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jnrpepaseed
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Post subject: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115  Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:49 am |
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Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:49 am
Posts: 545
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Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (25-5) has reportedly agreed to return to the light heavyweight division to face Chuck Liddell (21-7) at UFC 115 in Vancouver after Tito Ortiz was forced to withdraw from the June 12 event for undisclosed reasons.
MMAWeekly confirmed the change in opponents based on an initial report by Fighter's Only earlier today.
Speculation had been mounting regarding the inclusion of Ortiz for the upcoming Canadian event after "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" and wife Jenna Jameson continued to post discouraging tweets via their official Twitter accounts.
It's unclear at this time whether or not Ortiz was able to complete his duties as coach on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 but "Ace" is expected to take his place opposite "The Iceman" in June.
Franklin has been on the sidelines ever since a first round technical knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at last November's UFC 103 event in Dallas. Despite a narrow victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99, the former school teacher went 1-2 in his 2009 fight campaign after losing a close split decision to Dan Henderson to start the year.
While his star may have faded ever since he was obliterated by current division kingpin Anderson Silva in 2006 (and again in 2007), Franklin is still a top level competitor with good hands and an underrated ground game (Ace has never been submitted).
He should prove to be a much stiffer test for the icy one if they indeed square off this June.
Star-divide
Liddell hasn't competed since a technical knockout loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97: "Redemption" from the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, back in April 2009. In fact, since his last stoppage over Ortiz, he's only had one victory in five attempts, a gritty unanimous decision win over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 in Dec. 2007.
Company president Dana White tried to convince his good friend and big time money-making machine to hang up the gloves, saying he had made a ton of cash and had nothing left to prove. Liddell — who will be 40 years old by the time his Vancouver fight rolls around — was adamant that he's still got some fight left in him.
The two-time TUF coach just wanted a little time to "give his brain a rest" -- and tear up the dance floor on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
Now it's back to business for the former light heavyweight champion -- but he should consider himself on borrowed time if he's unable to put forth an impressive performance on June 12.
In addition to Liddell vs. Franklin, UFC 115 is expected to feature a heavyweight mash-up between Mirko Cro Cop and Pat Barry while welterweights Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago make their case for 170-pound contendership.
_________________
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2010
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JonnyMuzz
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:55 am |
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Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 11:00 pm
Posts: 784
Location: Australia
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Is getting a little sick of the Tito saga. Time to move on imo.
_________________
.. JonnyMuzz ..
“He who attacks must vanquish. He who defends must merely survive. "
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Jason123420
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:34 am |
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Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:09 am
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Location: Canada
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Kamara666
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115(update) Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:18 pm |
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Liddell-Franklin Slated; White Issues Denial Saturday, March 13, 2010
by Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)
23199
Former UFC champions Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin have verbally agreed to meet in a light heavyweight tilt in June, Sherdog.com has learned from multiple sources. UFC 115, though not officially announced, has been tentatively scheduled for June 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Liddell, 40, just completed a six-week taping in Las Vegas for Season 11 of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” which debuts on March 31. Liddell and longtime nemesis Tito Ortiz served as opposing coaches on the show and were originally expected to meet for a third time at UFC 115. It remains unclear what will become of that proposed bout.
A message posted late Saturday on UFC President Dana White's Twitter account denied that the bout was slated. "We are doing couture vs franklin not chuck," read the post.
Sherdog.com re-affirmed with its sources that the Liddell-Franklin bout is still in play.
A UFC hall of famer, Liddell last competed in April, when he succumbed to first-round strikes from 2005 Pride Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Urged to retire by UFC President Dana White, Liddell instead took a spot on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” hinting all the while that he intended to return to the cage. He has lost four of his last five fights but carries with him one of the sport’s most impressive resumes, including a pair of wins over both Ortiz and fellow hall of famer Randy Couture.
The 35-year-old Franklin has not fought since his technical knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 six months ago. He had been linked to a potential matchup with Couture at UFC 115. Franklin holds notable victories over Brazilian legend Wanderlei Silva, the world-ranked Yushin Okami and the late Evan Tanner.
Item updated at 7:35 p.m. ET with a quote from Dana White's Twitter. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Liddel ... nial-23199
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Naeblis
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:29 pm |
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jnrpepaseed
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:15 pm |
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Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:49 am
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Dent
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:02 pm |
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Location: In front of you
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Dragonfoxy
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:37 pm |
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jnrpepaseed
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Post subject: Re: Breaking News..Ortiz out, Ace in to take iceman@115 Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:10 pm |
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Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:49 am
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