Watch Belfort vs Franklin - Fight




Vitor Vieira Belfort (born April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has fought both in Japan and the United States. The majority of his bouts have taken place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and he is the former UFC light heavyweight champion. He is the current Cage Rage light heavyweight champion, and is making his second return to the UFC.
Soon after, he moved on to compete in the UFC, where he was given the nickname The Phenom. He beat two fighters in his debut event in the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament. At age 19, Belfort became the youngest fighter to ever score a victory inside the octagon.[5] Belfort's next match saw him score a technical knockout (TKO) against the UFC 6 runner-up Tank Abbott in a non-tournament fight, knocking Abbott down and finishing him with a ground and pound attack.
In 1997 Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture. Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his boxing skills negated by Couture's clinch fighting.
After this defeat, he would fight twice more in the UFC. The first of these fights was against a training partner of his, Joe Charles, who he defeated quickly via armbar without throwing a single punch. A year later, Belfort faced rising Brazilian star and future Pride Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva. Catching Silva early with a left cross, Belfort chased him across the ring with a flurry of punches, TKOing Silva in just 44 seconds.

Prior to becoming a full time MMA fighter Franklin graduated from William Henry Harrison High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later earned a master's degree in education, and taught mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.[3] Franklin has a wife named Beth who is an English teacher at Reading High School.

Franklin and American Fighter President Jeff Adler created The Keep It In The Ring Foundation to advocate non-violence and build character in youth. This is done through after school sports, martial arts, and life skills programs. His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to Jim Carrey, who played the character Ace Ventura. Joe Rogan once called him "An angry Jim Carrey". Franklin made his acting debut in a film called Cyborg Soldier where he plays an escaped super soldier and partners with Tiffani Thiessen.
Franklin is a born-again Christian and quotes Psalm 144:1 on his webpage and fighter gear. February 21, 2006, was officially named "Rich Franklin Day" in Cincinnati by the city's mayor. He tested as a "Celtic Warrior" by Warrior Roots


UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center.[1] The event is scheduled to be broadcast in the United States and Canada on pay-per-view.

Mike Swick was to face Martin Kampmann on the main card to determine the number one contender for the Welterweight Championship currently held by Georges St-Pierre. This will be the first UFC PPV to have a total of 13 fights. A portion of the preliminary card will air live and commercial-free during an hour long block on Spike. Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller and Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal will be the only scheduled fights to be shown on Spike. As a part of the UFC/ESPN UK regionalization strategy the bout of Paul Daley vs. Brian Foster was to air on ESPN (UK) prior to Daley replacing Swick against Kampmann. [edit] Fight card changes It was announced on July 20, 2009 that Rich Franklin will headline UFC 103 against Dan Henderson. However, on July 31, 2009 it was announced that Vitor Belfort would take Henderson's place. A previously announced bout featuring Steve Steinbeiss has been moved to UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard. A previously announced bout featuring Aaron Simpson was moved to UFC 102. An injury has forced Matt Wiman out of a bout with Rafael dos Anjos. Rob Emerson will be filling in. A knee injury has forced Thiago Tavares out of his bout with Jim Miller and will be replaced by UFC newcomer Steve Lopez An injured back has forced Dan Lauzon out of his bout with Rafaello Oliveira and will be replaced by Nik Lentz. An injury has forced Mike Swick out of his bout with Martin Kampmann, Paul Daley will move up from the undercard to face Kampmann. Rick Story will replace Paul Daley in the undercard bout against newcomer Brian Foster..