Tag: rich franklin

UFC 147: Rich Franklin vs. Michael Bisping Is the Fight to Make

Now that we know that Rich Franklin is hoping for one last run at the middleweight title, it seems likely that Dana White and Zuffa will decide to grant him his wish, given how many times he has stepped up for the company. And what better way to give h…

Now that we know that Rich Franklin is hoping for one last run at the middleweight title, it seems likely that Dana White and Zuffa will decide to grant him his wish, given how many times he has stepped up for the company.

And what better way to give him his heart’s desire than by putting him in the cage against a top-five fighter who is looking for another high-profile win to cement his claim as the No. 1 challenger?

When you consider this, it’s clear that Rich Franklin vs. Michael Bisping is the fight to make.

Both men are well-known on the international stage, and both prefer to keep the fight standing, which could make for some serious fireworks if both men show up ready to take the victory by force.

While youth, speed and mobility go to Bisping, experience, power and chin favor Franklin, and that style matchup could result in a very entertaining clash.

It would also provide some answers to the questions surrounding both men.

For Bisping, it would show whether or not he has learned how to protect his chin from heavy punchers who have good footwork and know how to cut off the cage. A win over Franklin would prove he’s fixed some of the fundamental holes in his game that Dan Henderson found so easy to exploit.

For Franklin, it would show that he’s still got the step and timing needed to contend with younger fighters who use their speed to dart in-and-out, scoring and then circling away. A win over Bisping would prove that Franklin can still keep up with the music and deliver the necessary force to punch Bisping’s time card and send him home early.

And those tasks won’t be easy for either man.

When you look at Bisping’s career, many a fighter had proudly proclaimed that they were just going to punch him in the jaw and knock him flat. Fighters like Jorge Rivera, Dan Miller, Chris Leben, Wanderlei Silva and others have learned that’s a lot easier said than done.

Bisping’s developed a good striking game that allows him to circle as he pleases and move in-and-out, scoring with crisp combinations and then drifting away while his opponent’s fists miss him by several inches. It’s a style that’s used by many a great defensive boxer, and Bisping is quickly becoming so good at it that he looks like he was born to it.

When considering Franklin, it’s impressive to see just how effective his footwork has been in the past. He’s been able to use those fundamental tools to place himself in prime position to land brutal knockout punches, even when his back is against the cage.

This would be an exciting fight that would provide answers to many of the questions surrounding both men, and as they would have fought as opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter season nine, it seems like it’s long overdue.  

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UFC 147: Is Rich Franklin a Middleweight Title Contender?

In the UFC 147 main event, Rich “Ace” Franklin emerged victorious after defeating Wanderlei Silva for a second time.The fight meant very little in terms of rankings or in either man’s career, but it was one of the best fights thus far into 20…

In the UFC 147 main event, Rich “Ace” Franklin emerged victorious after defeating Wanderlei Silva for a second time.

The fight meant very little in terms of rankings or in either man’s career, but it was one of the best fights thus far into 2012. Franklin endured a number of Silva flurries and even survived nearly being finished in the second frame.

It was also Franklin’s first fight since UFC 126 where “Ace” lost to the much bigger Forrest Griffin. Despite the long layoff, Franklin looked his normal self and is making people begin to take the ageing vet seriously at middleweight.

But how seriously should we take Franklin right now? Is he a serious title contender?

Barring some sort of crazy Dan Henderson-like career resurgence, the answer has to be a definite no. Franklin doesn’t have the power or skill set to compete with the upper-tier middleweights. He’s like the utility man in baseball—good at everything, but just not great.

He can give a number of middleweights a run for their money and certainly could surprise a few folks who’ve written him off due to the inconsistency in his career lately. But in no way, shape, or form should fans believe Franklin has another title run in him.

For one thing, Anderson Silva is still the champion and should he defeat Chael Sonnen, there’s no way the UFC could sell a third meeting between “The Spider” and Franklin. That’s not even considering how long it would take Franklin to be put “in the mix.”

Franklin is, at best, two fights away from being labeled a contender. On a normal fight schedule that’s the better part of a year and that’s not considering any injuries that may occur. As any older person will tell you, they’re not the same as they once were.

Franklin has had injury problems before—it’s what kept him out of action since last February. Not only is Franklin more susceptible to injuries, but his body will also take longer to heal from them. When you add in the fact that weight cutting only gets tougher as you age, Franklin definitely has the odds stacked against him.

We’ve seen a few fighters like Henderson and Couture find success at an older age but those stories are few and very far in between. Franklin is one of the most well-conditioned athletes in the UFC, a trait that has never failed him inside the Octagon, but getting into title contention is akin to NBA fans liking LeBron James.

It’s possible but it won’t be happening any time soon.

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Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin Results: Can Franklin Contend at 185?

Last evening we witnessed Rich “Ace” Franklin return to winning fashion in his unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147 in Brazil. But now that Franklin captured his first win since UFC 115, the real questions start to flood in. What …

Last evening we witnessed Rich “Ace” Franklin return to winning fashion in his unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147 in Brazil.

But now that Franklin captured his first win since UFC 115, the real questions start to flood in. What does this win mean for Franklin’s career? Is he back? Is he a legitimate contender for the middleweight belt? All of these questions are valid as Franklin has proven time and time again that he is in fact, an all-time great.

However, as the years go by, we rarely see Franklin, who’s fought just three times in the last three years. Like many aging stars, the injury plague has haunted Franklin, causing him time away from the Octagon.

