It's been nine fights and almost three years since Rich Franklin suffered the lone loss of his mixed martial arts career. But the consensus is the middleweight champion could have his hands full Saturday night with Anderson Silva at UFC 64: Unstoppable (available on pay per view) in Las Vegas.

Franklin (22-1) is making his title defence at 185 pounds after taking the belt away from Evan Tanner at UFC 53: Heavy Hitters in June 2005 in a fight that left Tanner's face grotesquely swollen and bloody.

Franklin then demolished Nate Quarry at UFC 56: Full Force in November 2005, putting the Ultimate Fighter reality TV show alumnus to sleep with a left hand that rendered Quarry unconscious before he hit the ground.

At UFC 58: USA vs. Canada in March, Franklin punched, kicked, slammed and choked Montreal challenger David Loiseau for five rounds before taking a lopsided unanimous decision.

A former light-heavyweight, the 32-year-old Franklin is a big middleweight with good all-round skills. Given a chance, he will bully you _ then hurt you.

The 31-year-old Silva (15-4) may not give him that opportunity.

He is somewhat of a mystery in North America, having fought almost exclusively in his native Brazil, England and other parts. But he announced himself to the UFC in June by knocking out hard-headed Chris Leben in just 49 seconds at UFC Fight Night 5.

Hall of Famer Randy Couture, a fan of Franklin's, picks Silva on Saturday night.

``I think Rich will probably try to stand up with Anderson as well and it's not going to be a very good night for him,'' Couture said in an interview.

Others cite Silva's precise technique and footwork, which allow him to deliver telling strikes.

Silva's performance against Leben created a buzz and vaulted him to the front of the middleweight ranks. One gets the sense that Franklin, as polite outside the ring as he is methodical inside it, is a little tired of hearing how this is his biggest challenge to date.

``Honestly, every title defence is tough,'' the champion said after a pause, when the question was raised again.

``I heard the same thing with the Loiseau fight. Like `Oh this is his toughest fight ever. He's got to watch out for Loiseau's elbows. And this and that.' And now this fight, `Oh this is his toughest fight ever and he's got to watch out for this.' ''

Still, Quarry and Loiseau were plainly not up to a title test. And opponents have tested Franklin's chin in the past. Tanner rocked Franklin, Loiseau wobbled him and Jorge Rivera did some damage at UFC 50: The War of 04 before Franklin submitted him.

Plus Franklin is coming after an injury layoff. His win over Loiseau came at a painful cost.

Surgery to insert a plate and seven screws in a broken left hand. Six or seven stitches for a cut above the eye. Torn ligaments in his left ankle that required a removable cast.

The damage was plain to see. For his surgery, doctors wrote yes on his left arm and no on his right arm in purple marker, to ensure no mixups.

``The no that was written on my right arm stayed on there for like three weeks because I couldn't physically grab a bar of soap or something to wipe it off,'' Franklin recalled.

``So people were asking `Why do you have no on your right arm?' ''

Franklin's lone loss was a December 2003 TKO to tough Brazilian Ryoto Machida.

Franklin's spirit cannot be questioned, as witnessed by the fact the southpaw kept throwing his left hand against Loiseau after breaking it in the second round.

``It didn't feel good, but it didn't hurt like most people would think it would hurt,'' he said.

The real pain came after the fight, when he tried to take his glove off. It was eventually cut off.

Franklin, a workout fiend, was back in the gym 2{ weeks after the fight.

But it took at least four months until he could hit or be hit _ for a while it hurt more to take a punch on the palm than throw one. Grappling was also out, in case his hand was rolled on.

Franklin has already seen Silva up close, cornering Jeremy Horn when he lost to Silva in June 2004 in South Korea.

``I know he's a solid well-rounded fighter. . . . He's got great timing. I know standup-wise I'm in for a tough fight. A lot of people are asking me `Do you plan to take him down?' And really the answer is I don't know, because on the ground he's a well-versed jiu-jitsu fighter as well.

``For this fight, I'm just going to have to walk out and throw a few punches and see how things go. And kind of adapt from there.''

Notes: Kenny Florian fights Sean Sherk on Saturday for the lightweight (155-pound) title. Also on the undercard is middleweight Kalib Starnes of Surrey, B.C., an Ultimate Fighter alumnus who takes on Yushin Okami. The Japanese fighter beat Silva in January when the Brazilian was disqualified for an illegal kick. ... Carlos Newton's Toronto Dragons take on Pat Miletich's Silverbacks (Quad Cities) in the IFL World Team Championship semifinal Nov. 2 in Portland. Dragons welterweight Claude Patrick of Mississauga, Ont., will meet Rory Markham, Winnipeg middleweight Joe Doerksen will take on Ryan McGivern, Ottawa light-heavyweight Brent Beauparlant tackles Mike Ciesnolevicz and Toronto heavyweight Wojtek Kaszowski faces Ben Rothwell. The Dragons have yet to name their lightweight. Bas Rutten's Anacondas (Los Angeles) fight Matt Lindland's Wolfpack (Portland) in the other semifinal on the card.