Are you there God? It's me, Margaret Rich Franklin.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight titleholder recently held a very candid TED talk titled "How To Be A Loser," which gave attendees some insight into the life of a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, and how to cope with losing under the brightest of lights.
Something "Ace" is all-too familiar with.
Franklin lost his 185-pound strap when Anderson Silva rearranged his face in the main event at UFC 64 way back in 2006, which also happened to be the first time his mother was in attendance. So not only did he go down in flames (watch it here), he had his wife and mom there to witness it.
It should come as no surprise then, to learn that Franklin was hoping for divine intervention prior to his walkout.
Helpfully transcribed by the folks at MMA Junkie:
"I was fighting in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. A sold-out crowd, and 20,000 people were there. Electricity in the air. I was sitting backstage as usual. I'm nervous. I actually prayed to God, ‘If you could please make the lights go out, that would be great.' That's a true story. That's not a joke. There's no punchline."
Franklin would rematch Silva a year later and get smashed just as easily.
Since then, "Ace" has bounced between middleweight and light heavyweight and gone 5-4 inside the Octagon. He may never again hold a world title, but does have a new office position in Singapore (more on that here), and can at least walk away from combat sports holding his head high.
Win or lose.
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