Rich Franklin: I fought Vitor and Wandy to help them transition to middleweight
by Eduardo Cruz on Nov 27, 2009 12:39 PM EST
46 comments
Props: National Post
Quoteworthy:
"The UFC asked me to fight the catchweight fights to help Silva and Belfort make the drop down to 185 pounds. But now I’ve lost my ranking at 185 and 205. It’s crazy — I can headline a card and not be top-10 ranked. I took the Belfort fight because Dana called and asked me, even though I wasn’t quite where I needed to be physically or mentally. Now, I’m not making excuses, that’s just the nature of the fight game. But now I’m taking some time off and probably won’t fight again until April or May. I need to rest and relax and recover a little bit and I also hate prepping for a fight in the wintertime. Cincinnati can get pretty cold and I hate running and working out when the temperature is always zero.”
Former middleweight champion Rich Franklin talks about "doing his job" as both a fighter and employee of Zuffa -- even if it means jeopardizing his ranking in catchweight bouts against fighters like Vitor Belfort – who knocked "Ace" out in the first round of their main event at UFC 103. Hopefully his loyalty helped both Belfort and Wanderlei Silva (who fought Franklin at UFC 99 in June) effectively transition to 185-pounds -- where very little margin for error exists. The question now is, who will the former champion and TUF coach fight upon his return?
(Photo courtesy Glenn Dextras for National Post)
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gotta love franklin..
i have nothing but respect for him, but does this mean that his rumored fight with jardine is off??
agreed, I’m not a huge fan, but you gotta respect him. Take the time off and come back stronger than ever!
For some reason I've always hated him
Somthing about Rich just irks me. To me he comes across as a phony an a tool. I think every word that comes out of his mouth is contrived and insincere.
Franklin's one of my favorites
I always root for him, because he’s just a standup, classy guy. Then again, I only know the side of him that appears in interviews and specials. I spoke to an acquaintance, who trains MMA, and he said Franklin’s a jerk. Caught me by surprise, but I don’t think he’s lying.
I would like to see Rich and Forrest go at it. If not, I guess a Rich Tito fight would make for a decent fight. Or maybe Rich vs Luiz Cane/Vera?
I would love to see Franklin fight
DB22, for spreading such blasphemy across the internets. LOL. Rich is a nice guy, I hated watching Silva destroy his face in their two fights. I felt sorry for him to have to take such a beating. Definitely the only time I’ve seen someone get there face rearranged and not enjoy watching it.
Fedor is the king…
P4P best ever.
Now get on your knees…
and bow down to the sweater!!! -infamous Mania Blogger.
Just not my kind of guy
I know he’s a nice guy and what not, I just never believed him. Somthing about the guy, but he just comes off as fake to me. Whatever, I enjoy watching him fight, but I don’t think he’s gonna sniff a belt again in his career. There are good matchups for him out there though. Maybe a fight with Tito or Chuck is in order. How about Jon Jones if he gets past Hamil? I think it’d be a good test for Jonny and an entertaining fight. Jardine or Vera would be good fight too. Maybe even Luis Cane.
agreed
he should take the time off to really bulk up for the lhw division and just fought about this catchweight bullshit but would love to him fight jardine
by irish maniac on Nov 27, 2009 6:11 PM EST up reply actions
Franklin should fight Jardine, it’d be good for his confidence. Rich doesn’t have KO power, but Keith gets knocked out in snowball fights these days.
OK guys, I’m outta here. Heading up to Whistler to party this weekend. Catch you silly bastards on Monday.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)
by Jeremyjackson on Nov 27, 2009 1:03 PM EST up reply actions
randy Vs Ace @205
I don’t care if u hate both of em. Their both in the twilight of their careers and that would just be awesome to see IMO.
by daniel worby on Nov 27, 2009 12:53 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Go back to MW Rich where you belong…chances are decent that if you happen to get another title shot you might not have to face you-know-who
not a bad idea..
the UFC has a better middleweight division then when he was there last so i think it would make shud good matches, as long as
DJ
I have always thought Rich did something to piss Dana off, always being bounced between divisions and fighting someone in transition. It seems Rich now feels the same way.
