Sherdog’s Top 10: Knees

Anderson Silva rearranged some facial features in the UFC 64 main event. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

6. Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin
UFC 64 “Unstoppable”
Oct. 14, 2006 | Las Vegas

Franklin had lost just once in his career and was riding an eight-fight winning streak during which only David Loiseau managed to go the distance with him. He had captured the UFC middleweight crown and defended it twice, but only a handful of MMA insiders saw the monster that was headed his way at UFC 64. Silva was still a largely unknown commodity among casual MMA fans, but those who knew him understood the dangers he brought to the table.

Silva established his dominance early, as he picked apart “Ace” whenever, wherever and however he wanted. Once they clinched two minutes in, the Brazilian applied his vice-like Thai plum and raked Franklin with knees to the body over and over again. Silva continued to attack the midsection, forced the fading champion to carry his arms low and then sent a knee upstairs, rearranging Franklin’s face upon impact. His legs buckled, he stumbled backward and wandered back into the clinch before being felled by another knee to the face. Silva had claimed the title, and Franklin received a badly broken nose for his troubles.

“The Spider” went on to defend the middleweight crown a record 10 times, usually in highlight-reel fashion, and establish himself as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all-time in the minds of many.

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