There were few more obvious changing of the guard moments in mixed martial arts history than the night Anderson Silva won the UFC middleweight title from Rich Franklin. Franklin was starting to look like a potential longterm champion by the time he and Silva stepped in the cage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Oct. 14, 2006 for the main event of UFC 64. Silva was known by hardcore fans, but not so much by the casuals: Even with the UFC’s business on fire in the company’s breakthrough year of 2006, UFC 64 drew fewer than 9,000 paid fans in Las Vegas.
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UFC free fight: Relive Anderson Silva’s title-winning effort over Rich Franklin – MMA Junkie