Who does Rich Franklin want to fight next? Don't ask him -- he doesn't care
by Jesse Holland on Jul 19, 2010 9:50 AM EDT
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Props: MMA Torch
Quoteworthy:
"People ask me 'well who do you want to fight next?' I couldn't care less, this is a business to me; I'm making my way to the 205 lb. title at this point in time so as long as it's somebody that puts me in a direct line for that then I'm good to go, otherwise I don't want to waste my time. I've heard the fans talk about Forrest [Griffin] and I, I've heard the fans talk about Tito [Ortiz] and I. I know there's some fan interest out there for some particular fights, and I know that Dana is particularly interested in building fights that fans want to see, so if those guys are healthy at the time that I'm ready to return and that's a fight he wants to put on then yeah, I'm not going to say no to something like that."
Former middleweight champion Rich Franklin is hoping to throw his name into the hat of possible 205-pound title contenders after his first round knockout of former division champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell at UFC 115 last month in Vancouver. "Ace" is content to fight whoever the promotion puts in front of him so long as it doesn't interfere with his title aspirations. Should the former 185-pound kingpin be considered a relevant contender for light heavyweight gold? Or will the division's top dogs chew him up and spit him out?
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I think franklin wins comfortably against both ortiz and griffin, especially ortiz
Please don't ever let Carwin fight Big Nog! It would result in death
Can't decide who I hate more, Penn or Edgar
I don't
Fedor invented a language that incorporates Sambo and Kimuras.
So next time FEDOR is kicking your ass, don't be offended or hurt, he may be just trying to tell you he likes your hat.
by McArthur... on Jul 19, 2010 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions
i’d rather see him fight rampage in all honesty, I think that would be epic
I don’t think fighting ortiz gets him much closer to a title shot
Please don't ever let Carwin fight Big Nog! It would result in death
Can't decide who I hate more, Penn or Edgar
Where's Thiago Silva?
I wouldn’t mind seeing that fight
he's fighting Tim Boetch in a couple weeks
Fedor invented a language that incorporates Sambo and Kimuras.
So next time FEDOR is kicking your ass, don't be offended or hurt, he may be just trying to tell you he likes your hat.
by McArthur... on Jul 19, 2010 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions
hey, where did you hear that ? I live about 4 min away from one of his coachs gym’s, it seems I’ll have to run up there to sacan lol.
Forrest, Tito, and Thiago are all great fights for Rich
I’ve been wanting to see Rich fight Forrest and Tito for years, and I think Thiago/Franklin has all the makings of a Stand-n-Bang fireworks show. Even though I think the cream of the division would get the better of him, I think Rich is a tough fight for ANYBODY at LHW. But right now, I’m more interested in seeing him fight these three guys or Couture than in seeing him against a Shogun or Machida.
he's fighting boetsch pretty soon
Please don't ever let Carwin fight Big Nog! It would result in death
Can't decide who I hate more, Penn or Edgar
the put him on the under card for losing to evans, harsh!
Please don't ever let Carwin fight Big Nog! It would result in death
Can't decide who I hate more, Penn or Edgar
yea well they're treating evans like a hollywood celebrity ever since the ultimate fighter.
the beauty is in the attempt !
I think Rich could beat Evans.
It’d be a pretty even matchup if you ask me. But for some reason it just doesn’t appeal to me. Probably because I’m more interested in seeing Evans fight someone who’s guaranteed to knock that cocky grin off his face. Rampage let me down, so now I want Shogun to make him do the stanky leg like he did against Machida.
Agreed.
I keep saying that to people and they don’t listen… Undercard on Spike is great exposure to more people. It’s not a demotion to be on those prelim cards…
Bullets dodge Fedor.
he doesnt get any exposure in england though :(
Please don't ever let Carwin fight Big Nog! It would result in death
Can't decide who I hate more, Penn or Edgar
I like the Ortiz fight
Don’t really know why. Doesn’t seem to be a war in the making but I think Ace handles him and destroys him in the last 2 rounds when tito gases
Went to my first jits class. Don't think I was ever so happy with getting my ass handed to me
Forrest is a rich man's Rich
I see Forrest out pointing Rich but I think Rich would frustrate Ortiz and he would out point him. Rich doesn’t really have any finishing power left with the exception of Liddell but I think I could put Liddell away with a backhanded bitch slap so that doesn’t count. I think that lack of power keeps him from entering into the top 10 in the division.
