Kampmann is out; who will fight Franklin in Belfast?

Beowulf

Beowulf

Registered User
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Despite the negativity from some, I was looking forward to this fight. Kampmann can take a beating, and proved to be tough, with great standup. I hope they find a good replacement. Franklin vs. Okami has huge potential!!!! Bisping should cut to 185 and take on Franklin. That would definitely work in N. Ireland, and would give him 3 months between fights.
 
Okami is the only logical replacement for Kampmann, unless they bring someone from PRIDE to fight Franklin (Kang v Franklin would be awesome).
 
I think Kang has a badly broken hand from a fight in Korea. That would be cool, but supposedly the PRIDE guys are going to pretty much stay in Japan for now.
 
Rodja said:
Okami is the only logical replacement for Kampmann, unless they bring someone from PRIDE to fight Franklin (Kang v Franklin would be awesome).
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That would be a dream fight for me. I'd take Kang in that one. Isn't Salaverry back in the UFC? Maybe Terry Martin?
 
Rodja said:
I am really glad that they brought back Ivan.
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Me too. I think the UFC made a mistake by letting Salaverry go originally, so I am pleased to see him back.


Franklin will be fighting Okami and this is according to Rich Franklin.
 
With Martin Kampmann (15-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) off the UFC 72 card because of a knee injury, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (21-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has confirmed that he’ll instead fight Yushin Okami (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the main-event bout.

Franklin made the announcement at his official site, richfranklin.com, this morning.

UFC 72 takes place June 16 at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Ireland. The event airs on Spike TV.
 
Cool, I actually am a little more interested in Yushin against Rich. I don't think Okami will be able to muscle around Rich like he did against Swick. This also sets up a clear next top contender for the MW belt after Marquardt-Silva.

Anyone ever seen Okami-A. Silva? I know it ended in a DQ, but was wondering how it looked before this. (I'm looking at Alexander "the MMA Encyclopedia" on this one).
 
Okami has a good shot if he makes it to A. Silva. You can watch their first fight here: Invalid Link Removed

Anderson almost lost his sh1t. He seems to have honestly not known it was an illegal kick. I don't know why guys in PRIDE never used that.
 
Def a much more interesting fight, not so much of a "warm up" fight for Rich. I still have no idea why it is in Ireland! lol

Okami is good with gnp, but his standup is lousy. If you have wanted the 69 swick fight, you know what i mean. If Rich can keep it standing, he will pick apart Okami's stand up.

Though it will be a good test for Franklin, I will say KO or TKO rd2 for Franklin.
 
Five added to UFC 72 Card in Belfast

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Five bouts ranging from the lightweight to heavyweight divisions have been signed and added to June 16th’s UFC 72 card in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

UFC 72 is headlined by the middleweight matchup between former 185-pound champion Rich Franklin and highly regarded Japanese contender Yushin Okami, as well as the light heavyweight clash between Forrest Griffin and Hector 'Sick Dog' Ramirez. Tickets are on sale now.

In main card action, talented Canadian Jason ‘The Athlete’ MacDonald returns to the Octagon and looks to get back on the winning track after a hard-fought defeat at the hands of Franklin when he battles The Ultimate Fighter 3’s Rory ‘Outburst’ Singer, who has made it a habit of getting into ‘fight of the night’ quality bouts during the course of his 2-1 Post-TUf campaign, in a middleweight contest.

Also on the pay-per-view portion of the card, lightweights Clay Guida and Tyson Griffin lock horns in a bout many feel has the potential to steal the show on June 16th. At the very least, the winner of the match between these two 155-pounders will make the move from prospect to contender in the division.

On the UFC 72 card, the fighting Irish are well represented, with local heroes Colin Robinson (heavyweight) and Stevie Lynch (lightweight) making their Octagon debuts against Eddie Sanchez and Dustin Hazelett, respectively. And we can’t forget the two Irish-American heavyweights making the trip across the ocean, as unbeaten Jake O’Brien attempts to keep the momentum going from his upset win over Heath Herring when he faces TUF2’s Tom Murphy.

Eight down, one more bout to be added for the UFC’s historic first trip to Belfast.
 
Rumor has it that Rich's camp turned down a fight with Filho.

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MMA News and Notes
Atlee Greene - Monday, May 28 2007 - 12:23 PM

-Dana White announced at the post UFC 71 press conference that the sale
of Pride Fighting Championship to Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta is complete.
It seems now their plan is to bring the major Pride names to the UFC
instead of keeping Pride and the UFC separate. In my opinion I always
thought this was going to be the case. Even if the Fertitta's re launch
Pride it will be presented a few levels ahead of WEC but the Ultimate
Fighting Championship will be the dominant brand in Mixed Martial Arts.

-You can check out the entire UFC 71 post fight press conference

-The UFC offered Paulo Filho (14-0) the fight with Rich Franklin at UFC
72 on 6/16/07. However Franklin's camp turned down the fight saying
they had no interest in fighting Filho. The 2nd choice was Yushin Okami
and Farnklin's camp accepted the bout.

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Monte Cox's Statement:


Quote:
First, the potential opponents are run through me... not "Franklin's camp."
Second, we were presented with a couple options... I chose Okami and it was his to take or turn down... he took it. Filho was the next choice.

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I think Franklin will KO Okami. He struggled in some of the exchanges with Swick and I think Rich is too big and strong for Okami to take down consistently.
 
jas123 said:
Lee Murray, Chris Leben? :twisted:
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Those are good choices, although you're post in the multimedia thread really answers the question. Jason Thacker via incredibly horrible workout regime. The way he hit that tire with the sledgehammer reminded me of Fedor, only better.
 
The Thack Attack would no doubt stuff Filho's shot and then "Crocop" him just like in his garage, and you have it the wrong way around the way Fedor hit the tire reminded me of Thacker.

I wonder who could keep it off the ground with Filho? Franklin has a better shot than most. Linland? Terry Martin's a tank?
 
headspike said:
Paulo Filho is the #1 185er in the world
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Not now IMO. He needs to fight some better people, although the same could have been said of Franklin when he was champ. I could see him climbing to the top soon, though. The problem with 185/183 is that not enough of the top guys (A. Silva, Lindland, Franklin, Hendo, Kang, Filho) have fought each other.

Franklin-Okami - I think Franklin will outmuscle Okami or at least neutralizre his takedown attempts. Franklin by KO round 2.
 
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