Hermes Franca retires after Jan. 8 loss to Eric Wisely
by Alpha Male on Jan 9, 2010 10:57 AM EST
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UFC veteran and former WEC lightweight champion Hermes Franca is retiring from active competition after suffering a TKO loss to Eric Wisely on the Max Fights DM: "Ballroom Brawl IV" card in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 8. according to MMAWeekly.com.
The Brazilian at one time was one of the industry's most feared lightweights. After winning eight straight fights including submission victories over Toby Imada, Jamie Varner and Nate Diaz, Franca finished Spencer Fisher at Fight Night 8 to earn a crack at Sean Sherk's 155-pound title at UFC 77 back in July 2007.
He would drop a unanimous decision to "The Muscle Shark" and subsequently test positive for steroids.
Unfortunately his career would go into a tailspin following his loss to Sherk. After returning from a 12-month suspension stemming from his positive drug test, he came up short against Frankie Edgar in his July 2008 comeback fight at UFC Fight Night 14.
The Brazilian managed to bounce back with a win against his former Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher Marcus Aurelio at UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote" in October but then shortly thereafter was arrested in Jupiter, Fla., on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
Franca was scratched from his 155-pound match up against Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 17 in Feb. 2009 due to an ACL tear in his right knee. He was paired up with Tyson Griffin at UFC 103 later in the year where he was stopped via TKO in the second round.
He was later released by the UFC.
Now with the loss to Wisely, Franca has decided to call it a career and return to training his students and fighters at his gym East West Combat Club in Syracuse.
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Damn
That sucks, Always been a Franca fan. Guy is nothing but nice, always smiling even when he got KO’d by Tyson lol.
Thanks for all the fights Franca!
Thanks for the memories of multicolored hair Franks!!
I guess you can say that Hermes “wisely” retired after being beaten by Wisely…
Whatever the fuck you do in life, echoes in eternity! <----slightly edited
-Maximus[Gladiator]
by The Negation on Jan 10, 2010 4:22 AM EST up reply actions
I remember how frustrated he looked during the Sherk fight.
Hes been a good coach to Kurt and the others so he’ll be alright.
Curtis "my favorite" Martin - 1 of the best!
When sherk made it through that guillotine, even i gave up.
But it’s better this way, he probly showed up even fatter and probly cared less than his last fight. He’ll probly come back in a couple of years.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on Jan 9, 2010 5:02 PM EST up reply actions
its sad that this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkx4iQ2NwEc&aia
has more hits than this story hermes was a great fighter and man and will be missed in this sport by many
Bummer
Always enjoyed watching him fight, he was pretty exciting to watch but he looked so out of shape in his last UFC fight against Griffin maybe his heart just ain’t it in anymore.
by Captain Ernesto on Jan 9, 2010 11:24 AM EST reply actions
He never really seemed to bounce back from positive drug test...
He didn’t come back the same fighter after the positive. I was always a Franca fan also. To bad he left I still thought he had some interesting fights left. He could have settled in a great gatekeeper for the 155 division.
Where's my new pic, alpha
Been out of town for a bit.
You got my pic?
"I'll make that [expletive] fight right now for free. Let's do it."
- Dana White on Fedor vs Lesnar
lol here we go...we never said that it was until UFN though. I expecting ya to keep it till 109.
SIG…. Always happy to give you a hand – The Calgarian Hand Grenade.
thats the way it goes when you are a one trick pony
the guy never cared to even work on his standup.
another perfect example of why you need to work on a complete skill set at this level.
so long hermes- take hughes, tito, houston alexander, kongo, and all the other one trick ponies with you.
and if fitch dont start working on his standup then he will need to go as well.
not really
i want to see more guys work on their weaknesses.
for example: tito ortiz
the guy was off for a long time before the griffin fight.
he has enough money to hire a decent boxing coach and time to work on his standup.
but he absoultly refuses to improve. how does he not see this gaping hole and not try to fill it?
Shame for Franca, he could have been a much better fighter but he didn’t have the work ethic required to train to be the best. Ever since he got caught taking steroids he’s not been the same fighter, he’s looked sluggish in his fights and has been in poor shape, if his heart’s not in it anymore then now is the time to quit.
"Anderson Silva is the best fighter on the planet...any Anderson Silva fight that is on, people should be buying that PPV, not because he’s my fighter but you know what, he to me is like the Muhammad Ali of MMA...the UFC has been around since 1993, nobody (else) has 10 consecutive wins in the UFC. Anderson has had 10 fights in the UFC, only 1 has ever gone to a decision."
Ed Soares on why Andy is the best fighter in the world
Don't worry, Herpes will be back in a few years prob in a comeback match with Shonie Carter................
Well thats if the UFC keeps going the way it’s going!!
But in all seriousness he provided some entertaining moments on my TV screen, good scrapper, adios amigo.
I"m no Ned Flanders punk!!
Shonie's the man
I’ll never get bored of seeing Mr International. Now that guy has charisma.
"Anderson Silva is the best fighter on the planet...any Anderson Silva fight that is on, people should be buying that PPV, not because he’s my fighter but you know what, he to me is like the Muhammad Ali of MMA...the UFC has been around since 1993, nobody (else) has 10 consecutive wins in the UFC. Anderson has had 10 fights in the UFC, only 1 has ever gone to a decision."
Ed Soares on why Andy is the best fighter in the world
That man could sell ice to Eskimos.
Mr. International is probably still the reigning PPV Champ. According to him.
Frank Mir packed 30+ pounds of solid muscle onto his body in five months. Why hasn't anyone called him out for steroid use? Is it because he never wrestled for Vince McMahon? I give Mir credit for his taste in strippers/wives, not his fighting skills or his personality.
Maurcus Aurelio is retiring too
Marcus “The Maximus” Aurelio is the next to get retired. Write it down.
Franca is brawler. Hope he makes enough money teaching new students.
"Once Flamengo, Flamengo until die"
I could see that happening. Any reason for you to think he is next though?
Frank Mir packed 30+ pounds of solid muscle onto his body in five months. Why hasn't anyone called him out for steroid use? Is it because he never wrestled for Vince McMahon? I give Mir credit for his taste in strippers/wives, not his fighting skills or his personality.
He's too old now
Aurelio’s the only guy that Franca beat after getting caught with roids, he can’t strike and his BJJ isn’t as effective as it once was. He was a good fighter in his day but it’s time to hang it up for him as well, though to be fair to Marcus he actually bothers to keep in shape unlike his former trainee/rival.
"Anderson Silva is the best fighter on the planet...any Anderson Silva fight that is on, people should be buying that PPV, not because he’s my fighter but you know what, he to me is like the Muhammad Ali of MMA...the UFC has been around since 1993, nobody (else) has 10 consecutive wins in the UFC. Anderson has had 10 fights in the UFC, only 1 has ever gone to a decision."
Ed Soares on why Andy is the best fighter in the world
A man close to him told me once he'll teach BJJ in a new team. Don't know whether he's already officially retired, Alpha.
"Once Flamengo, Flamengo until die"
by Eduardo Cruz on Jan 10, 2010 7:48 AM EST up reply actions
It's a sad news. Hermes is a great guy and a good fighter. It seems like yesterday that he was fighting for the title.
Thanks Hermes for all the exciting fights that you had. I’ll always be a fan of yours.
He's the kind of guy who will fight again
He will get the itch to fight again some day.
"He#s the WWE champ and with out a doubt should be ranked higher than any other man in the UFC. "-Puck Head, LOL.
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