Rich Franklin once again defeated Wanderlei Silva by decision in another exciting fight to headline UFC 147 in Brazil on Saturday, but this fight went five rounds instead of three.

Each fighter had their moment in the contest, with Silva nearly finishing Franklin to end the second round following a flurry, but “Ace” survived and went on to dictate the rest of the fight with his crisp, technical striking.

The win was impressive for the former middleweight champion, as he took this bout on short notice and fought in Silva’s raucous home country.

Now, the question is, what is next for both men?

Franklin is still one of the best, but he isn’t quite enough any more to challenge for a title. Silva is clearly far from what he was in the PRIDE days, but still entertaining. He has become somewhat of a gate keeper in the middleweight division.

In the co-main event of Saturday’s card, Fabricio Werdum improved to 2-0 in his return to the octagon, as he ran through Mike Russow.

Werdum continued to show his improved striking, as he quickly overwhelmed the inexperienced Russow with an array of strikes. Once Werdum rocked Russow, he quickly finished up on the ground and earned the TKO stoppage midway through the first.

Werdum is making a strong case to be considered a top 5 UFC heavyweight with his two impressive showings since coming back to the UFC. Perhaps a battle with the likes of Frank Mir could be next in the cards.

For complete results from UFC 147, check out the jump

UFC 147 Results (Courtesy of MMAMania.com)

Saturday, June 24, 2012 – Brazil

190 lbs.: Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva by unanimous decision

185 lbs.: Cezar Ferreira def. Sergio Moraesvia unanimous decision (TUF middleweight final)

145 lbs.: Rony Mariano Bezerra def. Godofredo Pepey via unanimous decision (TUF featherweight final)

265 lbs.: Fabricio Werdum def. Mike Russow via TKO at 2:28 of round one

145 lbs.: Hacran Dias def. Yuri Alcantara via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Rodrigo Damm def. Medeiros Anistavio via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:12 of round one

185 lbs.: Francisco Drinaldo def. Delson Heleno via TKO at 4:21 of round one

145 lbs.: Hugo Viana def. John Teixeira via split decision

185 lbs.: Thiago de Oliveira Perpetuo def. Leonardo Mafra Teixeira via TKO at 0:41 of round three

145 lbs.: Marcos Vinicius Borges Pancini def. Wagner Campos via TKO at 1:04 of round three

145 lbs.: Felipe Arantes vs. Milton Vieira goes to a split draw

The two competed in the first five-round non-title fight since the UFC added the new five-round rule to any main event, and in the end, Henderson managed to narrowly out-point Rua for a unanimous decision.

It appeared that Henderson would end the fight early as he landed some big right hands on Rua, but the former UFC champion survived and pushed the fight into the later rounds where Henderson became exhausted. The final seven minutes were all Rua, but it was too little, too late, as Henderson had done enough to win 48-47 on all three judges’ scorecards.

The win pushes Henderson into the top 5 of the UFC light heavyweight division, but an immediate rematch with Rua may be in order due to the reaction from the fans and UFC brass on the fight itself.

In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva proved he is still dangerous as he beat Cung Le by TKO in the second round in a middleweight contest.

Early in the fight it looked as if Silva may not get out of the first round, as he took a number of big kicks and punches from Le, but he survived and then came out aggressive in the second round. Silva caught Le with a big right hand and then followed up with some devastating knees in the clinch that led to the stoppage.

While Silva still has a long way to go to be near the title picture, he still remains a relevant fighter in the UFC.

In bantamweight action, Urijah Faber defeated Brian Bowles by guillotine choke in the second round to earn another title shot at Dominick Cruz. Faber controlled the fight from the start, as his hand speed and diverse striking were too much for Bowles to deal with.

For complete UFC 139 results (courtesy of MMAMania.com), check out the jump.

UFC 139 Results

Saturday, Nov. 19

HP Pavilion, San Jose, California

205 lbs.: Dan Henderson defeats Mauricio Rua via Unanimous Decision

185 lbs.: Wanderlei Silva defeats Cung Le via TKO (Strikes) Round 2

135 lbs.: Urijah Faber defeats Brian Bowles via Submission (Guillotine Choke) Round 2

205 lbs.: Stephan Bonnar defeats Kyle Kingsbury via Unanimous Decision

170 lbs.: Martin Kampmann defeats Rick Story via Split Decision

205 lbs.: Ryan Bader defeats Jason Brilz via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

135 lbs.: Michael McDonald defeats Alex Soto via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

185 lbs.: Chris Weidman def Tom Lawlor via submission (d’arce choke) at 2:07 of round one

155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau def Rafael Dos Anjos via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

135 lbs.: Miguel Torres def Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27 by all three judges)

170 lbs.: Seth Baczynski def Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:42 of round two

155 lbs.: Danny Castillo def. Shamar Bailey via TKO (strikes) at 4:52 of round one

A middleweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben is official for UFC 132 in Las Vegas, Nevada for the promotion’s annual Fourth of July weekend event.

