Rodrigo Nogueira and October shoulder surgery.

Rich Franklin has ridden to the UFCs rescue once again. [url=http://www.officialbostonceltics.com/kevin-mchale-jersey]Kevin Mchale Jersey[/url] . The former middleweight champion is back to his familiar role as super sub Saturday night, filling in for the injured Vitor (The Phenom) Belfort against Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva at UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. "Franklin is a really good fighter," said Silva, who should know having lost to him at UFC 99 in June 2009. "I know were going to put on a great show for the fans here in Brazil." Franklin, a slight favourite according to the bookies, said he has no problem fighting Silva in his backyard. "Once you get inside the cage, its like being on stage in a play and the lights, the whole audience just blacks out anyway," said the former high school math teacher. "And the only thing thats in there is you, your opponent and your cornermen (outside) and thats about all you can hear. "Once the fight starts, none of that other stuff will matter anyway." The two will meet at catchweight of 190 pounds, five pounds more than the middleweight limit. Franklin has been campaigning at light-heavyweight (205) but has recently decided to return to middleweight (185). He was due to fight former Strikeforce champion Cung Le next month at UFC 148 at middleweight and was in Singapore preparing for that matchup when he got the call late last month to face Silva. He asked for the catchweight since his weight cut had been tailored to July 7. The 37-year-old Franklin (28-6 with one no contest) stepped in for the injured Tito Ortiz against light-heavyweight Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell at UFC 131 in Vancouver. When asked, he has changed weight classes and fought at catchweights as needed. Its been six fights since he last fought as a middleweight, stopping Travis Lutter in the second round of UFC 83 in Montreal in April 2008. Since then, he has beaten Matt (The Hammer) Hamill, Silva and Liddell and lost to former champions Dan Henderson, Belfort and Forrest Griffin. He has been out of action since the Griffin loss at UFC 126 in February 2011, thanks to an August 2011 fight that fell through with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and October shoulder surgery. He says ring rust will not be a factor. "Even though I havent fought since February (2011), I was getting ready in August for the Philadelphia show and that fight ended up cancelling. But it only (got) cancelled a couple of weeks before the show and I pretty much did everything I needed to go to get ready for that fight. "So for me it doesnt feel like Ive been out of the Octagon for that long." Franklin is also meticulous in his fight