Rich Franklin

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Rich Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974,) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion.

Biography

Prior to becoming a full time MMA fighter, Franklin graduated from William Henry Harrison High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later earned a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati, and taught mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Franklin and American Fighter President Jeff Adler created The Keep It In The Ring Foundation to advocate non-violence and build character in youth. This is done through after school sports, martial arts and life skills programs. His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to Jim Carrey, who played the character Ace Ventura. Joe Rogan once called him "An angry Jim Carrey". Franklin made his acting debut in a film called Cyborg Soldier where he plays an escaped super soldier and partners with Tiffani Thiessen.

Franklin is a born-again Christian and quotes Psalm 144:1 on his webpage and fighter gear. February 21, 2006, was officially named "Rich Franklin Day" in Cincinnati by the city's mayor.

Martial arts background

According to Rich, he first learned submission fighting from instructional video tapes. He has been associated with and trained with Meat Truck Inc. and currently trains at facilities run by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel, (New Generation Martial Arts); Neal Rowe, a Muay Thai instructor (Sacan Martial Arts); and Rob Radford, a boxing instructor (Boxing 4 Fitness). Franklin is currently ranked as a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jorge Gurgel. Since losing his title to Anderson Silva, Franklin has started training under Matt "The Wizard" Hume.

Middleweight title

Franklin began his UFC career with a perfect 4-0 start, including victories over veterans such as Evan Tanner and Ken Shamrock. The latter of the two victories ensured a title opportunity for Franklin.

This title shot came at UFC 53 on June 5, 2005. Franklin defeated Evan Tanner for a second time to win the UFC Middleweight Championship. The victory led to him being a coach (along with welterweight champion Matt Hughes) on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter.

At UFC 56 on November 19, 2005, Franklin defended his title against Nate Quarry, a competitor from season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter. Franklin won the fight via knockout in the first round.

At UFC 58 on March 4, 2006, Franklin defeated David Loiseau in a unanimous five round decision to retain his title. Franklin broke his left hand early on in the second round. The injury required surgery, including a metal plate and screws and Franklin was out of action for six months.

Losing the title

At UFC 64 On October 14, 2006, Franklin lost his title on his return fight after being defeated by Brazilian Anderson Silva. The fight was stopped at 2:49 of the first round after Franklin received a knee to the face. On October 19, 2006 Franklin underwent surgery due to the nasal fracture he received in his fight against Silva.

At UFC 68 on March 3, 2007, Rich Franklin defeated Jason MacDonald by TKO due to MacDonald's corner throwing in the towel in the break between rounds two and three. Franklin had mounted MacDonald in the closing seconds of the second round, causing significant injury and swelling around MacDonald's left eye. MacDonald's corner advised ending the fight and Franklin was declared the winner. After the fight Franklin called Anderson Silva to the Octagon and said that he and Dana White had agreed to a fight for the title in Franklin's hometown, Cincinnati.

At UFC 72 on June 16, 2007 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Franklin defeated top middleweight contender Yushin Okami to be announced the official number one contender for Anderson Silva's middleweight championship. The bout was only Franklin's second overall fight that went the full distance (due to being a non-title fight, it was three rounds). All three judges scored the bout 29–28 to Franklin. Franklin was the first person to main event a UFC show in Northern Ireland.

At UFC 77 on October 20, 2007, Franklin faced Anderson Silva in a rematch for the middleweight championship, losing by TKO (Strikes) in the second round. Franklin had recently signed a new 6 fight contract with the UFC.

At UFC 83 on April 19, 2008, Franklin defeated Travis Lutter via TKO (Strikes) at 3:01 of Round 2. This was despite Lutter locking in a tight armbar. Franklin exhibited a high level armbar submission escape, made even more impressive because Lutter is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

At UFC 88 on September 6, 2008, Franklin made his return to the light heavyweight division by defeating Matt Hamill by TKO with a kick to the liver.

At UFC 93 on January 17, 2009, in Dublin, Ireland, Franklin fought against former PRIDE Fighting Championships 183 lb. and 205 lb. champion Dan Henderson. He lost the fight by split decision to Dan Henderson. Henderson, in beating Franklin, won the opportunity to be the coach of Team USA on Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter. Franklin was the first person to main event a UFC show in the Republic of Ireland.

At UFC 99: The Comeback, on June 13, 2009, in Cologne, Germany, Franklin defeated former PRIDE Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision at a catchweight (195 lb) bout. Franklin became the first person in UFC history to fight in four different countries, in four consecutive fights.

At UFC 103 on September 19, 2009, in Dallas, Texas, Franklin fought against Vitor Belfort for Belfort's first fight in the UFC since February 2005. Franklin lost the fight via TKO (Punches) at 3:02 in Round 1.[6] At UFC 115, after the withdrawal of Tito Ortiz, Franklin agreed to face Chuck Liddell. Franklin won the fight by knockout (punch) at 4:55 of Round 1, despite the fact that Franklin had his left forearm broken by a kick Liddell threw earlier in the round.

Personal life

Rich has a wife named Beth who is a former English teacher at Reading High School.

