The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced Chuck Liddell (21-7) will face Rich Franklin (25-5), not Tito Ortiz, in UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Liddell was expected to square off against Tito Ortiz for the third time in their storied careers, but Ortiz pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons during training. Ortiz has yet to beat Liddell. The fight is scheduled for June 13.
UFC 115 will feature a former light heavyweight champion in Liddell versus a former middleweight champion in Franklin. Liddell’s last fight resulted in a loss at UFC 97 by the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in April. Speculation of Liddell retiring swirled following the loss as the fighter was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. But then Liddell announced he would be coaching opposite Ortiz on the Ultimate Fighter, bringing him back into the game.
Franklin last fought at UFC 103 where he was defeated by Vitor Belfort in a first round TKO. Franklin will be looking to add a notch to the win column like Liddell and start his own run at the light heavyweight championship of the world. Below are the other matches scheduled for UFC 115.
On tap for the pay-per-view portion of the card is:
Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry
Martin Kampmann vs. Paulo Thiago
Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
Non pay-per-view preliminary bouts include:
Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta
Claude Patrick vs. Ricardo Funch
Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox
Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin Match Odds
Chuck Liddel: 11/10 Party Bets
Rich Franklin: 7/10 Party Bets