There’s gotten to be alot more anticipation and anxiety over the matchups that we use to just see as glorified ass-whuppings, advancing the UFC’s top stars to the top. If nothing else, 2007 changed the way that we view the stepping stone matchup forever. We learned the hard way that sometimes stepping stones step back.

It’s not easy to say, simply, that this fight is going to go one way or the other. People will say that Franklin has a clear edge. He’s a multiple time UFC champion and a serious warrior in terms of his ability to stand and trade. There’s no dispute that Franklin is the favorite in this fight, but there’s something about this fight that makes it more than just a promising, starching knockout and the physical dominance that we have seen from Franklin in many of his highlight worthy performances.

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