Rich Franklin wins respect with gritty UFC 99 war against Wanderlei Silva

by Bryan Levick on Jun 18, 2009 1:23 AM EDT

Any fighter who holds a 26-4 record and was once the UFC middleweight championship would certainly consider their career a resounding success. For Rich Franklin he can leave the sport with his head held high at any point from here on in. Some say his career has been marked by an inability to win the big one.

Franklin has been one of the UFC's poster boys since their epic explosion following the first Ultimate Fighter Finale. It was on that show where he defeated UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock via brutal first round TKO and announced that he was here to make an impact. Being chosen as one of the two coaches on the follow-up season only enhanced his value. Up until that point he had lost only one fight to a relatively unknown Lyoto Machida on a New Year's Eve card in Japan in 2003.

In June of 2005 he defeated Evan Tanner for the second time in a bout for the UFC middleweight championship. His first defense came against Nate Quarry and he won via first round knockout. Franklin would defend the title for a second time against David Loiseau in a five round war just four months later. He was now 21-1 and facing a stiff test in Anderson Silva.

Silva was awarded a title shot based upon his complete domination over Chris Leben at Ultimate Fight Night 5 in his organizational debut. Silva defeated Franklin and took home the middleweight crown in just under three minutes work. So at this point in his career Franklin had only lost twice. He would take home a win against gatekeeper Jason MacDonald and then win a hard fought battle against Yushin Okami to earn a rematch against Silva at UFC 77 in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Although Franklin was able to last into the second round this time around the result was the same, another loss and another broken nose for Franklin. With this loss also came the realization that as long as Silva was champion Franklin would no longer vie for the middleweight title. Three losses, two to the same man and Franklin was left in limbo. The UFC put him up against perennial underachiever Travis Lutter. Franklin took advantage of Lutter's poor conditioning and earned himself a second round TKO.

As you see there was a trend beginning here, Franklin was good enough to beat the good fighters, the guys who pretended to contend but when it came down to it he could not get over the hump against the upper echelon fighters. Franklin then decided to fight at 205 lbs and was matched up against Matt Hamill. Here is another fighter who was tough but someone Franklin was certainly expected to defeat. At UFC 88 he defeated the fellow Ohioan resident via third round TKO.

What happened next still confuses me to this day. With no room in the middleweight division for Franklin as long as Silva ruled the roost, the only plausible place for Ace was at 205 lbs. The UFC had other ideas as they had him face off with Dan Henderson at light heavyweight for the right to coach against middleweight Michael Bisping in the first ever USA vs. UK Ultimate Fighter show. The winner would participate on the show and then square off against Bisping at the end in a bout to be contested at 185 lbs. Henderson was awarded a very narrow split decision. Once again Franklin fought an elite fighter and once again he came up short.

All that led to his UFC 99 battle with former Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva. For the first time in his career, Franklin won a fight that many expected him to lose. This fight did not end without controversy as many people thought Silva won the fight. Whatever Franklin does from here on in he will have gone on to defeat one of the sport's very best of all time who still has a lot to offer and a lot of fight left in him. A solid win for the man who kept coming up short.

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Comments

One of the BEST, classiest, and most likeable guys in MMA!

Favorite middle weight for sure and shope he does well at 205 where there are PLENTY of exciting match up…

Franklin vs: Forrest, Jardine, T. Silva, Chuck, TITO, Evans, Rampage, Lyoto again one day, soko, and Mousassi would all be fantastic fights!

thats pretty much all the upper echelon guys in the UFC and some outside, lol.

by SoCalStunNa on Jun 18, 2009 1:29 AM EDT reply actions

no doubt socal~

i think franklin is one of the most underrated fighters out there..

alot of peeps wrote him off after his 2 loses to andy..

rich has mad potential to make it big~ and possibly work his way up to a title shot at 205..imo

i would like to see franklin fight luis cane..that would be a scrap..

