Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will take on "The Ultimate Fighter 4" winner, Travis Lutter at UFC 83: Serra vs. St-Pierre 2 in April in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Franklin (22-3) hasn't fought since October at UFC 77 where he lost by TKO to current middleweight champ, Anderson Silva. It was a rematch for the title that Silva won from Franklin back at UFC 64 in October of 2006. The Cincinnati native has been sidelined for the last four months with a torn meniscus he suffered to his right knee during that fight against Silva. He was supposed to be out until June but has made a quicker recovery than anticipated.

Lutter (9-4) last fought at UFC 67 in January of 2007 where he, like Franklin, lost to Silva in the main event that was supposed to be for the middleweight championship. He lost the title shot because he was unable to get under the 185-pound weight limit. The fight still went on but it was changed from a five-round shot at the title to a three-round non-title fight. Lutter would lose the fight in the second round when Silva made him submit after locking in a triangle choke.

The road for both of these guys back to a shot at the middleweight title starts here. Its going to take stringing together a few wins for either of these guys to get back into title contention. Unfortunately for them, Silva doesn't look like he's going to be letting go of his title anytime soon. If he is still the champ when one of these two guys make it back to the #1 contender spot, it could have been all for naught as Silva seems to have their numbers, especially Franklin's.