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[Sakara=Excitement]

Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell in the works for UFC 115, not rumored April show | MMAjunkie.com

Light heavyweights Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell are penciled in for a June showdown.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the promotion that the two have verbally agreed to face each other in June at UFC 115, though contracts have yet to be finalized.

The new matchup replaces a planned third meeting between Liddell and Tito Ortiz that had been expected for the promotion's first trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and may have been arranged as a result of Franklin's unexpected involvement in "TUF 11."

The Franklin vs. Liddell matchup was first reported by Fighters Only magazine, though the U.K.-based publication pinned the fight to a rumored April 17 UFC Fight Night card that now seems increasingly unlikely to occur.

Liddell and Ortiz were announced this past December as opposing coaches on the soon-to-debut "The Ultimate Fighter 11" series. At that time, the UFC also announced plans for the legendary figures to meet for a third time at the conclusion of the series.

It was later learned that the matchup was intended to headline the as-yet-unannounced UFC 115 card in June.

With Ortiz no longer in the plans, the former champion's next move is currently unknown.

In February, with "The Ultimate Fighter 11" still filming in Las Vegas, the "Hunting Beach Bad Boy" posted a series of cryptic messages on his Twitter account the led to many to speculate something had run afoul with his role as a coach on the Spike TV series.

"If things couldn't get worse, they just did!" Ortiz stated on Feb. 24. "[Expletive]! "I want to thank all my fans for your support!

"I guess business is business."

Three days later, additional Ortiz comments led to further speculation.

"Thanks for all the support," Ortiz stated. "Thinking that life couldn't get any harder? It just did! Another challenge that god has given me! Wow.

"Many things that challenge us in lives will make us stronger. One thing I can say is don't ever quit. I'm strong because of my family and fans!"

MMAjunkie.com has learned from additional sources that Ortiz was not able to complete the filming of "The Ultimate Fighter 11," though the reasoning behind his absence wasn't immediately known.

Those same sources suggested that Franklin was possibly brought in as a replacement coach to finish out the season's filming, and "Ace" now meets Liddell as an opposing "TUF" coach.

The original announcement of a third matchup between Liddell and Ortiz was met with little fanfare. Many MMA fans felt the matchup was unnecessary with the "Iceman" already owning a pair of wins over Ortiz – a 2004 second-round knockout and a 2006 third-round TKO.

For more on "The Ultimate Fighter 11," which debuts March 31 following Spike TV's broadcast of UFC Fight Night 21, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

http://www.cagepotato.com/report-lid...-circumstances

Yesterday, Scott Coker confirmed that Strikeforce's upcoming Nashville event would stay with its original April 17th date, instead of switching to April 24th in order to dodge a potential UFC counter-programming show. Well, they asked for it. Fighters Only passes along this major announcement:


Chuck Liddell will be fighting Rich Franklin in his next bout and not rival TUF 11 coach Tito Ortiz, Fighters Only has heard from a reliable source. The switch was initially reported to us just under two weeks ago but was only a rumour at that time.

However, the rumour hit message boards late last night and an industry source confirmed that Liddell will indeed be facing former middleweight champion Rich Franklin. The fight is to headline an April 17th Fight Night event which will counter Strikeforce’s show on the same date...

The Tennessee State Athletic Commission has not yet received an application from the UFC to stage an event in Nashville but the organisation has until Thursday to do so...

Ortiz is out of the fight but not because of injury; he is healthy and is not suffering back problems as some rumours claim. The reason for his withdrawal is known to Fighters Only is something that may significantly impact his future as a fighter, but we cannot report the details at this point.

We've picked up hints of this mysterious Tito situation from his recent Twitter updates, but your guess is as good as ours. At this point, no other matches for the UFC's 4/17 card have reported, but the main event could be enough to put a dent into Strikeforce's audience. So what do you think? Is Liddell vs. Franklin a compelling matchup? Is Chuck going to get knocked out for the third time in a row? And is the UFC's aggressive competition with Strikeforce good for the sport — or even good for the UFC?

Update: MMA Junkie says that Liddell vs. Franklin is being penciled in for UFC 115 (June 12th, Vancouver), and that the UFC's Nashville counter-programming show might not happen at all. And check this out:


MMAjunkie.com has learned from additional sources that Ortiz was not able to complete the filming of "The Ultimate Fighter 11," though the reasoning behind his absence wasn't immediately known. Those same sources suggested that Franklin was possibly brought in as a replacement coach to finish out the season's filming, and "Ace" now meets Liddell as an opposing "TUF" coach.

[Inventor]

This is like the same thing all over again. More self inflicted drama from Ortiz. Whatever happened on TUF 11, I'm going to bet Ortiz did it to himself. The drama follows him wherever he goes.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

I'm interested to hear what happened with Tito. Wouldn't mind seeing him take a fight against Coleman if this fight is off seeing as how they've been jabbing at each other for some time now.

[Y2JUBAE]

Hell yea.

Dream match for sure! Now, throw Tito vs. Coleman in to finish out their careers and all harmony is restored.

[U shut ur FACE]

Tito probably has a fractured skull or broken back....

[packman31]

That's funny because Dana White just wrote on twitter no more then 40 minutes ago, that it's not Chuck and Franklin, but it's Couture and Franklin. Tito and Chuck are still fighting, and Couture and Franklin is getting set up!!!

[Chwad]

dana just twittered that tito vs chuck is still on!

[Chwad]

just got the tweet 10 min ago, these guys dont know their shit

[Xanatos]

god what a waste of time. Lidell vs franklin and Couture vs Toney would have been better, but im still excited to see these two fights. So where the hell did all this nonsense come from?

[The Return Of......]

????????????????????

so none of this is true then??? WTF. maybe its all hype to promote TUF does tito leave or does tito stay.