Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

The UFC has ramped up their event and travel schedule further by announcing the organization will open 2009 overseas in Dublin, Ireland with a Jan. 17 event pitting ex-champions Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin in the main event.

The event will one of five promoted by the company in the months of December and January, and the outing will the promotion's first time in Dublin.

The 33-year-old Franklin (24-3) captured the middleweight title in June 2005 and held onto the belt until losing to current kingpin Anderson Silva in Oct. 2006. In his most recent fight, he scored a third-round TKO over Matt Hamill at UFC 88.

Henderson, meanwhile, has had a comparable level of success. The 38-year-old once concurrently held the PRIDE 183-lb. and 205-lb. world titles. Since returning to the UFC, he has gone 1-2 with losses to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva before beating Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88.

Despite both being considered two of the world’s top middleweights, the fight will be contested in the light-heavyweight (205 lb.) division.

The only other bout announced for  theJan. 17 event is a light-heavyweight fight between Maurico “Shogun” Rua and UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman.

Rua will be making his return after missing all of 2008 after suffering a rupture ACL while training for a fight with Chuck Liddell earlier this year. The clash represents a rematch. In Feb. 2005, Coleman defeated Rua in something of a fluke when Shogun dislocated his elbow defending a takedown attempt.

Coleman was the UFC’s first-ever heavyweight champion back in 1997, and is considered one of the originators of the “ground-and-pound” style favored by many with  wrestling backgrounds. The 43-year-old has been inactive since losing due to armbar to Fedor Emelianenko in Oct. 2006. He had been signed to face Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 before he injured a knee and was replaced by Heath Herring.

Affliction had been expected to hold its second live card on Jan. 17, but last week, company COO Michael Cohen told NBCSports.com that the organization was leaning toward Jan. 24, which would avoid a head-to-head broadcast battle.

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