UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson Preview & Odds

Written January 12, 2009 by Jason Lowry

UFC 93

On Saturday January 17th the UFC returns to action with UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson live from Dublin, Ireland. After an amazing fight card to finish up 2008 at UFC 92, fans are once again treated with some great fights including a rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Mark Coleman, and a main event that fans have been waiting to see for a long time, as Rich Franklin takes on Dan Henderson in the loaded light heavyweight division. To get you going on the upcoming MMA action, here is a quick overview of four of the top fights on the main card this weekend. Get the latest odds for all the fights this weekend at BetUS.com.

Main Event: Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin
This could be one of the best fights we see all year, as these are two of the best fighters at 205. Henderson is nearing the end of his career as the 38-year-old likely only has a few more fights left in the tank, but there is no question this guy will be ready to go in this one. Franklin is a well rounded fighter with great striking ability, and will need to make sure he avoids the devastating right hand of Henderson. Franklin has been a force in the UFC, as his only two losses have come against Anderson Silva in his last 15 fights in the octagon. Franklin was perfect in 2008 winning bye TKO over Travis Lutter and Matt Hamill. Henderson spent years fighting for PRIDE, but when he returned to the UFC in 2007 he fell short against Quinton Jackson, and then lost his first fight of 2008 against Anderson Silva. Henderson did bounce back with a solid performance against Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88, as he took home an unanimous decision win. Its hard telling which fighter has the edge in this one, as this could wind up being 15 minutes of two guys just beating the shit out of each other.

Current Odds at BetUS.com
Franklin EVEN
Henderson -140

Mauricio Rua vs. Mark Coleman
This is going to be one hell of a fight, as these are two great fighters that just don’t like each other. These two met back in 2006 in PRIDE, with Mark Coleman winning by breaking the arm of Rua, and without knowing he had broken his arm Coleman continued to beat on Rua, which caused Rua’s corner to go crazy and is why these two teams hate each other as much as they do. Coleman is one of the first MMA fighters to really excel with the ground and pound, while Rua uses his aggression and solid Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu to beat up on his opponents. This is the first fight in the UFC since 1999 for Coleman, and only the 2nd for Rua, who loss to Forrest Griffin back in 2007 at UFC 76. Rua was once considered one of the best 205 pound fighters in the business, and many believe that he will show everyone just how good he is this weekend, but Coleman has proven he can out power Rua if given the right opportunities.

Current Odds at BetUS.com
Rua -400
Coleman +250

Alan Belcher vs. Denis Kang
This is a battle between two 185 pounders that is sure to be a solid fight. Belcher is is pretty young for the sport at just 24, and has posted a solid 12-4 overall record, but is only 4-3 fighting in the UFC. Belcher is a well-rounded fighter who always seems to come in to fights in excellent condition. After getting knocked out by Jason Day at UFC 83 at the beginning of last year, Belcher responded with a nice unanimous decision win over ED Herman at UFC Fight Night in September. Kang is 31 years old and has a ton of experience, and comes in with a 30-10-1 overall record. This is the first fight for Kang in the UFC, and while Kang is also a very well-rounded fighter, he is the better striker of the two in this one. It looks as though Kang will also come in as the better fighter, but nothing is set in stone in the UFC.

Current Odds at BetUS.com
Belcher +210
Kang -325

Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle
The last fight we are going to look at has Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis taking on Chris “Lights Out” Lytle at the 170 weight class. This is a fight between two very similar fighters, as both are solid on their feet and know how to use their submission skills to their advantage. Davis has had the much better run in the UFC going 7-2 including a submission win over Paul Kelly at UFC 89, but Lytle has fought the better competition going 8-8, as he has fought and loss to guys like Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, and Thiago Alves. After losing by unanimous decision to Josh Koscheck at UFC 86, Lytle bounced back with an unanimous decision win of his own over Paul Tayler at UFC 89. This fight is pretty much even up and down, but the oddsmakers are giving Davis a very slim advantage in this one.