During a turbulent 2005, Hermes Franca (18-5, 5-2 UFC) dropped three fights in a row and found himself at a proverbial fork in the road.
Going an entire year without a victory can seriously dent your stock in the fight game. So one has to ask, how did Hermes find himself in this situation in the first place?
After putting on an entertaining scrap at Euphoria MFC: USA vs World, he lost his rematch with Yves Edwards again by split-decision. Hermes then found himself on the wrong end of a knockout punch thrown by a very game Ray Cooper at Shooto Hawaii: Unleashed. After being knocked out for the first time in his MMA career, and hoping to bounce back, he then dropped his third and final fight of 2005 to Koutetsu Boku by a majority decision at K-1: Hero's 2005 Middleweight Tournament Semi Final. Although at the time critics claimed that "he didn’t have it" and that "his skills had diminished", Hermes kept pushing forward.
After a very disappointing 2005, 2006 eventually came and bore the fruit of Franca's labour. In his first two fights of the year, Franca would go on to knock out Gabe Ruediger and Ryan Schultz to win the WEC and AFC Lightweight titles. Putting everything on the line each time he stepped in the cage, Hermes went on to win his next five fights by submission logging a record of 7-0 for the year.
When 2006 drew to a close, Hermes was stripped of his WEC title by the UFC, after they purchased the struggling organization along with the WFA. Dana White had other ideas for Franca and although he was stripped of his WEC title, Hermes was rewarded with a new four-fight contract and UFC title fight aspirations.
With a new contract and a seven fight winning streak under his belt, Franca fought Spencer Fisher for the #1 contender status at {{UFC: Fight Night 9)). Securing a TKO victory in the wild and back and fourth fight, Hermes dropped down to his knees and pleaded to UFC President Dana White for a title shot.
“I worked hard for ten months, (won) eight in a row, all by submission or TKO, please give me a f***ing chance to fight for the title, please, I am here on my knees,” said Franca.
His amusing and bold request was later granted by White, who told members of the press that Franca will indeed fight Sean Sherk (31-2-1, 4-2 UFC) for the Lightweight title in July. The Brazilian should have a decent amount of time to relax and prepare for Sherk, who is still recovering from rotator cuff surgery.
No one can ever question Franca's heart, and given Sherk's track record, he'll need every last bit of it if he plans on becoming the new UFC Lightweight champion in 2007. Although his stand up is unconventional and awkward at best, Hermes throws heavy leather and has the advantages while the fight remains standing. Its when this fight hits the ground that a true clear cut winner becomes harder to predict. Given the Armory fighter's slick submission game, Sherk will have to stay busy and defend multiple submission attempts, while trying to ground and pound his way to a successful title defence. A lot of questions now linger about the champ, who has been out of action since UFC 64. Will he have any "ring rust"? How will his surgically repaired shoulder hold up in its first test?
Due to this, Franca might be catching the very strong Muscle Shark at the perfect time. As fans we can only sit back and wait, to see if this tale will have a storybook ending for Franca.
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