Hendo may takedown Franklin without going to the mat
The dream match between former Pride and UFC middleweight champs is a nightmare to prognosticate. Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin are well-rounded, they can both do a little of everything. That said, the prevailing thought is that Henderson, a former Olympic wrestler, will want to go to the ground and that Franklin, a top-notch striker, will keep things on the feet. Franklin's trainer Matt Hume went as a far as saying Henderson's is NOT a world class striker. There are a few guys who will argue against that point. One is Henderson Team Quest co-hort Krzysztof Soszynski. Sentanta Sports shot this video with the TUF 8 alumnist.
"He’s too intense sometimes! We have to make sure he steps back a little bit, tell him not to be so aggressive all the time. Dan’s notorious for his forward movement, for his aggressiveness – that’s just part of Dan Henderson. We’ve all seen Dan Henderson vs Wanderlei Silva, we all know what power Dan possesses in his right hand and left hook, Dan’s getting better in the stand-up – he finally has the right coaches and I think people will be surprised come Saturday. If he sticks to the gameplan, Dan will win the fight.”
Surprisingly, the other guy defending Hendo's stand-up game is Franklin. It's simply not his style to denigrate his opponent. Cage Writer caught up with Franklin in Dublin and "Ace" pointed out if Henderson's not a high level striker he wouldn't have been able to take out a guy like Silva.
Click below to hear Franklin talk about Henderson's striking (ESPNRadio1100 w/Cofield):
Listen here for the entire Cage Writer conversation with Franklin from Dublin.
