#9 LHW Luiz Cane

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Via MMAJunkie:

"Lyoto Machida is an excellent fighter, and his good counter-striking game and his unique style are definitely very different. But 'Shogun,' his next opponent, with the right gameplan and the right preparation can certainly beat him."
"I work for the UFC, and I will fight whoever they say," Cane said. "I thought they gave me an excellent fight in Cantwell.

"But a fight that would fit perfectly would be against Rich Franklin. Without a doubt, this would be a fight that I would love to fight, and I am sure the fans would like to see it too."

"I'm hoping to fight in the early fall," Cane said. "And I think the matchup with Franklin would be a great one if the UFC wants to see that fight.

Yall know I've been driving the Cane bandwagon for a hot minute now.  I was loving the earlier rumors of Cane taking on Keith Jardine prior to UFC 97.  However, him basically calling out Rich Franklin is music to my ears.  It's a logical matchup as both guys are ranked #9 and #8 respectively by MMA4Real.  This matchup could be kind of similar to the Steve Cantwell fight, except Frankin is a southpaw.  Both fighters like to stand and bang it out, and both have solid chins so it could turn out to be a war.  Franklin apparantly just completed the last fight on his UFC contract and will begin negotiations with the UFC according to his appearance on MMA Live last week.  I hope this fight comes to fruition.  Give me your thoughts on this potential match up.