Rich Franklin: If given another shot, I could defeat Anderson Silva

UFC veteran and former Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin, who will meet Cung Le at UFC 148, discusses his opponent, as well as his future at 185-pounds. Franklin says that he is not opposed to a third encounter with division kingpin Anderson Silva, and reveals that, if given another opportunity, he believes he could dethrone “The Spider.”

Rich Franklin (Begins at 2:28)

“We talked to the UFC, my manager and I, about going back down to 185-pounds, and they were hip to the idea. So, from that point on, I started thinking about 185, and then they actually came to me about Cung Le as an opponent – a bit of a surprise to me. My thoughts on him is that he’s very unorthodox, quick kicks – I definitely don’t want to stand in kicking range. … I’ll gameplan him in the upcoming weeks. Obviously, this is going to be a fight about distancing for me.

If I was able to put a title run together and the UFC wanted to do another fight with Anderson Silva, I would be willing to do another fight with Anderson. And I believe, and this is just because of the champion mentality in my head, but I believe if given another shot, I could with that fight.”

Further Reading: Rich Franklin hoping for another run at the Middleweight title