Will Rich Franklin make a difference at 205?

Kelly – Yes, but not for another year or more. Switching weight classes is harder when you have to go up instead of down. Why? Cutting weight is cutting weight, whether it’s down to 185 or 170. But going up usually means the fighter sacrifices size and strength to the bigger guys in the class and Rich’s case is no different. Now that he’s shown he can handle a legit 205-er, he’ll be given a more radical challenge, like Liddell, Rua, Jardine, or Rampage, all of whom have lost their last fight and need to take on a recognizable name to get back in the title hunt. However, Franklin’s not as strong as Rampage, not as fast as Liddell, not as good on the ground as Rua, and not as unpredictable as Jardine, so he has some challenges to overcome first. A Franklin-Machida matchup would be good for the fans, but not for Rich since Machida’s stomping of him is still fresh in his mind. I think Franklin will shake up the LHW division, but only after he gets more comfortable at the weight, puts on a little more muscle and stops having nightmares of Anderson Silva.

Mark- Yes, I think he will make a considerable difference. The change of scenery will do him good. He needs to gain weight if he’s ever going to make a run at the ELITE of the class but I think there’s a handful of fighters in the top 10 he could fight right now. Of everyone in that class I think Rampage is the only fighter he wouldn’t have a chance with if he fought them today. Machida might give him problems as well but I think he could defeat Jardine, Evans, Shogun (because who knows what he’s even capable of right now), and Liddell. Another media member thinks he would have the easiest time with Wanderlei Silva but I’m not that comfortable backing him up that far. I certainly feel he’s got more potential at this weight class, which is odd, because this class is the best in the sport. I think what it comes down to is that Anderson Silva is the top fighter in the world right now and he’s a terrible match-up style wise for Franklin and after getting destroyed twice, the UFC won’t give him a third shot. So, he pretty much has to make a difference if he ever wants to be more than a gatekeeper at middleweight.

What WILL Chuck Liddell do now and what SHOULD he do?