Rich Franklin (R) of the U.S. fights with Wanderlei Silva of Brazil during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, in Belo Horizonte early June 24, 2012.STRINGER/BRAZIL/Reuters
Wanderlei Silva returned to his native Brazil a hero, but he left the loser of a heart-breaking decision to Rich Franklin in the main event of Saturday's UFC 147 event.
Silva nearly earned a stoppage win over Franklin in the second round, when a right hand sent "Ace" tumbling to the canvas, and "The Axe Murderer" swarmed with hammerfists. However, Silva didn't do enough for referee Mario Yamasaki to intervene, and Franklin lasted until the bell.
From then on, it was Franklin who controlled the action, using his reach advantage and superior mobility to outstrike Silva en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision over a tiring Silva.
After the fight, Franklin revealed the early knockdown left his memories of the fight faint, at best.
"Honestly, I remember in between the second round and the next thing I know it's the fifth round," Franklin said. "I don't remember (the punch that knocked me down). When that kind of stuff happens, you remember bits and pieces."
With the win, Franklin (29-6) rebounds from a February 2011 loss to Forrest Griffin. Meanwhile, Silva (34-12-1), who offered a furious final-round rally that simply fell short of the mark, is just 2-4 in his past six fights.
There have long been rumblings of a potential retirement for the 35-year-old, but UFC executive Marshall Zelaznik revealed at the evening's post-event press conference that the promotion is planning on pitting the former PRIDE champ against Vitor Belfort at October's UFC 153 event in Rio de Janeiro, should Silva elect to return to the octagon.
In additional notable action, middleweight Cezar (Mutante) Ferreira and featherweight Rony (Jason) Mariano Bezerra each claimed victory in their respective divisions in "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil."
Mutante earned a unanimous-decision win over Sergio (Serginho) Moraes, while Mariano edged Godofredo (Pepey) Oliveira, also by decision.
The two fighters each earned their way to the finals through a pair of 16-man tournaments on the first-ever edition of the long-running reality competition series. The show ran over the past 13 weeks on Brazil's Globo network and averaged more than 10 million weekly viewers according to UFC executives.