Rich Franklin
Template:MMAstatsbox Rich Jay Franklin (born October 5, 1974 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion.
Rich holds notable wins over Travis Fulton, Marvin Eastman, Jorge Rivera, Evan Tanner (twice), Ken Shamrock, Edwin Dewees, Nathan Quarry, David Loiseau, Jason MacDonald, Yushin Okami and Travis Lutter.
Biography
Prior to becoming a full time MMA fighter, Franklin was a math teacher at Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati. He has a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati. [1]
Martial arts background
According to Franklin, he first learned submission fighting from instructional video tapes.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Mixed martial arts career
Franklin had a record of 17 wins and 1 loss before his fight for the title, which he won. His sole loss was against Lyoto Machida by TKO in the second round. In the run up to the title match, he defeated such well-respected fighters as Evan Tanner, Jorge Rivera, Edwin Dewees, and Ken Shamrock. Before his fight with Shamrock, Franklin signed an unusually long 8-fight contract. In 2005, he defeated Evan Tanner for a second time at UFC 53 to win the UFC middleweight championship. His victory lead to his being a coach (along with welterweight champion Matt Hughes) on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter.
On November 19, 2005 at UFC 56, 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. On March 4, 2006, at UFC 58, 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 seven months.
Franklin lost his title on his return fight after being defeated by Brazilian Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 64 on October 14, 2006. Franklin was stopped with approximately 20 unanswered knees from the Muay Thai-clinch followed by kicks and a knee to the face at 2:49 of the first round. 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, 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 ring, and said that he and Dana White had agreed to a fight for the title in Franklin's hometown, Cincinnati.
On June 16, 2007 at UFC 72 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 in favor of Franklin.
On October 20, 2007, Franklin faced Anderson Silva in a rematch for the middleweight championship, losing by TKO (knee) in the second round.[2] Franklin recently signed a new 6 fight contract with the UFC.[3] Rich Franklin defeated Travis Lutter via TKO (strikes) at 3:01 of Round 2 at UFC 83 on April 19, 2008.
Mixed martial arts record
| 27 matches | 23 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 3 |
| By submission | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Date | Result | Record | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time | Notes |
| April 19 2008 | Win | 23-3 | Travis Lutter | UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 | TKO (Strikes) | 2 | 3:01 | |
| October 20 2007 | Loss | 22-3 | Anderson Silva | UFC 77: Hostile Territory | TKO (Strikes) | 2 | 1:07 | For UFC Middleweight Championship |
| June 16 2007 | Win | 22-2 | Yushin Okami | UFC 72: Victory | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | Became number one contender in the UFC Middleweight Division |
| March 3 2007 | Win | 21-2 | Jason MacDonald | UFC 68: The Uprising | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| October 14 2006 | Loss | 20-2 | Anderson Silva | UFC 64: Unstoppable | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 2:59 | Lost UFC Middleweight Championship |
| March 4 2006 | Win | 20-1 | David Loiseau | UFC 58: USA vs. Canada | Decision (Unanimous) | 5 | 5:00 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
| November 19 2005 | Win | 19-1 | Nathan Quarry | UFC 56: Full Force | KO (Punch) | 1 | 2:34 | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
| June 4 2005 | Win | 18-1 | Evan Tanner | UFC 53: Heavy Hitters | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | 4 | 3:25 | Won UFC Middleweight Championship |
| April 9 2005 | Win | 17-1 | Ken Shamrock | The Ultimate Fighter Finale | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 2:42 | |
| December 12 2004 | Win | 16-1 | Curtis Stout | Superbrawl 38 | Submission (Punches) | 2 | 1:28 | |
| October 22 2004 | Win | 15-1 | Jorge Rivera | UFC 50: The War of '04 | Submission (Armbar) | 3 | 4:28 | |
| July 14 2004 | Win | 14-1 | Ralph Dilon | Alaska Fighting Championship | Submission (Keylock) | 1 | ? | |
| April 16 2004 | Win | 13-1 | Leo Sylvest | Superbrawl 35 | Submission (Strikes) | 1 | 1:13 | |
| December 31 2003 | Loss | 12-1 | Lyoto Machida | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003-Inoki Festival | TKO (Strikes) | 2 | 1:03 | |
| September 26 2003 | Win | 12-0 | Edwin Dewees | UFC 44: Undisputed | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 3:35 | |
| July 19 2003 | Win | 11-0 | Roberto Ramirez | Battleground 1: War Cry | KO (Punch) | 1 | 0:10 | |
| April 25 2003 | Win | 10-0 | Evan Tanner | UFC 42: Sudden Impact | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 2:40 | |
| September 17 2002 | Win | 9-0 | Antony Rea | UCC Hawaii: Eruption in Hawaii | TKO | 1 | 2:46 | |
| June 15 2002 | Win | 8-0 | Yan Pellerin | UCC 10: Battle for the Belts 2002 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 3:23 | |
| November 3 2001 | Win | 7-0 | Marvin Eastman | World Fighting Alliance 1 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | ? | |
| August 25 2001 | Win | 6-0 | Dennis Reed | Extreme Challenge Trials | Submission (Strikes) | 1 | 1:38 | |
| July 13 2001 | Win | 5-0 | Chris Seifert | Extreme Challenge 41 | Submission (Strikes) | 2 | 1:45 | |
| March 17 2001 | Win | 4-0 | Travis Fulton | RINGS USA: Battle of Champions | TKO (Broken Hand) | 1 | 5:00 | |
| January 13 2001 | NC | NC | Aaron Brink | IFC: Warriors Challenge 11 | No Contest (Accidental Injury) | 1 | 2:42 | For IFC Light Heavyweight United States Championship. Originally a win via TKO (injury), result was later overturned |
| June 29 2000 | Win | 3-0 | Dennis Reed | Extreme Challenge 35 | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 1:56 | |
| May 13 2000 | Win | 2-0 | Gary Myers | WEF 9: World Class | KO (Kick) | 3 | 0:59 | |
| March 24 2000 | Win | 1-0 | Rob Smith | Extreme Challenge 31 | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 2:30 |
Personal life
Franklin has a wife named Beth.[4] [5]
Rich Franklin's father, Richard J. Franklin Sr. passed away on January 8, 2008 from a heart attack.[6]
Trivia
- His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to Jim Carrey, who played the character Ace Ventura[citation needed]
- 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.[7]
References
- ^ Wheeler, Lonnie (2006-09-01). "Ultimate workout drives Franklin". The Cincinnati Post. E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
{{cite news}}: More than one of|author=and|last=specified (help) - ^ Bolduc, Justin (August 12, 2007). "UFC 77 Comes Together". Nokaut.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ "With New Deal, Rich Franklin Considers UFC 82 Fight with Travis Lutter". MMA Junkie. December 7, 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ Stated on his official website.
- ^ Lancaster, Marc (2003-09-25). "Ultimate Fighter". The Cincinnati Post. E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on 2003-09-25.
Franklin's wife, Beth, is an English teacher at Reading High School.
{{cite news}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 2007-02-24 suggested (help); More than one of|author=and|last=specified (help) - ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 9, 2008). "Wednesday New Update". WrestlingObserver.com. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- ^ Rich Franklin.com