Rich Franklin vs. Michael Bisping? 'Ace' says fans would be down for that 'exciting fight'

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin knows the end is near.

At 38 years-old, "Ace" has started to think about life outside of fighting, which includes spearheading a new organic juice business. Until that day comes, however, he'll need to finish up the remaining fights on his ZUFFA contract, and thinks the fans would want to see an "exciting fight" against Michael Bisping.

From MMA Weekly:

"I look at my Twitter and a lot of people talk about (Michael) Bisping. That would be an exciting fight and something the fans would want to see. I'm an exciting fighter, he's an exciting fighter, and we both like to throw down. Since my ultimate goal is not to go back and capture the 185-pound title, it doesn't really matter to me if it's at 185 or a catchweight or 205. Wherever the UFC needed me, I would fight, as long as the fight made sense."

Franklin (29-7) was turned inside-out by Cung Le when they went to war in "Macao" in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 6 last November. His knockout loss to the San Shou striker dropped him to an even 5-5 since getting his rematch against Anderson Silva way back at UFC 77.

The clock is ticking.

Bisping (24-5), on the other hand, has been able to get himself back into the win column after Vitor Belfort smashed him earlier this year in Brazil. While it wasn't the highlight reel finish he would have preferred, he still did enough to overcome Alan Belcher at UFC 159 last month in New Jersey.

But is a Franklin fight above, below or even with "The Count" at this stage of his career?

One surefire way to find out.

Latest From Our Partners

• Breakout Fighters in 2013? (BR)
• 10 Most Unlikeable MMA Characters (BR)
• Best Tactical Game-Planners in MMA (BR)
• Fighters on Brink of Title Contention (BR)
• Unsung Fighters With UFC Titles in Future (BR)
• Most Unemotional Fighters in UFC (BR)
• Flyweight Prospects UFC Should Sign (BR)
• Latest MMA Rumors (SI)