UFC officials announced the bout on Monday.

Leben, who experienced a career resurgence with dominant victory over Jay Silva, Aaron Simpson, and Yoshihiro Akiyama in 2010, was disappointed against Brian Stann, losing via technical knockout at UFC 125 last January. He is an even 3-3 over his past three years of competition in the UFC.

Silva, meanwhile, jumped back on the right track in his last contest with a unanimous decision victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 110. The former PRIDE superstar has been out of action since the early 2010 victory, which was his debut at the 185 lb. mark.

Read the full article.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Rich Franklin edged out Wanderlei Silva and Cain Velasquez dominated Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 last Saturday. Also, Mirko Cro Cop defeated Mostapha Al Turk via illegal eye-pokes, then told the UFC to kiss his ass.

– We saw some crazy knockouts this week, including Tim Sylvia getting wrecked by a 50-year old boxer, a brilliant flying knee KO at a Bellator show [http://www.cagepotato.com/knockout-day-nick-pace-wrecks-collin-tebo-bellator-xi], and a 9-second head-kick finish followed by a flying referee tackle.

– Brock Lesnar is built like a black man, still not a fan of the gays.

– Team U.K.’s James Wilks cruised to the welterweight finals on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, ending a season that didn’t really live up to the hype.

– MMA model Penny Mathis’s breasts may not be real, but they’re still fabulous.

– Shaquille O’Neal is seriously considering a switch to MMA after finishing his basketball career, and wants to start off by beating up the giant Korean who smashed Jose Canseco.

– When Cris Cyborg chokes out a reporter, that’s just her polite way of saying she’s finished with the interview.

– Come back tonight [Saturday] at 9 p.m. ET/PT for our liveblog of the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale show, which will feature Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida, Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson, and the lightweight and welterweight TUF finals. And check out our exclusive interviews with Sanchez, Stevenson, and Chris Lytle.

This weekend marks the return of UFC to pay-per-view as the Ultimate Fighting Championships host UFC 99: The Comeback from the Lanxess Arena in Germany . The live fights start at 3 p.m. ET and will feature six matches on the main card.

Last weekend I had an up-and-down couple of days (2-for-5 on Strikeforce predictions and 4-for-4 on WEC predictions), but I am back to give my take on UFC 99, which is headlined by what should be an exciting fight between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva in a catch-weight bout at 195 pounds.

Catch-weight (195 lbs)- Rich Franklin (24-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1): This fight would have been a blockbuster main event three years ago as the two were both world champions for the UFC and Pride respectively, but now, this shapes up to be more of a “loser leaves town” type of fight. While the loser won’t be gone from the UFC, they will certainly be out of the main event spotlight. Franklin has lost just two of his last six fights, but both come to the top middleweights in the UFC, which has prompted him to move of to light-heavyweight (205 lbs) where he is unbeaten in the UFC. A win for Franklin would further push his light-heavyweight surge and keep him in main event fights for the foreseeable future. For Silva, who has last four of his last five, another loss would leave him without a place to go. He has already been decisively beaten by top light-heavyweights and a loss to Franklin would already put him out of the middleweight picture. Silva will have place in the UFC because of his aggressive fighting style, it just may not be against top-level talent. Silva made a name for himself by taking the action to his opponents and applying pressure, but UFC has evolved more into a sport for counter-punchers, and that is what has been Silva’s kryptonite as of late. I see Franklin landing a solid shot on a Silva counter and putting him to sleep, much like he did Nate Quarry. Silva always leaves himself open and I think Franklin is too skilled to not capitalize. I take Franklin by KO late in round one.

Heavyweight (265 lbs)- Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (14-4-1): Velasquez is the hottest fighter in the heavyweight division right now for the UFC. Much like Brett Rogers in Strikeforce, Velasquez has been running through his opponents with ease. His ground-and-pound is some of the most vicious in MMA, but like Rogers , his opponents have not been of a high caliber until this fight. Kongo is arguably the next in line to receive a title fight, having won five of his last six, including three-straight by TKO. Despite his hot streak, Kongo has been vulnerable to the takedown, as seen in a decision loss to Heath Herring. I also don’t feel that Kongo has one-punch knockout power. I can see Velasquez getting Kongo down and having his way with him with his ground-and-pound ability. I will take Velasquez by TKO in round three.

Welterweight (170 lbs)- Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2): This is an interesting fight because Swick has the ability to finish quickly and Saunders is a big welterweight, standing 6-foot-2, that likes to utilize his reach and keep smaller fighters at bay. Swick is 3-0 since moving from middleweight to welterweight, but hasn’t been overly impressive, with two decision wins. His last fight was a 33-second knockout of Jonathan Goulet, but Goulet has been susceptible to quick defeats before. Swick does have big-fight experience, which is lacking from Saunders. Saunders is unbeaten and all of his wins are by stoppage except one. I think the key to this fight is in spacing. If Saunders can use his kicks and clinch to keep Swick from getting in too tight, then I think he can win. Swick needs to look to get inside and work his hooks and uppercuts, and also look for takedowns when they open. I think Swick will win this fight based on having fought tougher fighters. I take him by decision.

