Rich Franklin
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| Rich Franklin | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Ace |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | October 5, 1974 |
| Fighting out of | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Town of birth | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Team/Association | Team Extreme[1] |
| Fighting style | Freestyle fighting |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 23 |
| By knockout | 12 |
| By submission | 9 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 1 |
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.
Contents |
[edit] 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. [2]
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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 with the UFC. 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. The fight was stopped at 2:49 of the first round after Franklin received approximately 20 unanswered knees from Silva's Muay Thai-clinch followed by kicks and a knee to the face. 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.[3] Franklin recently signed a new 6 fight contract with the UFC.[4] Rich Franklin defeated Travis Lutter via TKO (strikes) at 3:01 of Round 2 at UFC 83 on April 19, 2008.
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 27 matches | 23 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 3 |
| By submission | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Travis Lutter |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 83 - Serra vs. St. Pierre II | 19 April 2008 | 2 | 3:01 |  Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
|
| Loss |  Anderson Silva |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 77 - Hostile Territory | 20 October 2007 | 2 | 1:07 | Ohio, United States |
For UFC Middleweight Championship |
| Win |  Yushin Okami |
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 72 - Victory | 16 June 2007 | 3 | 5:00 |  Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Became number one contender in the UFC Middleweight Division |
| Win | Jason MacDonald |
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | UFC 68 - Uprising | 3 March 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Ohio, United States |
|
| Loss | Anderson Silva |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 64 - Unstoppable | 14 October 2006 | 1 | 2:59 | Nevada, United States |
Lost UFC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | David Loiseau |
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 58 - USA vs Canada | 4 March 2006 | 5 | 5:00 | Nevada, United States |
Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Nathan Quarry |
KO (Punch) | UFC 56 - Full Force | 19 November 2005 | 1 | 2:34 | Nevada, United States |
Defended UFC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Evan Tanner |
TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | UFC 53 - Heavy Hitters | 4 June 2005 | 4 | 3:25 | New Jersey, United States |
Won UFC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Ken Shamrock |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC - Ultimate Fighter Finale | 9 April 2005 | 1 | 2:42 | Nevada, United States |
|
| Win | Curtis Stout |
Submission (Punches) | SB 38 - SuperBrawl 38 | 12 December 2004 | 2 | 1:28 | Hawaii, United States |
|
| Win | Jorge Rivera |
Submission (Armbar) | UFC 50 - The War of '04 | 22 October 2004 | 3 | 4:28 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ | |
| Win | Ralph Dilon | Submission (Kimura) | AFC - Alaska Fighting Championship | 14 July 2004 | 1 | Alaska, United States |
||
| Win | Leo Sylvest |
Submission (Strikes) | SB 35 - SuperBrawl 35 | 16 April 2004 | 1 | 1:13 | Hawaii, United States |
|
| Loss | Lyoto Machida |
TKO (Punches) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 - Inoki Festival | 31 December 2003 | 2 | 1:03 | Kobe, Japan |
|
| Win | Edwin Dewees |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 44 - Undisputed | 26 September 2003 | 1 | 3:35 | Nevada, United States |
|
| Win | Roberto Ramirez | KO (Punch) | Battleground 1 - War Cry | 19 July 2003 | 1 | 0:10 | Illinois, United States |
|
| Win | Evan Tanner |
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 42 - Sudden Impact | 25 April 2003 | 1 | 2:40 | Florida, United States |
|
| Win |  Antony Rea |
TKO (Punches) | UCC Hawaii - Eruption in Hawaii | 17 September 2002 | 1 | 2:46 | Hawaii, United States |
|
| Win | Yan Pellerin |
Submission (Armbar) | UCC 10 - Battle for the Belts 2002 | 15 June 2002 | 1 | 3:23 | Quebec, Canada |
|
| Win | Marvin Eastman |
Submission (Armbar) | WFA 1 - World Fighting Alliance 1 | 3 November 2001 | 1 | Nevada, United States |
||
| Win | Dennis Reed |
Submission (Strikes) | EC - Extreme Challenge Trials | 25 August 2001 | 1 | 1:38 | Ohio, United States |
|
| Win | Chris Seifert |
Submission (Strikes) | EC 41 - Extreme Challenge 41 | 13 July 2001 | 2 | 1:45 | Iowa, United States |
|
| Win | Travis Fulton |
TKO (Broken Hand) | Rings USA - Battle of Champions | 17 March 2001 | 1 | 5:00 | Iowa, United States |
|
| NC | Aaron Brink |
No Contest (Accidental Injury) | IFC WC 11 - Warriors Challenge 11 | 13 January 2001 | 1 | 2:42 | California, United States |
For IFC Light Heavyweight United States Championship. Originally a win via TKO (injury). |
| Win | Dennis Reed |
Submission (Armbar) | EC 35 - Extreme Challenge 35 | 29 June 2000 | 1 | 1:56 | Iowa, United States |
|
| Win | Gary Myers |
KO (Kick) | WEF 9 - World Class | 13 May 2000 | 3 | 0:59 | Indiana, United States |
|
| Win | Rob Smith |
TKO (Punches) | EC 31 - Extreme Challenge 31 | 24 March 2000 | 1 | 2:30 | Wisconsin, United States |
[edit] Personal life
Franklin has a wife named Beth.[5] [6]
Rich Franklin's father, Richard J. Franklin Sr. passed away on January 8, 2008 from a heart attack.[7]
[edit] 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.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Fight Finder: Rich Franklin. Sherdog (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
- ^ Wheeler, Lonnie. "Ultimate workout drives Franklin", The Cincinnati Post, E. W. Scripps Company, 2006-09-01. Retrieved on 2006-09-07. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12.
- ^ Bolduc, Justin (August 12, 2007). UFC 77 Comes Together. Nokaut.
- ^ With New Deal, Rich Franklin Considers UFC 82 Fight with Travis Lutter. MMA Junkie (December 7, 2007).
- ^ Stated on his official website.
- ^ Lancaster, Marc. "Ultimate Fighter", The Cincinnati Post, E. W. Scripps Company, 2003-09-25. Archived from the original on 2003-09-25. "Franklin's wife, Beth, is an English teacher at Reading High School."
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 9, 2008). Wednesday New Update. WrestlingObserver.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
- ^ Rich Franklin.com
[edit] External links
| Previous champion Evan Tanner |
4th UFC Middleweight Champion |
Next champion Anderson Silva |
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