Rich Franklin says his showdown with Vitor Belfort will happen at 195 pounds.
"Just found out i will b fighting vitor at a catch weight of 195 as per his request," Franklin wrote on his Twitter feed on Friday night.
Franklin is set to face Belfort in the main event of UFC 103, scheduled for September, in Dallas. It will be his second fight in a row at 195 pounds against a Brazilian legend of the sport -- Franklin won a unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 99, in June.
Belfort, a noted striker with knockouts or technical knockouts over several big names, returns to UFC after spending the past four-and-a-half years competing for Pride Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, Strikeforce and most recently Affliction Entertainment. He moved down to middleweight last year after spending most of his career in the 205-pound division.
Franklin, a former titleholder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 185-pound division, decided to move back to light-heavyweight last year, following losses in 2006 and 2007 to current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
But a 195-pound weight class would be a perfect fit, Franklin said, immediately following his victory over Silva.
UFC 103's main event originally was planned as a rematch between Franklin and Dan Henderson, who beat Franklin in January at UFC 93. But fan backlash provoked the change in opponents, UFC President Dana White said Friday.
Belfort became available after Affliction Entertainment exited the fight promotion business, in the wake of Josh Barnett's positive steroid test. Belfort was originally scheduled to face Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago today.
Before cancelling the show altogether, Affliction toyed with the notion of Belfort as a replacement for Barnett against Fedor Emelianenko in the main event.
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