R. Franklin (photo) was defeated in his farewell to the ring. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
One of the most popular names in the mid-2000s in the UFC is officially hanging up his gloves. After even declaring that I would like to have one last farewell fight, former middleweight champion Rich Franklin backtracked and announced that he is retiring from MMA this Monday (28).
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“I'm announcing that I've closed one chapter in my life and I'm starting another. What will I miss most about this journey? I can close my eyes and see myself walking down the hallway before entering the arena. I can hear the crowd cheering for me when “For Those About To Rock” (their entrance song) comes on. So, I enter the octagon”, wrote Franklin, in a poetic tone, in his column on the website “The Player's Tribune”.
Rich Franklin was remembered by the Brazilian public especially for four fights, two that he lost and two that he won. In 2006 and 2007, “The Ace”, as he is known, was defeated by Anderson Silva, at that time a fighter who had recently arrived in the UFC, in fights valid for the middleweight belt. In 2009 and 2012, once in Germany and once in Brazil, Franklin beat the “Crazy Dog” Wanderlei Silva, in two very busy duels.
But, in addition to Anderson and Wanderlei, Franklin also had two other Brazilian rivals in his career, and in both cases he ended up defeated. At “Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye” in 2003, Rich was knocked out by Lyoto Machida and years later, already in Ultimate, he kissed the canvas again, this time to Vitor belfort. Franklin, who now owns a juice chain in the United States, ended his career in professional MMA with a record of 29 wins, 7 losses and one unsuccessful fight. His last appearance in the ring came almost three years ago, when he was defeated by Cung le.
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