Rich Franklin is the ultimate company man. Franklin continued to help the UFC out by stepping in as a late replacement for an injured Vitor Belfor to battle Wanderlei Silva for a second time.
Although a former champion, Franklin is best known for helping the UFC out wherever and whenever the promotion needs him. Even if the fights make little sense or won’t help his own personal goals, Franklin can be counted on to save the day.
This will perhaps be how the legacy of Franklin is remembered by MMA fans down the road. Franklin’s career got off to a hot start as he won 19 of his first 20 fights—the only loss coming against future UFC champion Lyoto Machida.
Franklin won the UFC middleweight title against the durable veteran Evan Tanner all the way back at UFC 53. He then made two title defenses, including a highlight-reel KO of Nathan Quarry at UFC 56.
However, it would be Franklin’s third title defense that would become burned into the memory of MMA fans around the world.
Anderson Silva entered UFC 64 as a relative unknown. The Brazilian had won only once inside the Octagon—a destruction of Chris Leben—but Silva didn’t have the hype one would think a title challenger would.
Following that devastating loss to Silva, after taking some time off, he bounced back with back-to-back victories. Another rematch with Silva was set up and although Franklin fared better, “The Spider” still emerged victorious.
The losses to Silva sent Franklin’s career into a sort of whirlwind. Franklin won his next fight at middleweight and then chose to return to the land of the light heavyweights. Fights at 205 pounds and catchweight bouts would ensue.
Other than fighting at multiple weight limits, Franklin would struggle to put back-to-back wins together. While most fight fans would immediately discredit a fighter’s talent based on that sentence, a glance at Franklin’s opponents would show he’s faced high-level competition for years.
Bouts against Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva (twice), Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin are all opponents who have been world champions. Anyone would’ve struggled to put a winning streak together against those fighters and fans shouldn’t fault Franklin for going .500 through that time frame.
Although Franklin’s Octagon career will be remembered most by being the ultimate company man, I believe it will be Franklin’s actions outside the cage that will help endear him to fans the most.
A math teacher prior to beginning an MMA career, Franklin is not like most other high-level fighters. It seems Mike Goldberg needs to remind fans of Franklin’s educational past in every one of his fights.
Being well educated, Franklin can also be the perfect guy to put in front of a microphone for newer audiences. He doesn’t look the part of a meathead, simple-minded fighter and he carries himself well.
With a career spanning 13 years, Franklin has been in the game a while. His losses are all to former world champions and he’s done numerous things to help the UFC and MMA as a whole grow into what it has become.
He won’t have the historic legacy of some of the other members in the UFC Hall of Fame, but there’s no doubt he belongs there when he retires.
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