Luiz Cane Wants to Fight Rich Franklin

Cane's beef with Thiago and Wanderlei Silva is well document. But he's looking to fight Franklin instead.

With many of the top lightheavyweights already booked for upcoming bouts, Brazilian up-and-comer Luiz Cane (10-1-0-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has set his sights on a relative newcomer to the division, but a veteran in the sport: former middleweight champion Rich Franklin (25-4-0-1 MMA, 12-3 UFC, #6 IWMMAR).

Cane has beaten three really solid UFC lightheavies including Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and former WEC lightheavyweight champions Jason Lambert (23-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC) and Steve Cantwell (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC). While those wins may not put him in the general consciousness as a top contender, a win over Rich Franklin, especially finishing Franklin, would definitely be a big win for Cane.

Whether people attempt to write the win off as Franklin moving into a new division and no longer have the physical size advantage that may have contributed to his dominance as a middleweight, he’s an accomplished fighter at 205 and his win over Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1-1 MMA, 2-5 UFC), while at a catchweight, certainly helped legitimize him against a very well respected fighter.

Cane is certainly not looking at a title shot in the immediate short term, but as a potential long term contender for the belt, building a name and working his way into a low top ten spot and adding a respectable performance against a fighter the casual fans are familiar with, and a bout against Rich Franklin is an opportunity to put on that performance.