i would also like to see him fight hendo at 195 as well as another fight with wand~

by stinky~fingers on Jun 18, 2009 8:07 AM EDT up reply actions

He lacks Ko power to truly make a title run at 205, but he is still a GREAT fighter and a class act for sure!

by JOhn G on Jun 18, 2009 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions

firstly i have to say that this article was a very good read!!!

i personally believe he should of won against hendo and i think the only person he has beat that isnt a pretend contender is okami who i think should really be having a number 1 contender match with someone unfortunitely bisping/hendo & maia/marquardt leaves no room for okami

by ufcaddict on Jun 18, 2009 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions

This article was a great read except for the harping about Franklin not being able to beat the top echelon of fighters. His loss to Hendo was boring and lame on Hendo’s fight, I personally thought he got robbed and dry humped like crazy. Franklin is without a doubt one of the classiest fighters of all time, I know he could be Hendo in a rematch and he is still in my book as the number 2 best MW in MMA.

by Cogito Ergo Sum on Jun 18, 2009 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions

if I were a judge I would have gave Rich the nod over Hendo but I would have gave Wanderlei the nod over Rich…But both fights were really close and I understand how a judge could have saw it different then myself…Neither decisions were ROBBERY’s, just very close fights that could have been awarded to either fighter!

After watching the fights 5 or 6 times each, its clear to me who really won, but judges dont have that luxury so I cant fault them for awarding the wins to Hendo and Rich at UFC 99, but if you break down the film…Its clear that Franklin beat Hendo, and wandy beat Rich!

by JOhn G on Jun 18, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree and I might add Fraklin beats your first 4 fighters Forrest, Jardine, T. Silva, Chuck, TITO,but doesn’t have a shot at the rest. Watched the Wandy fight again my bad Rich won that fight hands down but it seemed if Wandy would have bum rushed him a ko was likely. Rich doesn’t handle pressure well = Anderson

by Robert(1) on Jun 18, 2009 8:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Could not have said it better myself, I could have gone on for hours about how much he has meant to the sport. He will forever be an ambassador for the sport and lead the organization for years to come long after his days in the octagon are over.

by Bryan on Jun 18, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions

My respect level for Franklin did not go up after watching this fight. He seems to fight scared ever since Anderson Silva put him inside a clinch from hell. He’s a gate keeper at best.

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 1:43 AM EDT reply actions

no not a gatekeeper u guys use that way too loosely these days..

by guyverbob on Jun 18, 2009 1:46 AM EDT reply actions

pretty damn negative story about rich if you ask me

by xero on Jun 18, 2009 1:48 AM EDT reply actions

Horrible story, Franklin was a teacher and started traning at a late age for MMA. He is a great story. Yes he has lost twice to Anderson Silva, but i do believe no one in the UFC has beaten Anderson, and dont say Okami did, because we all know it was a DQ, and if u wanna throw that around then hmmmm Rich did beat Okami. Rich has beaten anyone put in front of him besides Anderson and Machida, which by my count is the Light Heavyweight Champ and hasnt ever lost period. So that means no one has been able to figure him out. And yes he lost a Dec to Hendo. Hendo is one of the Greatest MMA’ers of all time, a true legend, that was a razor close fight. And i honestly think Rich lost that fight because he didnt care to coach on the Ultimate fighter. The guy is 26 and 4, Bryan Levick will never have even 4 compelling stories if he keeps writing crap like this

by See What Had Happend Was !!!! on Jun 18, 2009 1:58 AM EDT reply actions

stopped reading after you said he won against hendo. hendo won 1st round clearly, hendo won second round narrowly and franklin won the third round clearly. hendo 29/28 no controversy

by Jared on Jun 18, 2009 7:38 AM EDT up reply actions

you guys are saying he is a gatekeeper? are you kidding me man, yall know nothing then, how about you get in there with him and see if he is a gatekeeper, let me guess Mike, he fight right? your a expert in fighting, I doubt it dude, he is a hall of famer in the future, no doubt. Or hey why dont you get in the ring with Wanderlei and see what you can do, im so tired of people tlking shit about people in this sport. try it out buddy, then talk. anything else you say..doesnt matter at all.

by michael on Jun 18, 2009 1:58 AM EDT reply actions

Actually I’ve been training for three years. Would you like to spar sometime?

