Hey, looking back at the thread, I called it... the title shot and title win for Franklin. It was impressive too, because Evan Tanner is a really good fighter, and this is twice now that Franklin has had his way with him in a fight. In fact, I could be wrong, but I believe they are the only two losses Tanner has had in UFC in years.
For those hooked into UFC behind the star power of Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture from season one of "The Ultimate Fighter" show, they both are back in action at the next UFC pay-per-view, UFC Boiling Point, in early August. Liddell defends the Light Heavyweight Title (that he won from Couture in April) against Jeremy Horn (who owns a win over Liddell in UFC and Chuck's adament about avenging the loss). Couture looks to bounce back by fighting Mike Van Arsdale in what could be the most accomplished fight ever between wrestlers in UFC; I believe both are former NCAA national champions. In what should be a sweet welterweight match, the last two guys who lost high-profile matches to champion Matt Hughes now get to fight each other, Frank Trigg against Georges St. Pierre. Also, Diego Sanchez, the middleweight winner from season one of "T.U.F." makes his PPV debut on this card.
The best news for UFC fans is this isn't the next card overall. Their new TV deal with Spike TV calls for six more TV specials, two for the remainder of this year and four for 2006. The next free TV card is coming up, I think a week or two ahead of the PPV. I heard that one of the more well-known characters from the reality show, Chris Leoban (the red-headed southpaw) will be fighting veteran "Predator" Patrick Cote in one of the featured fights on the TV card. I think it'll be like PPV, seven or eight fights over two-and-a-half or three hours, just not as high profile fights as the PPV. More details about the card and such should be out soon.
UFC should really pay me for hyping them....
