People say the best way to conquer your fears is to face them – just ask Fear Factor host and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. If you're afraid of sharks – go swim with great whites. If you're terrified of heights – go bungee jumping.

Former middleweight champion Rich Franklin is facing his fears this weekend when he steps in the cage with the man who stripped him of his title and handed him the most brutal beating of his MMA career.

Franklin is trying to regain his championship belt and his pride when he faces champ Anderson Silva at UFC 77: Hostile Territory on Saturday night. Oddsmakers have tagged the challenger as a +165 underdog, basing much of this number on their first meeting at UFC 64 last October.

In that fight, Silva dominated Franklin by locking in his Muay Thai clinch and serving up knee after knee to the then-champion, eventually ending the bout with a TKO only three minutes into the first round.

Mixed martial arts linesmaker Joey Oddessa says Franklin wasn't prepared for Silva and had never faced a fighter like the Brazilian before. Franklin allowed Silva to dictate the pace. If he does it again, Saturday's result will be the same as in their first showdown.

In order to combat Silva's attack, Franklin must stay aggressive and not let the fear of another knockout make him passive in the octagon. The former school teacher bounced back after the loss to Silva with wins against Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami, who actually face each other on this Saturday's card. Oddessa feels Franklin was on his heels in these two fights, which can happen when a fighter loses his nerve.

Other former champions, Chuck Liddell and PRIDE star Mirco Cro Cop, have also been on the receiving end of devastating knockouts. Both these fighters came out cautious in their following bouts and were dominated by opponents thought to be handpicked, bounce-back victims.

"You can never tell what is inside a fighter's head after losing in dramatic fashion," says Odessa. "Franklin has had some time to rebound and while it may not have been his best performance, he got past those hurdles."

Franklin will also have the crowd on his side this Saturday with U.S. Bank Arena in his hometown of Cincinnati serving as the venue. Oddessa says there's an edge when it comes to a supportive crowd, but it can also put some added pressure on the fighter to come up big and not get embarrassed in front of family and friends.

"It's a great fight, but after the dominating performance the first time around it's hard to imagine the fight going much different," says Oddessa. "Maybe lasting a while longer. It was also easier to bet on Silva at plus money (in the first fight) as compared to the much steeper -205 odds in the rematch."

Saturday's MMA action is live on pay per view. The nine-bout card begins at 10 p.m. ET.