Hermes Franca

From CageWiki

1 Profile
2 Early Career
3 UFC
4 2004 - 2006
5 Return to the UFC
6 Mixed martial arts record
7 Gallery
8 External links

Profile

Hermes Franca (born August 26, 1974) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt.

He stands 5 ft. 6 in. (168 cm) tall and fights in the lightweight division (155 lbs.).

Franca is a former WEC lightweight champion and a former UFC lightweight title challenger and currently fights as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Early Career

Hermes Franca made his professional mixed martial arts debut on November 17, 2001 at a HOOKnSHOOT event. He faced future WEC featherweight champion, Mike Brown and submitted him with a triangle choke at 2:21 of round 1.

Franca won his next two fights via triangle choke as well before changing things up in May of 2002 where he won via guillotine choke just over a minute into the first round.

He picked up his first stoppage victory on September 7, 2002, stopping Anthony Hamlett with punches in the first round. That win was followed by a guillotine choke submission win over Ryan Diaz three months later.

UFC

On April 25, 2003, Franca made his UFC debut when he faced off against Rich Crunkilton at UFC 42. Franca used his superior jiu jitsu to befuddle Crunkilton for the full three rounds, coming close to finishing on several occasions. The judges' decision came back as a unanimous decision victory for the Brazilian.

Five months later, Franca was back in the octagon, this time facing former UFC lightweight title challenger, Caol Uno at UFC 44. Considered the underdog by many, Franca came out blazing in the second round and knocked Uno cold with some vicious punches to significantly raise his status in the lightweight division.

At UFC 46 in January of 2004, Franca faced fellow rising star, Josh Thomson. In a great and razor close fight that went the distance, Franca found himself on the losing end of a majority decision and was forced to suffer the first loss of his professional career.

Not shying away from talented opponents, Franca faced off against Yves Edwards in his next bout at UFC 47. In another excellent and extremely tight fight, Franca again was on the losing end of a decision, going down via split decision.

2004 - 2006

Following the consecutive losses to Thomson and Edwards and the UFC's decision to abandon the lightweight division, Franca parted company with the organization. He snapped the worrying two fight slide at a Euphoria event on October 15, 2004 when he submitted Phil Johns with a rear naked choke just 47 seconds into the fight.

After improving to 10-2 with a knockout win over Manny Reyes Jr., Franca rematched Yves Edwards in another fight under the Euphoria banner in February of 2005. In what could be described as an even closer bout than their previous encounter, Franca was again on the losing end of a split decision.

Things went from bad to worse in his next fight as he was knocked out by Ray Cooper in a Shooto event held in Hawaii a month later.

His losing streak stretched to three when he made his debut for K-1 Hero's and was on the losing end of a majority decision to Koutetsu Boku.

With many having written Franca off as a force in the lightweight division, Franca sought to rebuild his career when he challenged WEC lightweight champion and future TUF 5 contestant, Gabe Ruediger at WEC 19. It took just 36 seconds for Franca to snap his three fight losing streak as he knocked Ruediger cold with punches to take the WEC lightweight championship.

Franca built on that win with a KO victory over future IFL lightweight champion, Ryan Schultz and an armbar victory over Toby Imada outside of the WEC before returning to successfully defend his lightweight title against Brandon Olsen at WEC 21, winning via armbar submission.

Return to the UFC

With a four fight win streak, the WEC lightweight championship and the UFC lightweight division back in working order, Franca earned a return to the UFC. He made his comeback at UFC 61 on July 8, 2006 where he submitted Joe Jordan with a triangle choke in the third round.

Just over a month later, Franca filled in as a late replacement for Spencer Fisher to face Jamie Varner at UFC 62. In a close fight, Franca kept it out of the judges' hands as he caught Varner with an armbar forcing him to tap midway through the third round.

In October of 2006, Franca returned to the WEC for one more defense of his lightweight championship. He faced future TUF 5 winner, Nate Diaz and after losing the first round, he showed his class on the ground as he caught Diaz in an armbar forcing the tap at 2:46 of round 2. After the bout, he vacated his WEC championship to focus on his UFC career.

Franca returned to UFC action at UFC Fight Night 8 on January 25, 2007. He faced the man he replaced at UFC 62, Spencer Fisher and did what no man has done before as he stopped Fisher with strikes in the second round after a wild barrage on the feet.

With the victory, Franca earned himself a shot at the UFC lightweight championship held by Sean Sherk. The bout took place at UFC 73 in July and even though Franca managed a near finish with a guillotine choke in the first round and almost knocked Sherk out with a knee in the second round, he was ultimately outworked for the rest of the fight by Sherk's relentless pace and ground control. The fight went the distance and was a clear cut unanimous decision for Sean Sherk.

After the bout, both Sherk and Franca tested positive for banned substances. Franca pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to a one year suspension and fined $2,500.

During the year off, Franca contemplated leaving the UFC to fight overseas out of the reach of the athletic commission. He even went so far as to ask for a release which the UFC granted but he later decided against it and re-signed with the UFC.

He returned to UFC competition on July 19, 2008 at the UFC Fight Night 14. He faced Frankie Edgar on the main card and in a frantic fight came out the unanimous loser on the judges' cards. It wasn't all bad though as he picked up the $25,000 "Fight of the Night" award alongside Edgar for their performance.

Originally scheduled to face Gleison Tibau at UFC 90, Franca's opponent changed to Marcus Aurelio after Tibau pulled out with injury. The fight immediately turned into a grudge match due to a conflict between both fighters years earlier when they were training partners. The fight didn't live up to the hype however, as Franca just punished Aurelio on the feet with leg kicks for three rounds before scoring the unanimous decision victory.

Franca was next scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 15 against TUF 5 semi-finalist, Joe Lauzon. However, a knee injury forced his removal from the bout.