The match fans once thought unlikely has cleared its final hurdle, as former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin checked in at 203 pounds for his main event showdown with former Pride titleholder Dan Henderson (202) at UFC 93 on Saturday at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

The 18 other fighters on the card -- including UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman (206) and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205) -- also made weight without incident at Friday’s official weigh-in.

Franklin (24-3), despite all his critics, has been defeated by only two men -- reigning middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the unbeaten Lyoto Machida -- in his nine-year career. The 34-year-old has won back-to-back fights against Travis Lutter and Matt Hamill. His latest conquest, a third-round technical knockout against Hamill at UFC 88, marked his return to the light heavyweight division.

A two-time Olympian and one of mixed martial arts’ most decorated competitors, Henderson (23-7) has never been knocked out in 30 career bouts. The 37-year-old stopped a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory against dangerous Brazilian grappler Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 in September. Still the only man to hold major titles in two weight classes simultaneously, Henderson owns high-profile wins against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Bustamante and Vitor Belfort, among others.

The rematch pairing Coleman with Rua will support the Franklin-Henderson main event, as the UFC heads overseas for the first time in 2009.

The 44-year-old Coleman has not appeared inside the Octagon in nine years. He holds a controversial victory against Rua, who dislocated his elbow and was unable to continue in their match at Pride 31 in 2006. A one-time Olympian and former NCAA national wrestling champion, Coleman (15-8) last fought at Pride 32 in October 2006 when he succumbed to a second-round armbar against the incomparable Fedor Emelianenko. He has dropped three consecutive fights inside the Octagon.

Rua (16-3), meanwhile, seems to have recovered from two reconstructive knee surgeries that interrupted a brilliant career. The 27-year-old Brazilian, once heralded as MMA’s premier light heavyweight, submitted to a rear-naked choke from Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 in September 2007. That defeat snapped a four-fight winning streak.

UFC 93 Weigh-In Results

Rich Franklin (203) vs. Dan Henderson (202)
Mark Coleman (206) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (205)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Denis Kang (184)
Jeremy Horn (185) vs. Rousimar Palhares (184)
Marcus Davis (169) vs. Chris Lytle (171)
Martin Kampmann (168) vs. Alexandre Barros (170)
Eric Schafer (205) vs. Antonio Mendes (204)
Tomasz Drwal (203) vs. Ivan Serati (204)
Thomas Egan (169) vs. John Hathaway (171)
Dennis Siver (155) vs. Nate Mohr (156)