Buster: Let me go with you. I was trained by Army. I speak the language.
Michael: You speak Arabic?
Buster: La-ach-ha-tem.
Michael: What’s that mean?
Buster: No, I was just clearing my throat, but I think it actually does mean "laundry" but like a child’s laundry. We don’t really have a word for it.
by Buster Bluth on Jul 19, 2010 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions
I think franklin could finish Ortiz
If he got him in the condition Forrest had him. If Tito pretty much just dropped his hand against Franklin like he did Forrest, I think Ace would be smart enough to put him away
Went to my first jits class. Don't think I was ever so happy with getting my ass handed to me
Chuck was dropped by a very hard perfectly timed right hand that would have dropped many other fighters “if” they were as over agressive as Chuck is, he’s practically begging to get knocked out he is pushing way too hard.
I also think Rich vs Forrest would be a good matchup, Rich has definitely got the better hands and i think he would be able to rock Forrest with his boxing.
the beauty is in the attempt !
I think Franklin batters both Ortiz and Forrest.
Ortiz shouldn’t even be in this discussion. He would get pelted by any half decent LHW. Kinda sad that forrest had a “war” with him. Seriously who here thinks that someone like Bader or Brilz tools Ortiz all day?
Big Nog for Life
Inventor/supporter of "Gleison Tibau to Featherweight" movement.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on Jul 19, 2010 2:27 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
hehe not so sure about brilz, lil nog was worthless..
I will say though that the question should no longer be asked since Tito is no longer in condition to compete, he’s not himself anymore. I don’t know what he did in his career, but he did something wrong and he fought through it which is a real stupid thing to do if you’re looking to have a long career.
the beauty is in the attempt !
Dude, Rich KOd more than half his victims!
As opposed to Forrests 17%. So who doesn’t have the power to be in the top 10?
Also, Rich has a much better record than Forrest.
IMO, the only thing holding Rich back is his size. Forrest gets away with his slow-motion point-fighting because he’s huge for a LHW. Rich is faster and I think more technically skilled on the feet, but is one of the smallest guys in the division, has much shorter arms than Forrest and is a little more predictable with his striking (almost all punches vs Forrests notorious leg kicks).
If he's serious about making a run at the lhw title
then i say give him the winner of Jones vs Matyushenko (and by that I of course mean Jones). It’ll give Ace enough time to let his arm heal up and a win over Ace for Jones would vault him up the lhw ladder and a win over Jones for Ace would be amazing for one thing, but would also prove how serious he is at making this title run he’s been talking about. I’m not very interested in seeing him fight Ortiz or Forrest, let those 2 guys fight each other again so I have time to take a dump during whatever ppv the fight ends up on.
+1
I think that’s be the biggest step up in competition for Jones. I still wanna see Ace fight Ortiz though, even Jones for that matter. One of my favourite fights to watch was Couture handling Ortiz, I think Jones repeats that if giving the opportunity
Went to my first jits class. Don't think I was ever so happy with getting my ass handed to me
I was just about to say that.
I would love to see jones fight Franklin. If jones fights by years end I think Franklin or thiago silva would be good fights
by Ponch-Hoe on Jul 19, 2010 10:15 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Cant Believe So Many People Sleep On Vlad
by AintNoSunshine on Jul 19, 2010 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Same here...
It’s not even so much they sleep on Vlad though. It’s more that Jones is made out to be the next champion already.
Bullets dodge Fedor.
Yeah I'm not buying the hype till the guy is fighting for a title...........
but he is impressive…….
O_o
IMO Jones is a nightmare for Rich.
Jones is just a less experienced Anderson + Judo and several more inches of reach. Jones’s aggressive, reckless style, long knees, vicious clinch are exactly the traits Rich needs to avoid when picking opponents. I think Rich would do better against a lot of higher ranked guys than he would against Jones, just because of the styles. I think Jones has his number the same way Anderson did.
