Dana "Little White Lie": Franklin vs. Liddell, No Tito Ortiz

"Oh!  Delicious!" comes to mind as a way to describe the canard we've been forced to swallow from Dana White.  After adamantly dousing the rumors (once, maybe even twice) that Rich Franklin would fight Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 after the former had to step in to assume Tito Ortiz' coaching position on The Ultimate Fighter--Liddell vs. Franklin has been made official.  Why Ortiz ends up departing from the show still remains a mystery.

This little switcheroo hearkens back to Dana White's insistence to the media that the UFC was not interested in purchasing Pride FC just a few days before they actually did.  After something like that happens, especially to oversensitive, die-hard Pride fans like myself, it's easier to brush-off more insignificant bait-n-switches like the Franklin/Liddell scenario.  It's actually a much more appealing fight than a third iteration of Ortiz/Liddell or a fourth version of Couture/Liddell anyway.

As a wheel on the misdirected hype machine, Ortiz tweeted his take on the bluff, as summarized by 5thRound:

"I haven’t lied to anyone. I was told not to say “Anything”! Having a chance to be sued for $5 million was not a chance I wanted to take. So watch TUF 11 and see what happens. I was just doing what I was told, for once. Sorry!"

"The only reason chuck is talking so much shit. He knows that we aren’t fighting. As I said, “It will happen”! I’m not afraid of anyone and never have been. My record speaks n volume. And 5 title defenses. LR LHT Champ ever!"

"I will be back. Watch TUF 11 to see what happen. Sucks but I will been in the cage this year! I promise!"

"This has been a great day of support and hate. 80/20 split. All the haters will feel like jackasses after its shown on TUF. The truth will prevail. I’ve done it once before, I can do it again."

The Liddell vs. Franklin pairing is intriguing.  They both have somewhat loose and unorthodox stand-up tendencies that feature wide, looping punches anchored by strategic footwork.  Franklin is a bit more technical and conventional, but doesn't quite have the beefy heft on his punches that Chuck does.  After performances worthy of placing him high atop the list of MMA fighters with invincible chins, "The Iceman" has been knocked silly in three of his last four losses, and come up short in four of his last five. 

Rich "Ace" Franklin hasn't seen action since falling to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 in September of 2009.  Franklin's amassed a 3-2 record recently, besting Lutter, Hamill, and Wanderlei, while dropping a close split-decision to Dan Henderson in addition to the Belfort thrashing.

Years ago, Franklin was laying waste to the middleweight division much like Chuck was to the 205-pound class, and both were considered some of the best strikers in the sport.  It will be interesting to see how the fight unfolds and who will succeed in laying the groundwork back towards divisional relevancy.