Since the ancient days of gladiators, spectators have enjoyed the thrill of betting on combative sporting contests. Every moment of a fight seems much more exciting when there is money riding on the outcome. Today is no different, as a growing number of people are betting on modern-day gladiatorial contests - mixed martial arts events.

UFC 64 is being headlined by Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. He will take on Anderson Silva on October 14th in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be Franklin's first fight since March when he was injured during his win over David Loiseau of Montreal. Sean Sherk takes on Kenny Florian for the returning UFC Lightweight Championship
at UFC 64: UNSTOPPABLE.

Las Vegas, NV - After a seven-month absence, UFC World Middleweight Champion Rich "Ace" Franklin returns to the Octagon
to make his third title defense against the seemingly unstoppable UFC newcomer Anderson "The Spider" Silva.

Rich Franklin (23-1-0) 6'1"/185 lbs., fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an extremely well-rounded fighter possessing great striking and submission skills. He fought most of his career as a light heavyweight before moving to the middleweight division. At UFC 53, he knocked out UFC champion Evan Tanner to capture the middleweight crown. He made his first title defense against Nate Quarry at UFC 56 winning by first round KO and his second defense against Canadian David Loiseau at UFC 58, winning by decision after dominating "The Crow" through all five championship rounds. Franklin will be facing his toughest opponent yet when he takes on Anderson Silva for his third UFC title defense, but has no plans to let the Brazilian claim his crown.

Anderson Silva (16-4) 5'11"/185 lbs., fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil, is a well rounded fighter with phenomenal striking skills. A recognized fighter in the world of mixed martial arts, Silva made his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night, scoring an impressive first round knockout over TUF1 fighter Chris "The Crippler" Leben. Through the years, Silva has held numerous titles in mixed martial arts and is now looking to become the new UFC Middleweight Champion.

UFC 64 has a number of talented lightweights competing in this division, including the return of Jens Pulver as well as Spencer Fisher, Melvin Guillard, Mark Hominick, Joe Stevenson and Yves Edwards.

Confirmed/Rumored Fights

UFC Middlewieght Title
[22-1-0] Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva [15-4-0]

UFC Lightweight Title
[29-2-1] Sean Sherk vs. Kenny Florian [7-2-0]

[10-3-1] Keith Jardine vs. Mike Nickels [3-1-0]

[28-10-1] Yves Edwards vs. Justin James [9-5-0]

[26-6-1] Nathan Marquardt vs. Thales Leites [9-0-0]***

UFC Middleweight Championship
Rich Franklin (185) vs Anderson Silva (185)
Knees to the body, Knees to the head, and more Knees earns Silva the TKO in rd 1 and the UFC world title!

Vacant UFC Lightweight Championship
Kenny Florian (155) vs Sean Sherk (154.5):
Great fight! Sherk's takedowns and ground and pound were very impressive. Florian opened up a cut early in the second round on Sherk's head with a "Kenflo elbow which lead to a very bloody fight. Sherk takes all 5 rounds to become the new UFC 155lb World Champion. Great heart displayed by Kenny Florian

Jon Fitch (170) vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka (170):
Fitch controls most of the fight with his wrestling skills and ground and pound. While standing, Fitch also landed some great combo's & shots. Hironaka although a tough game fighter, just comes up short in all areas in this match. Fitch takes it on all 3 judges scorecards.

Cheick Kongo (226) vs Carmelo Marrero(222):
Carmelo controls both the 1st and 2nd rounds with takedowns and ground control, The third round was better back and forth action, Kongo missed a few good opportunities to get the fight standing. Carmelo's 6 takedowns were enough to earn him the nod by split decision

Spencer Fisher (155) vs Dan Lauzon (155):
Dan made an impressive opening getting the takedown and controlling most of the 1st round, Spencer got up, and turned up the combo's and landed a nice flying knee, ended up dropping Dan and the ref called it.

Keith Jardine (205) vs Mike Nickels (205):
Fight cancelled.

Yushin Okami (185) vs Kalib Starnes (185):
round 3, Starnes appears to have a cut nose. Okami looks the fresher of the two. They trade kicks. Okami rocks Starnes with a right. Starnes runs to escape, and maybe should have been docked a point, but either way, Okami ends up scoring a trip and working from the top. Okami scores nine straight rights, Starnes flips over, Okami scores seven consecutive lefts, and the referee stops the fight on TKO due to strikes. Starnes' nose cut open badly.

Justin James (155) vs Clay Guida (154.5):
One minute left in the 2nd round, Guida breaks through with a ridiculous flurry of about 20 punches with 30 seconds left, James flips over, Guida sinks in a rear naked choke, and James taps. Nice performance by Guida.

Kurt Pellegrino (154.5) vs Junior Assuncao (155):
Assuncao comes out swinging, connects with a combo, and goes for a guillotine. Pellegrino escapes and ends up on top, then gets to his feet, passes Assuncao's guard and scores a huge flurry of rights to the head. Pellegrino gets Assuncao's back and tries to sink in a choke. And he's got it. Pellegrino wins by tapout at 2:04.