I agree its a bad matchup for rich
but like i said b4 if hes serious about making a run at the title i dont think a win over a fading liddell ( and it hurts me to say that ) warrants a shot at a top 5 lhw and i dont think a win for jones in his next fight would either. I was just saying that it made sense for these guys to meet if they both win their next fights because they are kind of in the same spot rite now, both wanna make it to the top, but they’re a lil too far off to get there yet. So a meeting between these 2 guys (barring jones doesnt get upset) would just make sense in my mind, but thats just my personal opinion.
by Kimura_Dragon on Jul 20, 2010 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions
There are several interesting possible matchups
The least interesting is Ortiz. I would not be unhappy at all with a fight against Forrest, Rampage, Jones or even Thiago Silva. Does anyone know when Rich is going to be back after the broken arm? That will have a lot to do with who he can fight.
I want to see Machida KO Franklin Again. Joe make it happen.
Banky: Stop the movie? What are you, crazy?
Jay: All these assholes on the internet are calling us names because of this stupid fucking movie.
Banky: That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously. Stopping the flick isn't gonna stop that.
Jay: This isn't fair. We came to Hollywood, I fell in love. Fuckin', we got shot at, we stole a monkey, and I got punched in the motherfucking nuts by a guy named Cock-Knocker.
Why would you want to see Franklin get KO'ed?
Personally I love his attitude. He fight pretty much who ever Dana tells him to. I wouldnt mind seeing Forrest/Ace fight, that could be exiting. Think Rich would work Ortiz over, and even with a win, dont think it raises his stock that much.
the only person who gains anything by an ortiz fight is ortiz
he is at the bottom of the heap regardless of being an ex champ and a big name. its him that has to work his way back up.
+1 Rich is a class act!
I hate seeing him lose. But he’s such a good sport, win or lose. At first I didn’t like him cause he beat the ever-loving mess out of my boy Evan Tanner, but he was so gracious in victory or defeat (just like Evan) that I grew to really like him….and still haven’t forgiven that showboating diva, Silva, for relocating his nose.
let him fight Rampage or Machida
if he want’s to make a title run he’ll have to fight one of them sooner or later
rampage eh?
because he’s sooo awesome… barely got by jardine and did worse than silva against evans.
Everyone just stop talking about the title and rampage in the same sentence, thanks.
by Lester The Pimp on Jul 19, 2010 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh who is worthy of this conversation then?
Rashad barely got by Silva, got tooled by Machida and almost got finished by Rampage. By your logic only Shogun can be mentioned in the title conversation.
Bullets dodge Fedor.
Rampage is pretty irrelevant now for me
His best years are long behind him and he’s on a steady decline now. He looked like utter crap against Evans, soooooooooooooo slow. Machida would just destroy him with utter ease and make him look very, VERY foolish, and if he wants a title shot now, he’s gonna have to go through him.
The guy couldn’t even beat Forrest dump for goodness sake.
I dunno attakdog....it is true he didn't look that good last time out
and I certainly don’t like the camp he trains with but to say he is on the steady decline might be a stretch. Rampage still is dangerous with his chin, punching power, and punch defense. Throwing in the fact he can wrestle too and Page is no slouch.
Forrest dump won a contraversial decision IMO, I would doubt very seriously that that fight would go that way again.
Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!
by WarriorSaint on Jul 19, 2010 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Till Rampage learns how to check leg kicks
Then yes it would! He hardly seems to use his wrestling anymore and for me’s become too one dimensional looking to land the big bomb all the time.
I agree the wolfslair camp is tragic, I have no clue what he’s doing there. He should leave that shower urgently if he wants to regain the glory years as he is the wrong side of 30 now.
He is the big fish in a small pond there...
He likes that. Don’t think he would take to well to training with high-level people who outwork him.
Bullets dodge Fedor.
I don't disagree with either of you attakdog, freenow
with one exception attakdog, I doubt very seriously that Page makes the same mistake against Forrest again. Leg kick checks aren’t that techical to learn.
Wolfslair sucks hardcore and I agree Freenow the he probably likes his dominance there which is unfortunate.
Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!
by WarriorSaint on Jul 19, 2010 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Very unfortunate indeed...
I am a big Page fan since his Pride days and would love nothing more than him to get serious and join one of the big camps like AKA.
Bullets dodge Fedor.