MMA record

Professional record breakdown

34 matches 28 wins 5 losses

By knockout 15 4

By submission 10 0

By decision 3 1

Draws 0

No contests 1

Win 28–5 (1) Chuck Liddell KO (Punch) UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin June 12, 2010 1 4:55 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Light Heavyweight bout. Awarded Knockout of the Night

Loss 27–5 (1) Vitor Belfort KO (Punches) UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort September 19, 2009 1 3:02 Dallas, Texas, US Catchweight of 195 pounds

Win 27–4 (1) Wanderlei Silva Decision (Unanimous) UFC 99: The Comeback June 13, 2009 3 5:00 Cologne, Germany Catchweight of 195 pounds. Awarded Fight of the Night.

Loss 26–4 (1) Dan Henderson Decision (Split) UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson January 17, 2009 3 5:00 Dublin, Ireland Light Heavyweight bout

Win 26–3 (1) Matt Hamill TKO (Body kick) UFC 88: Breakthrough September 6, 2008 3 0:39 Atlanta, Georgia, United States Light Heavyweight bout

Win 25–3 (1) Travis Lutter TKO (Punches) UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II April 19, 2008 2 3:01 Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Loss 24–3 (1) Anderson Silva TKO (Knees) UFC 77: Hostile Territory October 20, 2007 2 1:07 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States For UFC Middleweight Championship

Win 24–2 (1) Yushin Okami Decision (Unanimous) UFC 72: Victory June 16, 2007 3 5:00 Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Became #1 contender in UFC Middleweight Division

Win 23–2 (1) Jason MacDonald TKO (Corner Stoppage) UFC 68: Uprising March 3, 2007 2 5:00 Columbus, Ohio, United States

Loss 22–2 (1) Anderson Silva TKO (Knee) UFC 64: Unstoppable October 14, 2006 1 2:59 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Lost UFC Middleweight Championship

Win 22–1 (1) David Loiseau Decision (Unanimous) UFC 58: USA vs Canada March 4, 2006 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended UFC Middleweight Championship

Win 21–1 (1) Nathan Quarry KO (Punch) UFC 56: Full Force November 19, 2005 1 2:34 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended UFC Middleweight Championship

Win 20–1 (1) Evan Tanner TKO (Doctor Stoppage) UFC 53: Heavy Hitters June 4, 2005 4 3:25 Newark, New Jersey, United States Won UFC Middleweight Championship

Win 19–1 (1) Ken Shamrock TKO (Strikes) The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale April 9, 2005 1 2:42 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Light Heavyweight bout

Win 18–1 (1) Curtis Stout Submission (Strikes) SuperBrawl 38 December 12, 2004 2 1:28 Hawaii, United States

Win 17–1 (1) Jorge Rivera Submission (Armbar) UFC 50: The War of '04 October 22, 2004 3 4:28 New Jersey, United States

Win 16–1 (1) Ralph Dilon Submission (Leglock) Alaska Fighting Championship 02004-07-14 July 14, 2004 1 0:56 Alaska, United States

Win 15–1 (1) Leo Sylvest Submission (Strikes) SuperBrawl 35 02004-04-16 April 16, 2004 1 1:13 Hawaii, United States

Loss 14–1 (1) Lyoto Machida TKO (Head Kick and Punches) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003: Inoki Festival 02003-12-31 December 31, 2003 2 1:03 Kobe, Japan

Win 14–0 (1) Edwin Dewees TKO (Strikes) UFC 44: Undisputed 02003-09-26 September 26, 2003 1 3:32 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Win 13–0 (1) Roberto Ramirez KO (Punch) Battleground 1: War Cry 02003-07-19 July 19, 2003 1 0:10 Illinois, United States

Win 12–0 (1) Evan Tanner TKO (Strikes) UFC 42: Sudden Impact 02003-04-25 April 25, 2003 1 2:40 Miami, Florida, United States UFC Debut

Win 11–0 (1) Antony Rea TKO (Punches) UCC Hawaii: Eruption in Hawaii 02002-09-17 September 17, 2002 1 2:46 Hawaii, United States

Win 10–0 (1) Yan Pellerin Submission (Armbar) UCC 10: Battle for the Belts 2002 02002-06-15 June 15, 2002 1 3:23 Quebec, Canada

Win 9–0 (1) Marvin Eastman Submission (Armbar) World Fighting Alliance 1 02001-11-03 November 3, 2001 1 1:02 Nevada, United States

Win 8–0 (1) Dennis Reed Submission (Strikes) Extreme Challenge Trials August 5, 2001 1 1:38 Ohio, United States

Win 7–0 (1) Chris Seifert Submission (Strikes) Extreme Challenge 41 July 13, 2001 2 1:45 Iowa, United States

Win 6–0 (1) Travis Fulton TKO (Broken Hand) RINGS USA: Battle of Champions March 17, 2001 1 5:00 Iowa, United States

NC 5–0 (1) Aaron Brink No Contest (Accidental Injury) IFC: Warriors Challenge 11 January 13, 2001 1 2:42 California, United States For IFC Light Heavyweight United States Championship.

Win 5–0 Dennis Reed Submission (Armbar) Extreme Challenge 35 June 29, 2000 1 1:56 Iowa, United States

Win 4–0 Gary Myers KO (Kick) WEF 9: World Class May 13, 2000 3 0:59 Indiana, United States

Win 3–0 Rob Smith TKO (Punches) Extreme Challenge 31 March 24, 2000 1 2:30 Wisconsin, United States

Win 2–0 Eugene Pinault Submission (Punches) Extreme Challenge - Trials October 4, 1999 1 1:27

Win 1–0 Michael Martin KO (Kick) World Extreme Fighting 6 June 19, 1999 1 0:21 Wheeling, West Virginia, United States

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