Franklin-Nogueira Greenlit for UFC 133 itsgoing downnnnnn CLICK THIS SHIT!

Friday, April 22, 2011
by Mike Whitman (mwhitman@sherdog.com)


A light heavyweight attraction between Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is being targeted for UFC 133.

The promotion announced that the fighters have verbally agreed to the bout, which will go down Aug. 6 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Though not officially announced by the promotion, UFC 133 is also expected to feature a pair of intriguing middleweight tilts, as former light heavyweight king Vitor Belfort squares of with judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jorge Rivera meets Alessio Sakara.

Once the UFC’s top middleweight, Franklin (Pictured; file photo) has competed at fluctuating weights since his second loss to Anderson Silva in 2007. Since that time, “Ace” has found mixed results at light heavyweight, knocking out Matt Hamill and Chuck Liddell, while dropping decisions to Dan Henderson and most recently Forrest Griffin at UFC 126 in February. Franklin has gone 2-3 in his last five Octagon appearances, which included two 195-pound catchweight bouts.

Once a star for Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships, Nogueira had a seven-fight winning streak snapped last year with back-to-back defeats inside the Octagon. After making an impressive UFC debut against Luiz Cane in 2009, Nogueira eked out a split decision over Jason Brilz the following year before dropping a unanimous nod to Ryan Bader at UFC 119 in September. Nogueira most recently competed at UFC Fight Night 24 last month, dropping another unanimous decision to a decorated wrestler in Phil Davis.

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Ken Pishna www.mmaweekly.com

The UFC, via its official Twitter account, Friday afternoon announced that Li’l Nog would face Rich Franklin at UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.
UFC 133 fight card filling up quickly with addition of Li’l Nog vs. Rich Franklin.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had been
Nogueira (19-5) is coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. He lost a decision to Ryan Bader at UFC 119 last September, and then suffered another decision loss to Phil Davis in March.

Facing a fighter such as former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin may be just what the doctor ordered to pull Nogueira out of his slump. It’s no easy fight, but that may be what he needs.
“He’s just been bummed because so many times his past few fights, he’s been set up to fight some big guys,” Ed Soares, manager for Nogueira, told MMAWeekly Radio recently. “Yes, Phil Davis is a wrestler; yes, Tito Ortiz is a wrestler; but you can’t really compare their level of wrestling. It’s just a bummer because he had a fight against Forrest Griffin, then Forrest Griffin gets hurt, and then he has to fight Jason Brilz. Then of course he fought Ryan Bader and then he’s supposed to fight Tito Ortiz and he gets hurt and he ends up fighting Phil Davis.

“I think his main focus now, I think it’s really important for him to put together and be involved in fights that mean something. He’d really like to fight someone with a name.”

Franklin (28-6) definitely has that. Though he has alternated between wins and losses lately, and is coming off of a loss to Forrest Griffin on Super Bowl weekend, Franklin is one of the more popular fighters in the UFC and was the reigning middleweight champion until an unstoppable force name Anderson Silva toppled him from his throne.

The two will meet on a UFC 133 fight card that also features Vitor Belfort squaring off with Yoshihiro Akiyama in a middleweight showdown.