Rampage needs Couture
What Rampage needs is strategy and someone to show him how to re-integrate his wrestling and diversify his attacks. Randy is the perfect coach for him right now. Randy would put him on his ass (with TDs) 50 times before he could throw that big right hand and it would show him that he needs to add some dimesions to his game. From what I’ve heard from people who trained with him (including Brock) Randy is great at humbling guys who think they know what they’re doing and making them see the need to up their game.
Might be far too technical for rampage to learn
Especially training with all the B and C level fighters he does.
Nah......Rampage's problem is his desire is not
always there. I think he believes that he has “arrived” (beating Liddell for the belt and beating Hendo to keep it) and for a moment he did but then the game changed on him (the rise of Machida and Shogun) and I am not sure he has the mental toughness of a true champion.
What a waste of good talent.
Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!
by WarriorSaint on Jul 19, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Good post Saint
The irony of Pages two big wins is that they were against guys from old era of MMA.
Page looks lost against modern day MMA guys like Rashad. They fight in different ways to what he’s had all his career
A burning passion from a burning mass reaches up for the sky
by Shoguns Hairy Forearms. on Jul 19, 2010 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
and i'm a huge Page fan saying that.
His desire to train and improve went as soon as his bank balance filled to the point where his would be comfortable for the rest of his life.
He’s always said he fights for the money and the facts are, he doesn’t really have to now…
His next fight is his last chance with me then i’m jumping off his nuts
A burning passion from a burning mass reaches up for the sky
by Shoguns Hairy Forearms. on Jul 19, 2010 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions
mental toughness is also Randy's specialty
another great thing Page could learn from Couture. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the game who could help Rampage reach his full potential the way Couture could. And Couture knows what Page is capable of. He called Rampage to beat Chuck both times when everyone though Chuck was unbeatable.
MMA maths don't work
Rampage is still considered a top ranked fighter to get a title shot you have to beat top ranked fighters
i think that too
but he needs another win against someone who can take a punch b4 he gets either of these guys i’d say, rampage will fight machida in their next fight im guessing. Since they both are coming off of losses.
by Kimura_Dragon on Jul 20, 2010 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions
except Rampage really wants Forrest
and I can’t say I blame him. He took Forest lightly the first time and it cost him his belt. And I don’t think he wants any part of Machida.
I think nobody wants to fight Machida. Rampage doesn’t want him. Rashad doesn’t want him. We know Anderson won’t fight him and Lil Nog probably won’t either, since they’re from the same camp. He makes people look bad and nobody wants to fight him. Randy Couture is the only person I’ve heard say they would welcome a fight with Machida. But Randy already has Toney on his plate and Shogun practically begging to fight him before he retires.
Maybe Rich would fight Machida. I don’t think Rich has ever turned down a fight, and he says he doesn’t care who they match him up with.
Personally, I think they should switch it up at 119 and put
Rich vs Lil Nog and
Machida vs Bader (10-0)
I'd like to see......
a rematch between Rampage and Forrest so Rampage can get revenge. So give Ace to Evans, Tito or Lil Nog.
it sucks he broke his arm, cincy is about two hours away from Indianapolis and I would gladly drive to ufc 119 if rich was fighting…anyway as for opponents for rich most of the fights I want to see are taken. Franklin vs. Jones, Bader, Lil Nog. I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight thiago. Honestly he will probably end up fighting either Forrest or tito maybe someone like Vera in December.
Tito needs a tune-up fight before taking on anybody high level!
If he had one prior to the Griffin fight, I think he would have won comfortably! RING RUST IS REAL! We all should know that by now! Tito , or anybody else, can’t come back at the world’s highest level of competition after such a long layoff and now two serious surgeries and fight top guys the first time out! Anyone that expects them to win is ignorant!
by Danas A Crossdresser on Jul 19, 2010 4:15 PM EDT reply actions
There not many people not named Anderson that Rich doesn't beat
He should be getting the best fights. The guy is a former champion and constantly proves his mettle. Frankly, I don’t think Tito deserves Franklin and the same maybe for Forest as well. I could tolerate the Forest matchup. And if I have to watch Franklin beat up Tito….ok, I’ll watch that too!
I don't know about beating them, but Rich will give anybody a serious fight
I think Rich loses to
Shogun,
Machida,
Couture,
Jones,
Rampage.
I give him even money against
Rashad
Forrest
Lil Nog
Bader
I think Rich beats:
Thiago
Tito
L.A.Cane
Hamill
Vera
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