I like Rich, but he’s being a bit of a whiner. He talked about wanting to fight at 195 well before he had any catchweight fights. Said it was the perfect weight for him. He wasn’t complaining after he got the decision over Wand, but after Belfort clips him he’s suddenly a victim of the UFC pushing him into catchweight fights? I’m not buying it.
And he lost his ranking at 185 because he got obliterated twice by Anderson and left the division, it had nothing to do with these fights. As far as 205 goes, I don’t think he’s been ranked in the top ten in that division since 2006.
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)
by Jeremyjackson on Nov 27, 2009 1:50 PM EST up reply actions
looks like the only thing rich beat the stuffing out if lately is..
that punching bag in the corner, unlike silva, it doesnt hit back!! gotta like Rich tho, Great to have guys like this representing mma unlike Junie or some douche like that, and at the end of the day he always throws down and is in exiciting fights win or loose most of the time.
WAR CRO COP!!
Anderson should move to 205 and Rich should stay at 185. If shogun wins the rematch against Lyoto then Anderson should not have to be concerned about fighting his friend anymore.
What about Lil Nog?
He’s close friends with Machida and the Nog Bros, so has no intentions in moving up permeanently and having a crack at those belts, without the Nog Bros he’d be a “what could have been” story and his career would have ended well before he hit his prime and made his millions. They saved his career and got him back fighting when that dick from Chutebox had him blackballed from Pride. Andy is a loyal man and won’t try to interfere in a division with his “brother” Machida or one of the men who saved his career Lil Nog, he’s happy being a MW champion and fighting in superfights at LHW or HW. No matter the result of Shogun-Machida he’ll never fight for the LHW title.
They should let choose his next opponent
His own dream matchup. I am sure he could get up for that.
everytime i see franklins face
it reminds me of Jim Carrey in ME,MYSELF AND IRENE, “Parked your Car!!”
WAR CRO COP!!
i love whe fighter make excuses then say "i'm not making excuses"
quit bitching rich. the truth is that he is over the hill. a glancing blow from vitor knocked him out. that says more about rich than vitor imho. i think the wars with silva, vanderle, and hendo have left him a shot fighter. he has little earning potential anymore, i couldn’t get excited about any of his fights, he is just a gatekeeper now.
by Conan the Barbarian on Nov 27, 2009 3:03 PM EST reply actions
YOU MAKE SOME GOOD POINTS CONAN BUT..
Rich still has earning potential cause hes a nice genuine guy, not a shit talker and a good fighter at the end of the day, hes just one of those guys who you rote for cause of who he is as a person and a fighter imo, i dunno hard to explain, like cro cop, randy, big nog, you know their getting on and just might loose but still wanna see them win for some reason………………kinda like the feeling you get when your watching Rocky fight.
WAR CRO COP!!
rich you let the ufc do it
i understand rich anger but at the same time no one force you to say yes
does it matter what his ranking is?
rich franklin is pretty far from being a serious threat to machida or silva (proven twice already) so what is he really worried about? he got to fight some big names and make some $$$. would he rather be buried on an undecard against young up and comers for less money? i think he should fight tito next, another in a long line of meaningless yet entertaining big name fights for ace.
Totally disagree
Just because the guy loses to argueably the #1 P4P fighter (twice), Hendo (a legend), and Vitor – who is ridiculous, just wait till he fights Silva (not saying he will win though) and you are saying he is done?
Quit trolling duck.
Quit trolling?
I’ve beeb posting on here for years. Sorry…I’ve never been a fan of Rich. Sorry that bothers you. Now he’’s complaining about working out in the Winter because it’s to cold? Sounds like it’s time for him to hang em up!
Wally doesn't know what trolling is
But Rich is still extremely relevant. He is a top 5 MW and top 15 LHW. Nothing wrong with that. There are a ton of fights for Rich still and he doesn’t need to retire.