But, if last evening’s win over Silva proved anything, it proved Franklin still has a lot left in the tank, right?

Not exactly.

In fact, Franklin’s time away from the Octagon has greatly affected his placement in the middleweight rankings, along with his caliber of opponent. In order to keep his reputable name alive, the UFC has matched Franklin with fading stars in Silva, Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin, who hasn’t taken the center stage in nearly a year.

Franklin’s skill set and will to succeed still allows him to hang with “the best of the the best.” But, that doesn’t necessarily mean defeat “the best of the best.” There’s no denying that if Franklin wants to hang around for a few more years, he can.

The UFC loves him, and so do the fans and members of the media. However, no one should expect Franklin to return to championship fashion.

Franklin’s best days are long gone and they aren’t coming back.

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

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Silva vs. Franklin Results: Is It Time for Rich Franklin to Retire?

Rich Franklin has always taken the road less traveled in his MMA fighting career.A former math teacher in Ohio, Franklin has always kept his head down and let his hard work do the talking, an approach that helped him climb to the top of the middleweigh…

Rich Franklin has always taken the road less traveled in his MMA fighting career.

A former math teacher in Ohio, Franklin has always kept his head down and let his hard work do the talking, an approach that helped him climb to the top of the middleweight division and defeat Evan Tanner for the UFC title in June 2005.

There has never been a better role model for the sport.

Franklin accomplished the highest honor in securing UFC gold, and he will one day walk across the stage and accept his plaque from UFC President Dana White as an inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame.

What else does he have to prove? Is it time for him to retire?

In October, Franklin will celebrate his 38th birthday. He is probably stronger mentally than he’s ever been in his entire career, but physically, things are slowly beginning to taper off for the former middleweight champ.

His chin and reflexes aren’t what they used to be. Despite Franklin’s incredible ability to recover, it doesn’t take much to put him on wobbly these days.

He continues to see improvement in his striking, but his overall speed and reaction time has steadily declined over the years.

Franklin is one of the hardest workers in all of MMA, but Father Time makes humans of us all.

With that said, Franklin still has much to offer the UFC and the middleweight division. It shouldn’t come as a shock if he even finds a way to climb back into title contention. There aren’t many middleweights out there with his size and experience.

He is certainly at his strongest at 185 pounds, and it’ll be interesting to see how he matches up against some of the other upper-echelon contenders.

People tend to get hasty about pushing fighters into retirement, but honestly, only the fighter and his camp can truly decide when it’s time to hang up the gloves.

It doesn’t look like Franklin plans on doing that anytime soon.

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Silva vs Franklin: Ace’s Victory Will Extend His Career

Rich Franklin is the only one who won’t remember Saturday.The former math teacher that swapped his calculator for a punching bag turned into a punching bag in the second-round of UFC 147. Wanderlei Silva nearly knocked out Franklin, but the Ameri…

Rich Franklin is the only one who won’t remember Saturday.

The former math teacher that swapped his calculator for a punching bag turned into a punching bag in the second-round of UFC 147. Wanderlei Silva nearly knocked out Franklin, but the American refused to lose. His ability to endure Silva’s onslaught proves that he still has plenty of fights left in him.

Franklin didn’t need a calculator to figure out that the odds were stacked against him before the fight even began. He faced off against Silva in Brazil, The Axe Murderer’s home country. Combine that with the fact that Franklin wasn’t even supposed to be in the octagon—he was scheduled to take on Cung Le in UFC 148 until an injury prevented Vitor Belfort from fighting Silva and Franklin stepped up as the replacement—and it looked like Silva was in position to get revenge for his 2009 loss vs. Franklin.

Following a flurry of second-round blows, Franklin’s odds weren’t improving. But he battled back, avoided a knock out and earned a victory by unanimous decision from the judges.

Kevin Richardson of the Baltimore Sun reported that Franklin admitted that his memory was cloudy after surviving Silva’s beating. He said after his triumph:

Honestly, I don’t remember between the second and fifth rounds. I just remember my corner man saying it was the fifth round. When that kinds of stuff happens, you remember bits and pieces. My coach told me not to get greedy, to pick my punches. I thought I did a good job of that. I was operating on autopilot.

Despite ending Chuck Liddell’s career just over two years ago, Franklin’s ability to stay on top of the UFC world was anything but certain before his latest W. He was coming off a loss to Forrest Griffin, and another letdown would’ve given him four losses in his last seven fights. But Franklin’s display of a granite chin and unmatched determination will maintain his standing as a UFC asset even at 37 years old.

 

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin: What’s Next for Franklin?

Put into a position where they had nothing to lose, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva put on a great show to cap off UFC 147. Both men fought their hearts out and in the end, Franklin once again found his hand raised. The main event of UFC 147 was orig…

Put into a position where they had nothing to lose, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva put on a great show to cap off UFC 147. Both men fought their hearts out and in the end, Franklin once again found his hand raised.

The main event of UFC 147 was originally slated to be a contest between Silva and Vitor Belfort but Franklin stepped in to replace an injured Belfort. While fans complained about having to pay for a rather lackluster PPV on paper, both Franklin and Silva gave fans their money’s worth.

While fans are talking about Silva retiring, Franklin finds himself in an interesting position following his victory. He’s faced a who’s-who of former champions in the past few years but isn’t on anyone’s title contender list.

At 37, a title run isn’t likely for Franklin’s career plans but that doesn’t mean “Ace” will be stuck fighting a bunch of no-names in the future.

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