Franklin Considering a Move to Light Heavyweight

Rich 'Ace' Franklin is set to fight Travis Lutter at UFC 84 but after that his future is in question. Both he and Lutter have lost to middleweight king Anderson Silva, Franklin losing twice. Fighting Silva a third time would be just plain stupid for Franklin and the UFC, and I don't even think he would agree to a third bout.

Franklin is in serious limbo in the middleweight division with his two losses to Silva. What else can he do? He's not a serious contender yet he's probably the 2nd best middleweight fighter at the moment. He looked great against Jason MacDonald, and was dominating Yushin Okami when he got caught in a knee bar and almost tapped. He still won that fight convincingly and looked ready to challenge Silva again. Needless to say, Silva has Franklin's number.

As long as Silva is in the middleweight division, Franklin's career is at a stalemate. A move up to light heavyweight gives Franklin a new lease on his career in the UFC. It would be an extremely smart move for both Franklin and the UFC.

The middleweight division needs a tremendous shake up and it's not going to be Franklin that does it. Who knows what's going to happen but the 205 pounders should look over their shoulders if 'Ace' moves up in weight. The middleweight and heavyweight divisions are terrible but the UFC's other divisions more than make up for it. Let's hope Franklin jumps up and makes a little noise amongst the big boys.