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 2:15 AM EDT up reply actions

I wouldnt mind sparring seeing as how you lost the point of the argument and resorted to challenge the man who asked if you have been in franklins or wandy’s shoes…and yet you challenge someone who has no mma experience. Therefore proving the point he just made about you.

by santiago69us on Jun 18, 2009 4:40 AM EDT up reply actions

what a meat head! in that case i have been boxing since i was 15 with real good amateur record. Started training in Muy Thai at Piston Muy Thai acadamey in 2002 and have 1 year of BJJ under my belt….do you want to spar???

by Danny_c on Jun 18, 2009 9:14 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, this ‘gatekeeper’ epithet is, as someone said, thrown around too loosely. It seems like the universal definition of gatekeeper is someone who had won a title but can’t get it back or someone who doesn’t have consistent wins but is a quality opponent. Well in that case, you may as well call three quarters of the fighters gatekeepers.

by Johnny Farnham on Jun 18, 2009 5:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Franklin is a good fighter and doesn’t get enough credit from the Oh So Fickle MMA community. Give the guy a break. Lost to 3 former or current champions. I don’t think that constitutes a “GIVE UP FRANKLIN” chant.

by Sean M on Jun 18, 2009 2:01 AM EDT reply actions

and i never write on these wall posts and never will again, im to busy with my time. you now working out and training. so i say you do the same. talk with pride, not with your fingers. everyone competing in this sport is something special whether you make it or not. how about people honor the fighters instead of saying this or that. MMA is not NBA or NFL, MLB, or FIFA. its a sport where people come together. but I guess i forgot that mostpeople in this world or realy negative. or wannnabee’s. wll thats all, thanks for reading this. maybe ive changed someones mind. if not, I dont care. It is all true

by michael on Jun 18, 2009 2:03 AM EDT reply actions

I know what you’re saying Michael and I agree with you. For me personally, I critique fighter’s performance neutrally even if it turns out to be a criticism, not because I don’t respect what he does — that’s a given and never been necessary to say, it’s an unspoken fact — but it’s a hobby in itself to scrutinize, like a movie critic for example, the scrutiny creates the hype or squashes it, like the media, it’s an entity in itself.

But beside this neutral line of appreciation, on one side of the spectrum, is abject and unwarranted criticism which is always prevalent, and that’s because opinion is inevitable and unfortunately, so are morons.

by Johnny Farnham on Jun 18, 2009 5:03 AM EDT up reply actions

I really don’t think he “came up short” against Hendo. He got robbed in the third round via multiple illegal shots. Factually, Franklin did the best thing for his career when he lost to Hendo. He didn’t want to climb the 185 ladder again, and thats what it would have done.

I do agree, that article was extremely short sighted and negative.

by Miketsi on Jun 18, 2009 2:05 AM EDT reply actions

He won that CLOSE fight with Hendo.
Franklin got Robbed

BUT

i DO agree that it was better for his career!

by SoCalStunNa on Jun 18, 2009 2:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Totally agree I was shocked when he lost that.

by Cameron on Jun 18, 2009 3:40 AM EDT up reply actions

haha mike, I gotta disagree and add in that you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about…

by lukeinShanghai on Jun 18, 2009 2:19 AM EDT reply actions

It’s my opinion. How does my opinion translate into “I don’t know what I’m talking about”? How the hell would you know what I know or don’t know? I’d say you don’t know what the hell your talking about. You know if your were as smart as you were dumb, you’d be pretty smart.

