Anderson Silva is a -205 favorite against Franklin (+170), which seems about right. I don't see anything going differently although I do like Franklin and if he wins so they will need to have a rubber match. But confidence in Silva is so high right now that this is an appetizing
bet. Silva has dominated the UFC since arriving in June of 2006, beating Chris Leben handily at Ultimate Fight Night 5 before getting his shot at Franklin at UFC 64, a fight Silva won by TKO in the first round. Silva and Lyoto Machida are the only two people to put a blemish on Franklin's record. Silva has since went on to beat Travis Lutter at UFC 67 and Nate Marquardt at UFC 73 with neither contest going the distance. Silva's record currently stands at 19-4.

Silva (19-4), fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil, is an extremely well-rounded fighter with phenomenal striking skills as well as a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After defeating Chris Leben and Franklin in the first round in his first two UFC fights, “The Spider” took on Travis Lutter in February in what was supposed to be his first title defense, but Lutter fell short of making weight by a half-pound. As a result, their fight was altered to a three-round non-championship bout, but Silva still finished Lutter by submission at 2:11 of the second round. Silva then took on Nathan Marquardt at UFC 73 in July and finally got his first successful title defense under his belt with an impressive first round TKO win.

Rich Franklin (24-2), fought a good portion of his career as a light heavyweight before moving to the middleweight division. At UFC 53, he stopped UFC champion Evan Tanner to capture the middleweight crown. He made his first title defense against Nate Quarry at UFC 56, winning by first round KO, and his second defense against Canadian David Loiseau at UFC 58 showed his championship heart as he won a five round decision despite fighting much of the fight with a broken hand. Franklin faced Anderson Silva in his third UFC title defense, but was stopped by the Brazilian in the first round. At UFC 68 in March, he returned to the Octagon, and in front of his home state crowd, stopped Jason MacDonald at the start of the second round. At UFC 72, Franklin defeated Yushin Okami by unanimous decision to earn a rematch with Silva and a shot at redemption.

This fight will be in Franklin's hometown, so expect him to be ready for it. He had to have surgery on a nasal fracture he received due to 20 unanswered kicks by Silva in their last fight, and you can bet that's extra motivation to reclaim his title. Franklin has since won two matches, the first at UFC 68 against Jason "The Athlete" Macdonald by TKO and the other at UFC 72 against top ranked contender Yushin Okami. The fight against Okami was only the second Franklin fight that has went the distance,
but he won by decision.

UFC betting is great entertainment; the fight for the championship is fast-paced action at its best. Click here to view the UFC 77 Betting Odds!

 

The UFC 77 "Hostile Territory" Fight Card

Undercard:

Hvywt.: Tim Sylvia (23-3) vs. Brandon Vera (8-0)
185 lbs.: Jason MacDonald (19-8) vs. Yushin Okami (20-4)*
170 lbs.: Josh Burkman (8-4) vs. Forrest Petz (13-4)
185 lbs.: Kalib Starnes (8-1-1) vs. Alan Belcher (10-3)
205 lbs.: Stephan Bonnar (10-4) vs. Eric Schafer (7-2-2)*
155 lbs.: Jorge Gurgel (11-2) vs. Alvin Robinson (8-2)*
185 lbs.: Ryan Jensen (11-2) vs. Demian Maia (5-0)*
155 lbs.: Jason Black (21-3-1) vs. Matt Grice (8-1)*