

by Patrick79x on Jun 11, 2009 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly my thought. The most telling part is on Countdown Wandy said he doesnt care about winning its about the fans and putting on a show. I know thats why people love him but that is also becoming his downfall. I think even with a loss here they shouldnt cut him, I would like to see (of course if he loses) him get a couple of easier fights. Maybe let him fight some mid-tier guys.CC,Hendo,Chuck,and Rampage its not inconceivable that even a top level fighter even in their prime could lose all of those fights so im not writing him off completely yet though.

by xbuckeyex05 on Jun 11, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions