UFC 147: UFC legend Wanderlei Silva refusing to leave fight in hands of judges against Rich Franklin Some guys can go well together but he is not one of those guys. For me it's kind of tense. I have my thoughts. He thinks he is right, I think I am right. I don't like him. I know people like him but I don't. It is a case of bad blood. A long time I've wanted to fight him, and it will happen. It will, as there is a huge audience for it in Brazil, but Silva's epithet - the Axe Murderer - suffers somewhat from a blunt cutting edge in 2012. The desire and heart is there - the great fighting spirit - but Silva is not the fighter he was in any way during his glory years in the PRIDE fighting championship. Wanderlei is 3-4 in his seven UFC fights. Any opponent, nonetheless, must be on his mettle. Silva gives his all in every fight. Franklin, speaking to Telegraph Sport, explained on Friday: "For me, motivation is a big factor, because I have to come into this fight in shape to perform. And I feel I'm in great shape for this fight. I've taken all the necessary steps I needed to do so. The reason I asked for it at catchweight because I'd been fighting at 205 and I was coming back down. And I was on track to make 185 by July 7. But when my fight got cut, two weeks short, I wasn't sure I could make the weight. Franklin still looks to a challenge against UFC incumbent middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That was definitely a whole part of this process of dropping back down to 185lbs. At 205lbs I was just not a big enough fighter. My record there is kind of mixed anyway, so I knew trying to make a title run would be really difficult. Moving down to 185 at least gives me the opportunity to try to put a title run together before I retire," said Franklin, who is 37. That's the plan. If Chael Sonnen wins against Silva on July 7, would he push for a contest with Sonnen, should he come through against Wanderlei ? That's something I'd have to talk to the UFC about. I'm not sure that coming into a fight with Wanderlei, if a win in that would necessarily put me in that position or not. I don't know where that would put me in rankings or standings. Quite frankly, with all the change from going to Cung Le to Wanderlei, I've had enough on my plate to think about with this opponent, let alone even considering pursuing a title shot right now. Would Franklin advocate a new weight class at 195lbs? Originally the UFC had the five weight classes and didn't want to have too many champions so that people would lose track of them as has happened in boxing. There are so many weight class champions, you can't name half of the belt holders. I thought the UFC was trying to avoid that. In time they have brought in the lighter weight classes so maybe there is now an argument to be made for a 195 lbs class. If it happens, the hunch is that Franklin would jump at the opportunity. Silva, relaxed and ready to fight in Belo Horizonte, also thinks his namesake, and good friend, Anderson Silva, will defeat Sonnen on July 7 when they re-match for the UFC middleweight title in Las Vegas, in one of the most anticipated fights of the year. I think it will go to Silva before the third round. I think he's going to beat him more easy. I think he's going to win for sure. Even in the first round Silva will show his style he's going to beat him. I think it will be a knockout," said Silva. In another significant contest on the card, former BJJ ace Fabricio Werdum continues his climb back towards challenging for the UFC heavyweight title with a match against American Mike Russow. Werdum has shown much improvement in his stand-up game in recent fights, and his class should see him take the win. The event follows on from another UFC event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 24 hours earlier. It is the first time the UFC has promoted back to back events on two consecutive nights. TELEGRAPH PICKS: Franklin (over Silva), Werdum (over Russow).