Welterweight (170 lbs)- Marcus Davis (16-4) vs. Dan Hardy (21-6): This fight has the most bad blood as Hardy has been calling out Davis for months, claiming his appeal to his Irish heritage is just an “act”. The native of England is relatively new to the UFC scene and looking to get a win over an established name to earn himself a reliable spot with the MMA king. Hardy has won nine of his last ten, eight by stoppage. Davis, who has been on almost every international UFC card over the last three years, was on an 11-fight win streak before losing a decision to Mike Swick a year ago. Since the loss, Davis has won two-straight but has not quite had the explosion that we have seen in the past. The key in this fight will be which fighter loses control of his emotions first. I think Hardy will be that one, as he seems to like to appeal to the crowd more than fight at times. I think Davis will remain poised and land the big punch that will set up the end of the fight. I take Davis by TKO in round two.

Lightweight (155 lbs)- Spencer Fisher (22-4) vs. Caol Uno (25-11-4): Uno is returning to the UFC for his first fight since September of 2003. The streaky fighter was once a contender for the UFC lightweight title, but is now looking to reestablish himself as one of the world’s best. Fisher, a fan favorite for his aggressive style, is a well-rounded fighter that has won his last two fights and looking to break in to the top 10 in the lightweight division with a win over Uno. I don’t see a place in this fight where Fisher doesn’t have an advantage, and expect him to win by TKO in round two or by decision. I just think Uno is past his prime and not going to be able to hang with Fisher for three rounds.

Heavyweight (265 lbs)- Mirko CroCop (24-6-2) vs. Mustapha Al Turk (6-4): CroCop jumped at the chance to comeback to the UFC after an injury opened a spot to face Al Turk. CroCop failed miserably in his first UFC run, losing two-of-three, but has since rebounded with a pair of wins. He has expressed his desire to make a run at the UFC belt and his first test is Al Turk, who lost his only UFC fight, to Cheick Kongo, in December. I expect CroCop to be on his game and that means a bad night for Al Turk, who I think falls to 0-2 in the UFC. I take CroCop by stoppage from leg kicks in round two.

–Written by TSR MMA contributor Drew Ellis

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Jake Shields choked out Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz dominated Scott Smith, and Brett Rogers scored a 22-second KO over Andrei Arlovski at the Strikeforce show last Saturday. Afterwards, Rogers shared his feelings about Kimbo Slice and Nick Diaz humiliated a reporter.

– A day later, the WEC one-upped Strikeforce by putting on one of the greatest cards of the year, highlighted by Mike Brown’s five-round war with Urijah Faber, Jose Aldo’s latest highlight-reel finish, and possibly the last appearance of Jens Pulver. If only the fighters got paid what they’re worth…

– Team U.K. swept the lightweight bracket on Wednesday’s episode of the Ultimate Fighter; Andre Winner and Ross Pearson will throw down at next Saturday’s finale show on Spike.

– The upcoming title fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will be contested at 145 pounds. Cross your fingers.

– EA is prepping its own MMA video game to compete with “UFC Undisputed.” Can they succeed without the involvement of MMA’s most powerful brand?

– We looked back at MMA’s first superstars.

– Wanderlei Silva explained to us how life was like a bicycle.

– UFC 99 goes down today [Saturday] in Cologne, Germany, starting at 3 p.m. ET. Swing by CagePotato.com for our liveblog, and get familiar with some of the storylines here.

– Mike Brown beat Leonard Garcia’s ass at last Sunday’s WEC 39 show, proving that yes, he is the real deal. A rematch with Urijah Faber is slated for this summer.

– The UFC will be partying in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day and Philadelphia later this year.

– The weakest, flabbiest fighter from Affliction’s last show just got popped for steroids.

– Kimbo Slice scores a supporting role in a porno flick.

– Major fight-booking alert: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir in May Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin in June, and Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida a week later.

– UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock recently shared his life story at a conference for Christian fighters. He’s scheduled to be beaten to death by Bobby Lashley later this month.

– UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine goes down tomorrow night in Columbus, Ohio. Come back to CagePotato at 10 p.m. ET for a liveblog of the pay-per-view broadcast, and get acquainted with the lineup by checking out our betting advice [link: http://www.cagepotato.com/gambling-addiction-enabler-ufc-96], our look at two debuting fighters, and our heated debate about the headlining fights.

– We almost went an entire week without someone getting arrested and then 0-13 Scott Blevins gets popped for child molestation.