Fedor is the king…
P4P best ever.
Now get on your knees…
and bow down to the sweater!!! -infamous Mania Blogger.
The guy has a point though
Id rather see him fight at middleweight though. Light-Heavy just isnt for him.
realllly realllly reediculously goood lookeeng
Looks like Derek Z in that picture!
Magnum isn’t near ready.
It needs to be @ least 3x this big.
That anyone can die in a freak gasoline accident.
You don’t think I’m a good eugooglizer?
Earth to matilda.
by daniel worby on Nov 27, 2009 5:56 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Head back to MW
Being champ again isn’t something I thinks in his future, but imo I believe he can still give most MW a fit. Some great fights for Franklin down at 185, for instance I think him and Willy G would be a great fight. Personally I don’t think Franklin can hang with the top dogs at 205. His size advantage is something he lacks at LHW, which is something his used to his advantage at 185. You can still me a top 10 185’er Rich, just stick it out!
pwilson
stfu
you are the same assholes who back when belfort had lost like 5 out of 7 and was looking like shit yall were saying “he should just give it up, hes past his prime, he should just give up and walk away blah blah blah blah hes lost like 5 of 7 fights his career is over blah blah”……but now suddenly belfort is on a winning streak you guys are back on his cock…
rich has a couple bad fights and you guys break out the whole same shit “blah blah rich should hang it up, hes a has been his days are over, hes just a b level fight now blah blah whiney whiney”
hypocritical fucks…2 years ago belfort was a has been…now hes a contender…writing rich off because of a few bad fights its just fucking retarded….if everyone who had a bad streak was written off belfort would be sitting in line for a title shot now dickheads…
just sayin
yea son
hella out
jake shields is the highest ranked fighter to have never fought i highly ranked fighter...i cant wait till hendo signs to strikeforce and murders that talentless waste of flesh
I stuck with Belfort
His freakin sister was kidnapped before he fought Randy. Later turned up dead. My god he is a champion. Now he is back and only like 32 years old. Also in that Randy fight the idiot American fans booed him for cutting Randy which wasnt his fault, but to boo him while he was going through that shit is just terrible. As for Rich he fights top guys all the time of course you are bound to lose once in a while. He will win his next fight.
nobody reads long posts like yours..
i’m surprised that some of you actually WANT to see him fight again.
the only reason that rich ever won the title to begin with was because he fought a fighter even more one-dimensional than himself, the tan-man (RIP).
you would think a masters degree in mathematics would help his cognitive fighting abilities, however, rich continues to rely on the same basic skill-set that saw him become the champion in a young and talentless division years ago. in terms of evolving as a fighter, rich is a dinosaur.
PS- he lost to wanderlei
Coach's Corner?
Rich has fought some of the greatest fighters in the world and can still beat 95% of any LHW or MW fighter!? His losses come to Anderson Silva the pound for pound best fighter in the world, and Belfort a dangerous vetran striker that is thought by many as a top five LHW and top three MW. Franklin is still a top five MW today. The only thing Franklin is really missing that hurts him is lack of KO power.
by BeaverRaider on Nov 28, 2009 3:04 PM EST up reply actions
valid points Coach
But he beat Wanderlei… I didn’t like it either, I love Wandy, but Rich did beat him. I went back and rewatched it and scored it myself, Rich did more than enough.
In the name of the Fedor, the Anderson and the GSP, Amen.
by Spinning Fat Kick on Nov 30, 2009 6:15 AM EST up reply actions
Plus...
you can’t really accuse Rich of being 1 dimensional and then back Wandy. I appreciate that wandy has a black belt in bjj, but I can’t even think when he’s used it.Wanderlei loves to strike and pretty much refuses to do anything else.
In the name of the Fedor, the Anderson and the GSP, Amen.
by Spinning Fat Kick on Nov 30, 2009 6:18 AM EST up reply actions
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