As the MMA world debates the legitimacy of the brawl between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva on the set of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, it appears that “Uncle Chael” is interested in moving on from their long-hyped feud.
Last night, just…
As the MMA world debates the legitimacy of the brawl between ChaelSonnen and Wanderlei Silva on the set of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, it appears that “Uncle Chael” is interested in moving on from their long-hyped feud.
Last night, just a few hours before the impromptu scrap was aired on TUF, “The American Gangster” called out a former UFC middleweight champion for his swan song.
No, no, no… The math teacher doesn’t walk away. I put him away. You got one good one left. I’m not asking…
Sonnen is referring to Rich Franklin, who was a math teacher for Oak Hills Local School District in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio before he was a marquee fighter, per UFC.com.
In an interview with Submission Radio on Saturday, “Ace” expressed an interest in completing a trilogy with Anderson Silva, the man who won the middleweight title from him back at UFC 64 in October 2006.
While Franklin was able to quickly earn his way into a rematch just a year later, the result was nearly identical, as he got stopped with knees from the clinch in the second round (as opposed to the opening frame).
Sonnen, who also has two losses on his ledger to “The Spider,” wasn’t going to let that little piece of information deter him from trying to get under the 39-year-old’s skin.
What would you like me to call u? Mr Franklin? Rich? Richard? Dick? Ace? Just call me the 1 who ended ur career. Now I’ll take a berry blast
Franklin is in the midst of a 17-month layoff from the cage, most recently suffering a brutal one-punch knockout at the hands of ex-Strikeforce champ Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 in November 2012.
During his hiatus from the sport, he has opened up a juice bar in Los Angeles, Calif., per MMA H.E.A.T.
The nearly 15-year fight veteran has alternated wins and losses in his past seven fights (3-4) and hasn’t put together a win streak since 2007.
While Sonnen is set to fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 175 on July 5, he has stated outright he doesn’t expect the scheduled matchup to happen.
In the event “The Axe Murderer” is unable to square off with Sonnen this summer, would Franklin be a suitable replacement?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
Rich Franklin “100-percent wholeheartedly” believes a third time could be the charm against Anderson Silva.
The former UFC middleweight champ, who turns 40 in October, is still in search of an opponent to finish out the final bout on his UF…
Rich Franklin “100-percent wholeheartedly” believes a third time could be the charm against Anderson Silva.
The former UFC middleweight champ, who turns 40 in October, is still in search of an opponent to finish out the final bout on his UFC contract. But he isn’t looking to exit quietly with a meaningless win over a mediocre name.
When speaking with Submission Radio, Franklin asked for the biggest fight he could realistically ask for—a rematch with the greatest middleweight in MMA history:
Careful how we word this because I never said I wanted to fight Anderson for a rubber match. I think a rubber match is typically defined as when there are two fighters who have fought each other and one won one fight and the other one won the other fight. Technically, I lost both of those fights, which means that rubber match would still put me at, if I won that fight, a 1-2 record against Anderson.
Would I fight Anderson a third time? Absolutely. Is it because I feel like I have some unfinished business? Not at all. It’s just, in my mind as a champion and to have the mentality of a champion, I 100% wholeheartedly believe that I can beat Anderson in a fight, not just Anderson but anybody.
It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly a decade since Silva waltzed into the UFC, defeating Chris Leben en route to a title shot with Franklin.
The initial reaction of the fight was outrage from fans, who were convinced Silva hadn’t done nearly enough to warrant a UFC title shot. How does knocking out Leben justify an immediate shot at one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world?
All of the questions and outrage were met with an emphatic first-round TKO in October of 2006, as Silva laid waste to the UFC’s beloved champion. Franklin would quickly dust off the cobwebs, rack up a couple of victories and earn a second shot at Silva in front of his hometown fans in Cincinnati, Ohio the following year.
It was once again in October, Franklin’s birth month, when the tides of fate yielded for Silva, who scored another TKO win over the former champ. After the loss, Franklin floated between middleweight and light heavyweight, taking whatever fight piqued his interest. There was never any true itinerary for Franklin after losing to Silva.
After defeating Franklin, Silva went on to rule the middleweight division and become arguably the greatest fighter of all time. The intent of vengeance may not lie in Franklin’s heart, but you would be hard-pressed to believe that his mind is void of “what ifs.”
