Written by Geoff Craig at MMA Manifesto
Earlier last week Rich Franklin formally announced his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts competition. Franklin is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and currently is the Vice President of Asian Mixed Martial Arts company ONE Championship. Although he hasn’t competed since November 2012, it’s still weird to know that we won’t see “Ace” back in the octagon again. Franklin always had exciting fights and was a fan favorite worldwide. He finished his career with a record of 29 wins (15 TKO/KO, 10 Submissions, 4 Decisions) and 7 losses (5 TKO/KO and 2 Decisions). Let’s take a look back at the career of Rich “Ace” Franklin.
A Look at the Man
Rich Franklin broke the mold a what MMA fighters were stereotyped as. Most thought a fighters as beer-drinking, bar-fighting thugs (think of Tank Abbott). Rich comes in as not only a great fighter, but then you find out he was a high school math teacher. When MMA detractors were trying to compare the sport to human cock fighting, Rich, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and a Master’s in Education, could step in and articulately demonstrate how that just wasn’t true. The sport of MMA was still in it’s infancy back in 2005 when Franklin really made his mark in the UFC. Dana White was lucky to have someone like Rich at the forefront of the rise of MMA in the U.S.
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