Rich Franklin

Category: Light Heavyweight
Tags: Light Heavyweight, Rich Franklin, Wrestling

Nickname: Ace
Hometown: Ohio, USA
Date of Birth: 05/10/1974
Height: 6'1 (185cm)
Weight: 185lbs (84kg)
Style: Wrestling

Rich Franklin, nicknamed "Ace" was born on October 5, 1974 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He weighs 185 lbs and stands 6' 0" tall. He fights freestyle and is associated with Team Extreme in Ohio.

Franklin had a modest initiation to Martial Arts fighting as he learnt the skills of video tapes. He is being trained by Jorge Gurgel in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to develop his all-round skills. He currently holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Franklin's MMA record is high with 22 wins and 2 losses. One of his losses came up when he fought Lyoto Machida in the Inoki 2003 festival. Lyoto used TKO strikes to a telling effect and felled Franklin. Franklin's other loss came when he faced the illustrious Anderson Silva in UFC 64. Anderson defeated Franklin with TKO strikes and this defeat meant Franklin lost his UFC Middleweight Championship.

Before fighting for the title match against Evan Tanner, he knocked over fighters like Jorge Rivera, Edwin Dewees, and Ken Shamrock. At UFC 53 - Heavy Hitters, he went head to head with Evan Tanner. This was a bitterly fought battle which tilted either way for about 3 minutes. Finally, Franklin's superior athleticism won him the title and Franklin was crowned as the UFC Middleweight champion in 2005.

He defended his UFC title on two occasions handling defeats to Nathan Quarry and David Loiseau at UFC 56 and 58 respectively. The match up with David was an eventful one where Franklin broke his left arm that required extensive medical treatment. In spite of a broken left arm, Franklin continued fighting and after 5 minutes, he won a unanimous decision in his favor.

Franklin lost the UFC title when he was defeated by Anderson da Silva at UFC 64 - Unstoppable. Anderson had expertise in Muay Thai which he used to deliver telling blows on Franklin. Franklin admitted after the match that he had absolutely no answers to the knees from Muay Thai clinch. This fight left Franklin recuperating against severe body damage which he suffered in due course of the fight.

Franklin went on to defeat Jason McDonald and Yushin Okami at UFC 68 and UFC 72 to formally announce a match up against Anderson da Silva. This news was confirmed later that Anderson and Franklin would be meeting face to face in late October this year.

On paper, Franklin has a tremendous record in MMA fighting. A record of 22-2 is very difficult to achieve and maintain. Considering that 9 of the 22 victories have come by means of submission (armbars, keylocks and punches), the fight against Silva will be exciting. If anything, Franklin would want to add to the tally of submission blows that he has handed to his opponents.

If there is one thing Franklin needs to guard, it will be his weakness against Muay Thai. Anderson is an expert with Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu and that will not make life easy for Franklin.

Even in the future, Franklin may be pitted against opponents who are strong experts of these. Franklin would need to start training to get enough exposure in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu to maintain his impeccable Win Loss Record.