A former middleweight champion, Franklin has fought above his former home of the 185 lb. division for almost two years now. He left the middleweight division to compete in 195 lb. catchweight bouts against Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort at UFC 99 and UFC 103, respectively.
Following a 1-1 stint at 195 lbs., Franklin shot up to the 205 lb. division to test himself against Chuck Liddell at UFC 115, earning a devastating knockout victory in the opening round. He failed to build upon a potential title run, however, losing to Forrest Griffin via unanimous decision at UFC 126 last February.
Meanwhile, Nogueira has run into serious problems in his past two fights. He has lost back-to-back decisions to Ryan Bader and Phil Davis and, prior to that, won an extremely close and controversial decision to Jason Brilz. The younger Nogueira is an even 2-2 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC 133 is set for August 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, though a venue has yet to be determined. The card includes a middleweight bout between Yoshihiro Akiyama and Vitor Belfort, as well as another 185 lb. contest between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara.
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UFC 133 Fight Card: Franklin vs. Nogueira Official