Who Is Rich Franklin?

This Saturday at UFC 115 in Vancouver, Canada, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin sets out to continue his rise back to a title shot.    To most casual fans, the name Rich Franklin doesn’t conjure up many memories of who his personality is and what his accolades as a combat fighter entail.

His nickname, “Ace”, is derived from his resemblance to Canadian actor/comedian Jim Carrey, who played a character named “Ace Ventura” in the film of the same name. And this is how many mma fans know Franklin – as a Jim Carrey lookalike.

Franklin has 32 professional mma fights.  He’s 26-5, with 14 knockouts and 9 submission wins.  That’s impressive in itself, considering he’s defeated guys like Wanderlei Silva, Matt Hamill, Yusin Okami, Evan Tanner (twice), Ken Shamrock, and Marvin Eastman.

Ace is always mentioned in discussions of who’s the second best middleweight in the UFC.  He lost his middleweight title to Anderson “Spider” Silva in October 2006.  In their rematch in October 2007, Franklin lost once again in devastating fashion.  He’s just 2-2 since.

Many feel that Franklin has no real weight classification, especially at this stage in his career.  He’s fought and held a belt at 185 pounds (middleweight).  And he’s one of the few UFC fighters to be allowed to fight at a catchweight – in his case 195 pounds.  At 35, Franklin is looking for new challenges and feels the light heavyweight division will provide a renewed sense of dedication to the sport.

Dana White feels that fighting at 205 pounds is healthier for Franklin and will allow him to focus less on weight cutting.  Franklin has indeed fought many fights at 205.  However, his accolades have come as a 185 pounder.

Franklin is one of the longest tenured fighters for the UFC.  He has been with the organization since 2003, and his fight with UFC legend Chuck Liddell (40) this Saturday marks a whopping 17th UFC appearance. He’s 12-4 in that stretch.  He was the two-time UFC middleweight champion for 16 months during 2005-2006.

Franklin is a well-spoken and knowledgeable fighter, having earned a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in methematics at the University of Cincinnati.  He was a mathematics teacher at a high school in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio when he began fighting professionally. He remained in that position only until fighting started paying the bills, even though he realized it was his true calling almost immediately.

Franklin, who is a born-again Christian, quotes Psalms 144:1 (“Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.”) on his webpage and fight gear. He is the pride of Cincinatti, as evidenced on February 21, 2006, when the day was officially proclaimed “Rich Franklin Day” by Mayor Mark Mallory.

Warrior Roots, a company that analyzes DNA and researches genealogy, proclaimed Franklin a “Celtic Warrior”, meaning that his ancestry if Celtic origin and that he is predisposed to be a great warrior.

Heading into UFC 115, both Franklin and Chuck Liddell are in need of a win.  Liddell wants to prove that he’s still a player in the UFC, and Franklin hopes to right his ship and gain back some of his fan base with a key victory over a formidable opponent.

Rich Franklin replaced Tito Ortiz, who dropped out of what was to be his third matchup with Liddell, due to injuries.

The light heavyweight division has been busy lately. With Rashad Evans’ win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson last month, he is expected to be the number one contender for a shot at current champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s belt. Rampage, on the other hand, is expected to get a shot at the previous title holder, Lyoto Machida. If Franklin can beat Liddell, it’s expected he may get a shot at the winner of the latter fight, and further work his way back up the ladder to contender position.

UFC 115: Vancouver is the fastest sellout in UFC history.  Don’t miss the action as the Canadian crowd sets out to prove their worthiness as a viable stopping ground for the UFC and sanctioned mma in general.

~Where To Watch UFC 115  Locally~