Travis Lutter talks about his opponent for UFC 83, former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich "Ace" Franklin:
"I think he's definitely better than what he showed in those two fights against Silva," said Lutter. "You're just going up against somebody where everything that Rich does really well, Anderson just happens to do a little bit better. Rich is just fighting the wrong guy for him, whereas I think Rich is gonna be tough for me - it's definitely not one you're gonna phone in. Rich is a tough guy for 99 percent of the guys out there; Anderson just has the unique ability to make people look really, really bad. But with that being said, since I'm such a different fighter from Anderson or Rich, I feel like I match up with both of them really, really well, and I think I can take Rich down. The gameplan's the same as it always is - take him down and beat him up."
I'm telling you, Lutter is a serious spoiler for Franklin's return. Franklin has very good takedown defense, but can definitely get his guard passed or submitted by someone as technical as Lutter. Remember, Anderson Silva is a legit jiu-jitsu black belt and even he was takendown, got his guard passed and mounted. There's very good reason to believe that if Lutter can get the fight to the ground, Rich Franklin will be in serious trouble.
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