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 2:24 AM EDT up reply actions

I think Franklin is better than 90% of the MMA fighters currently fighting in the sport. With that being said, he’s still a gate keeper in my opinion. His KO power is mediocre at best against top level opponents, and his submission game seems to be at the same level. I think the best thing Franklin has going for him is his intelligence. I think he just might be one of the most intelligent fighters going at this point in time. He also is avoids damage very well. He knows how to score points with the judges. these are all good skills and I give him respect but he’s still a gate keeper.

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 2:21 AM EDT reply actions

How does a former champ judged as a gate keeper….you definition of gatekeeper is retarded at best…somehow you managed to hammer the star block into the square whole hear. A gatekeeper prevents entry into contender ships level fights over 90% franklins fights have been against top 3 contenders in their respective divisions. Plus franklin may look scared to you…probably think the same thing of lyoto fighting to not take damage is the best tactic in a fight. To be honest franklin is one of the very rare fighters to stand in the pocket with silva and land any descent amount of shots and combinations. everyone one else threw and missed and got koed…or just held him down with no damage done (hendo) and get choked out. or just completely avoid him and not engage period.

by santiago69us on Jun 18, 2009 4:46 AM EDT up reply actions

“Kept coming up short?” Gimme a break. Franklin’s a powerhouse who’s only lost 4 times. He fought a lot of elite fighters on his way up to Middleweight Champion. Come on Levick, give this brilliant fighter the respect he’s due.

by whatev on Jun 18, 2009 2:22 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t know where Mania found this guy. Seriously, his opinions come very often out of left field and his contributions are usually completely pointless.

by Josh on Jun 18, 2009 4:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I co-sign.
-————————
“Some say his career has been marked by an inability to win the big one.” . . . "Kept coming up short?"

Some say???
I think “Some” are BUGGING!!! Didn’t he beat Evan Tanner to become the Middleweight champion? Henderson beat him, but he didn’t whip his behind! A freaking split decision loss.

by VEe on Jun 18, 2009 5:08 AM EDT up reply actions

also Mike, if you’re ever in Shanghai, I’ll take you up on that sparring session. Everyone is always welcome at Shanghai BJJ

by lukeinShanghai on Jun 18, 2009 2:22 AM EDT reply actions

When training BJJ, you typically “roll” rather than spar so that pretty much tells me that your apparent training at “Shanghai BJJ” is BS and a failed attempt to make me, the others here, and yourself think that you train MMA.

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 2:29 AM EDT reply actions

mike, i agree franklin is an intelligent fighter who knows how to win. i agree with you there. but where do you come up with the term gatekeeper to describe him? correct me if im wrong but my understanding of the term is more or less a guy you fight as a stepping stone to the more skilled and talented guys in a division. if you cant beat the gatekeeper, youre not going anywhere in the division. thats my brief understanding of the term gatekeeper. now, where does rich franklin fit into any of that? are you serious man? gatekeeper for who? he lost to silva twice and other than a close loss to hendo hes beaten some top tier talent. so he certainly wasnt a gatekeeper in middleweight, and hes just getting started in LHW so hes not been gatekeeping there either. most of all, with a 26-4 record and two losses coming from silva and another from machida how can you even suggest hes a gatekeeper. gatekeepers dont have records like that bud. id love to hear who else you think is a gatekeeper?

by tank on Jun 18, 2009 3:00 AM EDT reply actions

Terrible article. Too short, way off base, and it served no purpose.

by nickname on Jun 18, 2009 5:07 AM EDT reply actions

Mike, yeah man I agree with tank. I respect your opinion in the sense that you think there are better fighters out there, but to call him a “gatekeeper” is just fucking silly. I consider someone like Chris Leben, or Houston Alexander to be a gatekeeper. That word is used much, much too loosely.

Anyhow, to say that Rich Franklin earned respect after his last win is stupid. Horrible story. I think Rich Franklin earned respect by being the middleweight champ for so damn long. And only losing to three different people in his entire career. Absolutely no shame in losing to Hendo, Machida, and Anderson.

by Billy on Jun 18, 2009 7:13 AM EDT reply actions

Good points Billy Boy.

by Johnny Farnham on Jun 18, 2009 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Franklin OWNED your little pet Wand.

