We all know that UFC 61 is right around the corner, but as usual, I always like to look ahead to the future. Sherdog.com writer, Greg Savage listed the following in one of his articles this past week:

Georges St. Pierre will finally get his chance for redemption on September 23 when rematches Matt Hughes at the Anaheim Pond for UFC 63.

Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz II is tentatively scheduled for Super Bowl weekend 2007. This mega-bout hinges on Liddell retaining his title when he rematches Renato Sobral in August, and Ortiz taking out arch-rival Ken Shamrock on July 8.

UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin hopes to make his return to the cage on October 14, when UFC 64 is set for the Mandalay Bay Arena.

I’m very excited to see the rematch between GSP and Matt Hughes. I really think that St. Pierre has an excellent change to become the new UFC Welterweight champion. However, what I really want to talk about is the return of Rich Franklin.

Rich Franklin has been out of action for quite a while due to a hand injury he suffered in his match with David Loiseau. Franklin has only recently started soft sparring again with his hand. After his dismantling of Loiseau, I wondered who could be the next contender to face Franklin. There already weren’t many options, as envidenced by the fact that Nate Quarry was offered up to Franklin before the Loiseau fight. Jeremy Horn was always an option, but Horn has always stated that he would not fight Franklin due to their friendship and now that Horn is not with the UFC, there is no way this fight could even possibly happen.

So, who did that leave for Middleweights? Basically we were looking at either Nathan Marquardt or Mike Swick. To me, Marquardt seemed like the most likely candidate to take a shot at the belt next. But, the UFC surprised us all and signed Anderson Silva. Suddenly there was an instant valid contender to Franklin’s title. A new world-class middleweight fighter had been added to the UFC fold whether the majority of UFC fans realized it or not. The real question now is, “How quickly will we see a Franklin vs. Silva matchup?”

It looks like the UFC is wondering the same thing and trying to see what their fan base thinks. The current poll on ufc.com is, “Who would you like to see Anderson Silva fight next?” Currently, Rich Franklin is leading the poll by a slim margin over David Loiseau and Mike Swick.

I personally don’t think the UFC is going to have Franklin fight Silva for his first fight back after injury. I think they will offer Frankin a “warm-up” fight to shake the rust off before he takes on Anderson Silva. Who will this “warm-up” challenger be? I have no idea. Maybe it will be Mike Swick, maybe it will be Nathan Marquardt. I’d like to see Silva take on Marquardt with the winner of that fight getting a title shot against Franklin. In the mean time, the UFC can throw Mike Swick or any other fighter they want at Franklin so he can get prepared for Silva.

After that, I can’t wait to see the Silva vs. Franklin matchup. We finally will see Franklin faced against a fighter with equal skills. It could be the fight of the year.

Who do you want to see Franklin and Silva fight next? Please, leave a comment and let me know.