What if he defeated Silva in that first fight? How different would his career look today?
“It wouldn’t be for any reason like redemption or vengeance or retribution or any other kinda cool word that we’ve seen on a UFC poster before, but yeah I would fight him and I believe I could beat him,” said Franklin.
The timing couldn’t be any more perfect for this bout to come to fruition.
Silva is still undergoing rehabilitation for the gruesome leg injury he suffered at the hands of current UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman in December last year. Despite mounting skepticism of his return, Silva is hell-bent on making a full recovery and resuming his MMA career.
Franklin is obviously comfortable waiting on the sidelines for the perfect opponent. During an appearance on Inside MMA, he revealed that he will most likely retire from MMA after fulfilling the final fight on his UFC contract.
It seems like Franklin has one final “Ace” up his sleeve before riding off into the sunset and calling it a career.
Sometime soon, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will retire from the sport, passing as humbly and quietly as he entered.As a man who helped carry the company on his shoulders into the next era, Franklin was a sterling example of what a fi…
Sometime soon, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will retire from the sport, passing as humbly and quietly as he entered.
As a man who helped carry the company on his shoulders into the next era, Franklin was a sterling example of what a fighter should be. He was poised, dedicated, passionate, upright, genuine and above all an honest competitor.
As a former school teacher, he transitioned into the sport as a serious student of MMA, learning as he went and teaching others by example. Franklin didn’t turn down fights nor did he make excuses—he owned his victories and defeats wholly and without regret.
He didn’t talk smack because he was a professional who had already signed his name and thus would fight to the very best of his ability, and for the fans of his time, that was all we needed to know.
There was a transparency about Franklin that made you feel good about being a fan of such a hard sport. There was an obvious dignity in him that was clear to all in his words and actions, both in and out of the cage.
As a foil for Matt Hughes in their coaching stint of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, Franklin provided a stability and purpose to his fighters that at times made Hughes look like nothing more than a high school senior.
When his longtime friend and training partner, Jorge Gurgel, threw a water bottle in protest, Franklin was the first to confront him about it. He didn’t play favorites and had high expectations for everyone—they followed because he led by example.
In the role of spokesman for the sport, we really couldn’t have done any better than Franklin. Many felt that fighters in such a sport were simple, easily outwitted creatures who could be baited or confused. With Franklin, they discovered they were speaking to a lucid, learned man that represented the best qualities of competitive sport.
As a fighter, he was damn good. He came in shape and was willing to spend himself utterly toward an honest end and that end saw him beating some very good fighters.
Although his time as champion may have been short, he continued to fight with a champion’s desire and dignity long after he lost the title.
He was a gentleman in a rough sport that never let the trappings of success and growing fame go to his head. His honesty was as constant as his courage, his smile as reliable as his word and he was never false.
When he was knocked out by Cung Le in his last bout in November of 2012, the sight of him sprawled face-first on the canvas was shocking and heartbreaking. It’s not that he lost or got knocked out, it was simply a sign that his time in the sport was coming to an end.
While some expect professional fighters to linger in their sport far longer than their expiration date would advise, Franklin is not one of those men. For his fans, we knew he would take that loss, look at it critically and no doubt begin to prepare to exit the stage.
Everyone gets old, and this is not a sport for “old men.” However, Franklin proved it could be a sport for good men, and that is something that will be remembered for a very long time.
Rich Franklin wants one more fight.
Realizing that his championship days are behind him, Franklin recently announced intentions to take a glory lap inside the UFC Octagon and hang up his gloves for good, cementing his legacy inside the sport’s mo…
Realizing that his championship days are behind him, Franklin recently announced intentions to take a glory lap inside the UFC Octagon and hang up his gloves for good, cementing his legacy inside the sport’s most venerated cage.
The former middleweight champion has not fought since a brutal knockout loss to Cung Le at UFC on Fuel TV 6 in November 2012, so he remains unranked in any division at the moment.
…Which is awesome for matchmakers.
Several opponents make sense for Franklin moving forward, and his intentions to retire bring an interesting angle to any potential matchup. The fight does not have to carry implications for the future; it can simply be a fun, ratings-harvesting fight between two recognizable names, two marquee warriors.
That said, three names immediately jump to mind when considering Franklin’s options. Let’s check out the first.
Dan Henderson
This is my favorite matchup for “Ace.”
