Franklin vs Silva - a future or a legacy?

James Burman, writer for "Fighters Only Magazine" provides an expert's view on the latest UFC matters.

Both Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva seem to be at pivotal points in their careers and a win for either fighter could have lasting implications for both.

Rich Franklin is criminally underrated in my opinion. In the public eye he seems to have been defined by his losses as opposed to his wins and that’s an absolute shame. If you look at his career he has only lost to three fighters but they are three of the best – Machida, Anderson Silva and Henderson. His last bout against Henderson was a razor close decision loss but he’s best known for the beatings that he took at the hands of Anderson Silva. I would argue that if Anderson Silva didn’t compete in the Middleweight division Franklin could still be champ. At middleweight he seemed to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was capable of dispatching any title contenders yet not capable of capturing the title whilst Anderson Silva had it – the Spider simply has his number.

Moving up to light-heavyweight he put together the type of composed and calculated performance that we’ve come to expect from him against Matt Hamill before dropping the previously mentioned decision. A win over Wanderlei will give him a win over a certified icon in the sport – Franklin has beaten a lot of good guys but no icons. Apart from that though, as the fight is taking place at catch weight, it will not affect his standing in either light-heavy or middleweight divisions. What he will do though is continue to build his rep and hopefully turn the tide in what the fans know him for.

Wanderlei Silva’s legacy in the sport has already been established mainly through his reign of terror in the now defunct Pride FC. Unlike Franklin he’s fought, and beaten, a who’s who of fighters from his time but some are questioning whether the sun is beginning to set on his career. With four losses in five fights things don’t necessarily look good for the ‘Axe Murderer’ but on closer examination you need to look at who those losses were against. KO loss to Quinton Jackson (former UFC champ), decision loss to Chuck Liddell (former UFC champ), KO loss to Dan Henderson (former Pride FC champ) and a KO loss to heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop. That’s a tough run of opponents there if ever I saw one!