The Ultimate Fighting Championship presented
UFC 147: Silva vs Franklin II on Saturday, June 23, 2012, at the Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
In the main event, former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin won a 5-round unanimous decision after miraculously surviving a second-round scare against former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva. Franklin was dropped by Silva with a straight right hand in the final minute of the second stanza. Silva swarmed Franklin with a barrage of punches on the ground, but Franklin managed to continue moving as he took the beating, which was enough to hold off referee Mario Yamasaki from stopping the fight.
In his post-fight interview, Rich Franklin said he could not remember the third and fourth rounds, and was operating on autopilot until the final round. Wanderlei Silva had gassed himself out so bad, however, from the frantic pace he pushed trying to finish Franklin, that he was just not able to get anything significant going after that fateful second round.
Middleweight Cezar "Mutante" Ferreira and featherweight Rony "Jason" Mariano Bezerra became the first-ever The Ultimate Fighter Brazil tournament winners. Cezar Ferreira was TUF Brazil coach Vitor Belfort's number one pick, and has been a student and close friend of Belfort for years. Rony Jason was TUF Brazil coach Wanderlei Silva's number one pick, so both of the coaches' top picks ended up winning the show. Ferreira outpointed a very game Sergio "The Panther" Moraes, while Rony Jason did the same against fellow 145-pound phenom Godofredo Pepey.
Complete Results After the Break