Franklin lost a split decision to “Hendo” at UFC 93 way back in January 2009, and many felt slightly disappointed by that result and the fight in general.
The two never really waged war as anticipated, but they can make up for it here in a grand finale for the ages.
Neither man has experienced a serious deterioration in skills or athleticism since their first fight, and this matchup could easily end up providing the type of rock ’em, sock ’em slugfest that fight fans crave.
Making things even juicier, Hendo currently rides a three-fight losing streak, and, at 43 years old, one has to wonder how much he has left to offer the sport of MMA.
A double retirement fight between two future UFC Hall of Famers?
Yes, please.
Make this one at 185, 195, or 205—I really don’t care. Both fighters have fluctuated between middleweight and light heavyweight throughout their careers, so I just want them to be comfortable and in top form.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Again, I’m going with the “Legends of the Sport” card, because I think that’s what Franklin deserves at this point.
“Lil’ Nog” may not carry the resume of his older twin brother, but he is still incredibly marketable and respected by peers and fans alike.
If he can just stay healthy throughout a training camp, I see a potential matchup between Franklin and Nogueira as a surefire Fight of the Night contender.
Both men possess serious stand up skills and all-around polished games, and neither will shy away from a firefight.
All the ingredients are in place for an unforgettable retirement party with this one.
Winner/Loser of Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen will fight after their stretch as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, but where does each man go after that?
Silva, with a victory over Sonnen, will have consecutive victories over Stann and Sonnen to his name, so a fight with Franklin will arguably represent a step backward from that point.
However, if Sonnen loses, that will make two straight defeats for “The American Gangster,” and his career will be relegated to high-profile fights sans title implications, and that is exactly what Franklin will want for his final bout.
We all know that Sonnen can sell a fight, but we’ve seen him reluctant to engage in trash talk whenever he truly respects his opponent (see: Stann, Brian). Franklin is one of those guys that every fighter reveres, so I worry that Sonnen will be a tad reluctant to unleash his full arsenal of verbal vitriol should this matchup take place.
Still, if anybody can take a fight to the next level before it even begins, it’s Sonnen, so I’m not ruling out this idea just yet.
On the flip side, if Sonnen wins, a trilogy fight for Franklin against Silva makes sense.
Now, “Ace” has already defeated Silva twice inside the Octagon, but Silva came dangerously close to finishing the fight in their most recent encounter at UFC 147, and the two are evenly matched in all departments.
Like Hendo, Silva is one of those guys who could decide to call it quits at any moment, and, should that happen, a third installment to his Franklin series would present the perfect opportunity to make that announcement.
The edges are rough around this idea, but a situation exists where either Sonnen or Silva makes sense for Franklin’s final fight.
Bonus Pick: Anderson Silva Part III
You didn’t think I’d forget this one, did you?
Franklin was obliterated by Silva twice in his career, so this fight really doesn’t make sense.
I don’t know why I’m even considering it, but I am. The UFC fan of years past in me just won’t let this one slide.
Logic aside, how awesome would this be?
If Silva loses to Chris Weidman again at UFC 168, “The Spider” will have options aplenty for his future. Not bound by the championship belt, Silva can hand-pick his opponents, and Franklin will probably pop up in this scenario.
Silva has repeatedly expressed his respect for Franklin, and his manager, Ed Soares, has even said that a third fight with Franklin is on Silva’s radar.
I do not see this one going Franklin’s way, but the history loaded into this one would make for an epic finale to Franklin’s storied career.
Which option do you like? Do you have someone else in mind? Sound off, and we’ll discuss.
(Cain Velasquez may not kick like Anderson Silva, but his dominance over heavyweight will parallel Silva’s period of dominance over middleweight. / Photo via Getty)
After the events of UFC 166, the heavyweight division is now the UFC’s least thrilling.
Heavyweight is the new middleweight. That is to say that the heavyweight division under Cain Velasquez‘s brutal, face-rearranging reign will resemble the middleweight division under Anderson Silva during his peak — a boring division where no fighter is a threat to the champ. A division where everybody says, “Meh, who cares about who’s challenging for the heavyweight title? Cain is going to destroy him anyway.”
The only fighter to ever humble Cain Velasquez was Junior Dos Santos. But Dos Santos couldn’t repeat his success. Velasquez wrought terrible vengeance on the Brazilian in the rematch at UFC 155, and then again in the rubber match at UFC 166.
