MMA Fighter Bios: RICH FRANKLIN

RICH FRANKLIN

BORN: Cincinnati, Ohio
6’1, middleweight and light heavyweight

It seems unusual for a math teacher to enter into the world of MMA, but Rich Franklin pursued his dream of being a pro athlete and made it work for him. He would keep winning and winning and find his way into the UFC in 2003, after a 9-0 record over the course of 3 years.
If people were unsure of Franklin before his UFC debut, they wouldn’t be afterwards. He scored an impressive TKO victory over Evan Tanner, in what was a very impressive UFC debut. After another impressive win over Edwin Dewees in the UFC, Franklin took a fight against Lyoto Machida on New Years Eve in 2003. At the time the level of skill of Machida was unknown and Franklin was defeated via TKO after the Japanese-Brazilian standout landed some of his patented Karate influenced strikes.

But being the fierce, determined and success-oriented competitor he is, Frnaklin bounced back, scored two wins, and got himself back intot he UFC and defeated Jorge Rivera in what would be his first fight at 185 pounds. He’d take on and defeat Curtis Stou and then defeat Ken Shamrock in the UFC. But having a chance to fight for the middleweight title would allow Franklin to become a UFC champion for the first time. Standing in his way would be the man he first met inside the UFC Octagon–Evan Tanner. But once again a TKO win would result after Franklin battered Tanner into a doctor stoppage after 4 rounds of action.
Franklin was determined to not be a one-and-done champion. He defended his belt with a huge KO over Nate Quarry and then defeated David Loiseau by decision, for his second title defense.
But when the UFC imported Anderson Silva into their roster, the Brazilian would be too much for Franklin to handle as the level of Muay Thai skill was overwhelming for the American in their first battle. However, Franklin is such a hard working and dedicated athlete, that he got back up and defeated Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami to wor his way to another title shot. However, once again Silva was too much and finished off Franklin via strikes in round 2. However, Franklin returned to action to defeat Travis Lutter and Matt Hamill in 2008, and showed that he really was one of the best fighters who could juggle between 185 and 205. Being paired up against Dan Henderson proved to be an intriguing matchup, that was a razor close split decision which saw Franklin losing on two judges’ scorecards. Franklin however won a unanimous decision against another legend in the game 6 months later when he defeated Wanderlei Silva in Cologne, Germany.
He is a very hard working and methodical fighter. He leaves nothing to chance is very precise when it comes to his training, dieting and everything to do with peak performance. He’s one of the most disciplined athletes in the game and a highly inspirational fighter to numerous fans and athletes alike.

FRANKLIN MATHEMATICS
Undefeated in his first 13 fights
Won 8 straight between Spring 2004 and 2006
Only losses are 3 champions (Henderson-Pride FC champ, Silva-UFC champ, Machida-UFC champ)
22 out of 25 wins by stoppage, 88% are finishes
13 by KO (59%)
9 by Submission (41%)