Not cut from the typical UFC pay-per-view cloth, the low-profile UFC 147 nonetheless featured a fan-friendly main-event in the form of Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva.
Sold as a pay-per-view to American fans, UFC 147 served as the finale for season one of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” and was originally to feature coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva in the main-event. Belfort, however, was forced to pull out of the fight, which thrust Franklin into the main-event in a rematch of his 2009 win over the PRIDE legend.
He would again emerge victorious, besting Silva in a unanimous decision. Silva had a major moment of glory in the second round, when he dropped Franklin to the mat with a right hand and nearly stopped “Ace” with a barrage of strikes on the ground. Franklin, who later confirmed that he was so rocked that he couldn’t remember much of that beatdown or the three rounds that followed, narrowly escaped the TKO loss thanks to the horn bringing a fortuitous end to the round.
The rest of the fight largely belonged to Franklin, whose striking was sharper and more effective. Silva also appeared noticeably “punched out” after the second round, which enabled Franklin to considerably outpoint the sluggish Silva for the duration of the bout. Franklin also successfully scored a takedown at the end of the third round.
Silva moved forward with a last-ditch, reckless offensive late in the fifth, but it was definitely a case of too little, too late. Worse, Franklin actually got the better of a wild final exchange, stumbling Silva with a hook just as the final bell sounded.
After the fight, Franklin confirmed plans to resume fighting at Middleweight, where he hopes to make one final run for the title before retiring.
— Earlier in the night, Cezar Ferreira and Rony Jason won the Middleweight and Featherweight “TUF Brazil” finals, respectively, via unanimous decisions.
Fabricio Werdum, meanwhile, showed off his continually-improving striking by making quick work of the tough Mike Russow. Werdum won via TKO just 2:28 into the bout.
Full UFC 147 Results:
Felipe Arantes drew Milton Vieira (28-29, 29-28, 28-28)
Marcos Vinicius b. Wagner Campos via TKO (punches) at 1:04 of Round Three
Thiago Perpetuo b. Leonardo Mafra via TKO (punches) at :41 of Round Three
Hugo Viana b. John Teixeira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Francisco Drinaldo b. Delson Heleno via TKO (punches) at 4:21 of Round One
Rodrigo Damm b. Anistavio Medeiros via submission (RNC) at 2:12 of Round One
Hacran Diaz b. Yuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Fabricio Werdum b. Mike Russow via TKO (punches) at 2:28 of Round One
Rony Jason b. Godofredo Pepey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cezar Ferreira b. Serigo Moraes via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Rich Franklin b. Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