Earlier this year, I predicted that the UFC heavyweight division would become stagnant and dull:
Both men are insanely talented. But that’s the problem — they’re both so talented that the rest of the fighters in the division aren’t a match for them. The only challenge to Velasquez is Dos Santos. The only challenge to Dos Santos is Velasquez.
I was right and wrong.
(Cain Velasquez may not kick like Anderson Silva, but his dominance over heavyweight will parallel Silva’s period of dominance over middleweight. / Photo via Getty)
After the events of UFC 166, the heavyweight division is now the UFC’s least thrilling.
Heavyweight is the new middleweight. That is to say that the heavyweight division under Cain Velasquez‘s brutal, face-rearranging reign will resemble the middleweight division under Anderson Silva during his peak — a boring division where no fighter is a threat to the champ. A division where everybody says, “Meh, who cares about who’s challenging for the heavyweight title? Cain is going to destroy them anyway.”
The only fighter to ever humble Cain Velasquez was Junior Dos Santos. But Dos Santos couldn’t repeat his success. Velasquez wrought terrible vengeance on the Brazilian in the rematch at UFC 155, and then again in the rubber match at UFC 166.
Earlier this year, I predicted that the UFC heavyweight division would become stagnant and dull:
Both men are insanely talented. But that’s the problem — they’re both so talented that the rest of the fighters in the division aren’t a match for them. The only challenge to Velasquez is Dos Santos. The only challenge to Dos Santos is Velasquez.
I was right and wrong. Both men are talented. The rest of the division is no match for Dos Santos, but Dos Santos is clearly no match for Velasquez, their first fight notwithstanding. Thus, the future of the UFC heavyweight division is grim. Here’s how it’ll look:
Cain Velasquez destroys all comers — even Fabricio Werdum who, for some reason, people think is now a legitimate title contender. Velasquez will reduce Werdum to awkward, frustrated butt-scooting. The champ likely won’t have much of a problem with the other heavyweight hopefuls; none of them have answers for Velasquez’s wrestling, striking, and conditioning. Unfortunately, those same men probably don’t have an answer for Junior Dos Santos’ boxing acumen and power either.
The UFC heavyweight division in 2013 is analogous to the UFC middleweight division in 2006-7. Anderson Silva was the best guy. Rich Franklin was the next best guy and was better than everyone else besides Silva. The only problem? Silva brutalized Franklin so badly that discussing a rematch was asinine.
Now, just swap out Silva with Velasquez and Franklin with Dos Santos and you’ve got the post-UFC 166 heavyweight division. The excitement is gone. Everyone not named Junior Dos Santos will be fighting for the honor of being third-best, while Dos Santos himself will be fighting for the privilege of being Cain Velasquez’s eternal understudy.
(For ten years, Rampage has been haunted by the memory of that brutal photo-bombing. And on November 2nd, he’ll have his revenge. Bellator 106: Bitter Homeboys, only on pay-per-view.)
This, of course, isn’t the case. The UFC has put on several PPVs whose main events rival Rampage-Ortiz in outright shittyness. For some reason, those PPVs didn’t draw the media’s collective derision like Rampage-Ortiz did. (It’s almost as if the mainstream MMA media is being coerced by some powerful, credential-wielding force…) But that’s OK; CagePotato is here to bring those terrible main events to justice.
So just what has the UFC given us to watch on Saturday nights that was as bad as the upcoming Rampage-Ortiz train wreck? Let’s have a look.
People might not agree with this pick, but Ortiz-Griffin II was an awful main event. By 2009, Ortiz wasn’t important enough to pay for — no matter who he was fighting. Going into the fight with Forrest Griffin, he was 1-2-1 in his last four fights, with his only win coming against Ken Shamrock in 2006. Tito’s best days were far behind him. In fact, he hadn’t beaten anyone NOT named Ken Shamrock since 2006 (and, coincidentally, it was Forrest Griffin who he beat).
Griffin, too, had whatever the opposite of “a head of steam” is going into UFC 106. Rashad Evans embarrassed him at UFC 92, taking the light heavyweight belt in the process. But what Evans did to him seemed tame compared to the legendary beat down that Anderson Silva bestowed on Griffin at UFC 101.
Put these ruts together and you get an overpriced PPV — $60 to watch two guys who would never be relevant again.