Suck it up.

by Green Inferno on Jun 18, 2009 7:45 AM EDT reply actions

Whatever, Franklin can’t finish top level guys and his last fight was hardly unanimous. He was gifted that win. He’s a good guy and is talented for sure, but lets get real.

by Demtor on Jun 18, 2009 11:39 AM EDT reply actions

i agree franklin won a ton of respect with his win over wanderlei but i still think he already had plenty before it. to go 26-4 in mma with your only loses being to anderson silva (twice), machida and hendo, thats pretty damn impressive. plus rich is still 34 and he doesn’t have the kind of mileage on him as guys like wanderlei, chuck, randy, hughes, etc. i don’t think rich franklin is going anywhere just yet and i hope he can make a good run in the LHW division. but lets be honest though, the upper echelon at 205 is very different from the upper echelon at 185. i just don’t know how well he would do against top guys like forrest, rampage, rashad, etc. and even if he somehow gets past them, there’s no way franklins taking the belt from machida, in fact, i don’t think anyone is taking that from him for a looong time. so then what? float around and just be a gate keeper in another division? franklin’s an excellent, exciting fighter, but if he wants to survive and be a legit contender at 205, he needs to do some serious gameplanning, couture-style.

by matmar87 on Jun 18, 2009 12:47 PM EDT reply actions

most ego’s get in the way of facts. people are to easy to judge around here,which is why i never comment, but glad to see most are on my side. cause what ive said is legit, the dude just beat the most devastating KO artist in the game, and true warrior and legend in MMA. but franklin is the gate keeper. come on now. get real. just cause it was close doesnt matter. he still won, its called strategy, you know MMA has that. If you lose it, your done. bottom line, he did his job. so enough with the keyboard warriors. Rich is the man, and i cant wait to see him fight again.

by michael on Jun 18, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions

Franklin’s win over Wandi has nothing to do with my opinion that he is a gate keeper to the belt. Rich lost to Dan Henderson, Anderson Silva, and Machida. Two out of these three fighters currently hold the belt in their weight class. Franklin is an A- fighter when compared to the belt holders, the champions. This is irrefutable. Rich IS NOT “the man”.

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions

I guess the argument then becomes “What is the definition of a gate keeper?” For me it’s a fighter who is just below the belt. An A- if you will, rather than an A+. Yes Franklin had the belt at one point but MMA has grown so rapidly of the last two years alone that it’s almost certain the their are now fighters who can take Franklin to school, even if they currently are not contracted with the UFC. I think my opinion will play out over the next year for Franklin, however I reserve the right to be wrong. He will never have the belt again, in my opinion. I guess I should have said “Gate keeper to the belt” in my original post.

by mike on Jun 18, 2009 1:09 PM EDT reply actions

rich came from a class room. to learning MMA from watching videos. he was a great champ, and a great speaker for MMA. hes the man, whether you consider that title with a belt or not. he has alot in him, he is not done. he is young, very tough to beat, and his BJJ is getting better and better. not only is his striking different from a traditional boxer, he can KO you from any angle. this is my last comment, I respect everyones opinion. But I mean come on. You cant have much to say negativly about Rich, the dude is a good guy and great fighter.

by michael on Jun 18, 2009 2:18 PM EDT reply actions

he is what every mma fighter should be, repspectful and intelligent, he came from a class room, to learning MMA by video tapes, an look at his success, he cant say anything bad about the guy, hes a true champ with a title or not. peole should look up to that, but critique everything you think he should do in a fight, its his fight, and strategy, he got his, and now he is moving on up, and for people that say hes done, your wrong. his BJJ is getting better and better. ive trained with travis lutter and he completely made him look like a white belt. i respect everyones comments, and understand people opinions. but the man is a future hall of famer. and he is someone people can look up to. he doesnt trash talk, he is a respectable fighter and respects his opponents, that is what MMA is all about.

by michael on Jun 18, 2009 2:24 PM EDT reply actions