Nov 8 2007
UFC 77 Results- Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin
The first PPV bout of the night was a very competitive bout between Kalib Starnes and Alan Belcher. Kalib got cut in the first but decided to continue fight the second round. Midway though the second round the fight is stopped because the doctor claims he can see Kalib’s skull. Kalib is furious the fight got stopped and appears to momentarily feud with his own corner.
In the next PPV bout Stephan Bonnar controlled Eric Schafer up until the fight was stopped by TKO in the second. It appeared that Stephan could have any offensive position he wanted in the second. In the end the strikes cam to quickly for Schafer to defend.
Alvin Robinson also made an impressive showing in Ohio. After the first round of getting controlled by Jorge Gurgel, Alvin fought back and put he hurt on Jorge for the next two round. At the end of three it was a clear decision win for Alvin.
With all kinds of title implications after Randy Couture left the belt high and dry this next match up was a big deal for heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Brandon Vera. It looked like both wanted to keep it tight with the clinch early. This favored Tim the bigger man who was able to push Vera around in the clinch. Brandon landed a couple shots though out the first and second round but Tim clearly won the fight in the third where he pressured Vera and was landing multi punch combos which Vera had no answer for. At the end of three rounds Tim Sylvia wins a decision and puts his name in the hat for the title.
The most anticipated fight of the night was the rematch between the Champion Anderson Silva and the Challenger Rich Franklin. Rich looked determined to fight this match differently then the first. Rich even got a take down but unfortunately could not keep Silva down. Anderson then started picking Rich’s stand up apart and almost had Rich TKO’d but was saved by the bell. At the beginning of the next round spider gets the plumb locked in for the clinch and Rich gets that boy who lost his puppy look. After a few breathtaking combos that were masterfully mixed up, Anderson Leaves Rich unconscious an with broken nose again. It looks as if Anderson Silva can not be stopped at Middleweight and he is clearly one of the most exciting fighters the UFC has seen.