(For ten years, Rampage has been haunted by the memory of that brutal photo-bombing. And on November 2nd, he’ll have his revenge. Bellator 106: Bitter Homeboys, only on pay-per-view.)
This, of course, isn’t the case. The UFC has put on several PPVs whose main events rival Rampage-Ortiz in outright shittyness. For some reason, those PPVs didn’t draw the media’s collective derision like Rampage-Ortiz did. (It’s almost as if the mainstream MMA media is being coerced by some powerful, credential-wielding force…) But that’s OK; CagePotato is here to bring those terrible main events to justice.
So just what has the UFC given us to watch on Saturday nights that was as bad as the upcoming Rampage-Ortiz train wreck? Let’s have a look.
People might not agree with this pick, but Ortiz-Griffin II was an awful main event. By 2009, Ortiz wasn’t important enough to pay for — no matter who he was fighting. Going into the fight with Forrest Griffin, he was 1-2-1 in his last four fights, with his only win coming against Ken Shamrock in 2006. Tito’s best days were far behind him. In fact, he hadn’t beaten anyone NOT named Ken Shamrock since 2006 (and, coincidentally, it was Forrest Griffin who he beat).
Griffin, too, had whatever the opposite of “a head of steam” is going into UFC 106. Rashad Evans embarrassed him at UFC 92, taking the light heavyweight belt in the process. But what Evans did to him seemed tame compared to the legendary beat down that Anderson Silva bestowed on Griffin at UFC 101.
Put these ruts together and you get an overpriced PPV — $60 to watch two guys who would never be relevant again.
If you ever find yourself in a pro-Zuffa state of mind, remember this: They asked people to pay FULL PRICE for UFC 109: Relentless, a card that featured Randy Couture vs. what fans thought was a real-live White Walker (turns out that it was just ancient, broke Mark Coleman).
Everything involving Mark Coleman’s second UFC run in 2009-2010 was atrocious — save for his win over confirmed cheater Stephan Bonnar, which was hilarious. For real though, bringing Coleman back in 2009 was like bringing Tank Abbott back in 2003, it was a bad idea that damaged the UFC’s product and made them look like idiots. As for Couture, he was coming off a win over Brandon Vera, but at that point being able to beat Brandon Vera wasn’t much of an accomplishment.
This main event belonged in a nursing home. Sensing this fact, the UFC tried to market it as the ULTIMATE WAR OF LEGENDZ!11!! Kind of graceless, if you ask us, it’s also reeks of the same sort of desperate vibe that Bellator’s Rampage-Ortiz does.
In UFC 115’s defense, it could’ve been a lot worse.
The main event was scheduled to be Chuck Liddell-Tito Ortiz III. A third fight between the two men really wasn’t necessary since Liddell had won the previous two in convincing fashion. However, Chuck was in desperate need of a win after suffering two knockouts that were so bad they could’ve been Mortal Kombat fatalities. Therefore, Dana booked a fight that his BFF Chuck had a good chance of winning. He put Chuck and Tito on a new season of TUF and scheduled a faceoff between the two at UFC 115. Unfortunately, one of Tito’s millions of nagging injuries forced him to withdraw from the fight.
In his place, we got a Rich Franklin who’s face had just recovered from having Vitor Belfort’s fists planted into it repeatedly back at UFC 103.
So, at UFC 115 we were supposed to get a fight where neither guy had contended for a title in years and were never going to again but we ended up getting…a fight where neither guy had contended for a title in years and were never going to again — kind of like what we’re gonna see on Bellator’s first PPV.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin wasn’t a great idea for a fight in 2009. It was an even worse one in 2012. It was such a bad idea that, after the fight card was shuffled and the UFC settled on bumping Silva-Franklin II to main event, the UFC offered refunds for people who bought tickets before the card became something that belonged on AXS.tv and not on PPV. This main event was so lackluster that UFC 147 drew the fewest buys of any PPV in the Zuffa era at an estimated 140,000 — pathetic for a promotion the size of the UFC.
Like with Liddell vs. Franklin, Wanderlei Silva-Rich Franklin II was a fight where neither fighter had been relevant in years (like Tito and Rampage) nor were they ever going to be meaningful again (like Rampage and Tito).
Did we leave out your least-favorite UFC pay-per-view headliner? Holler at us in the comments section.
