MMA UFC fighter bio series Rich 'Ace' Franklin

Rich Franklin

Nick name: ‘Ace’ because of his resemblance to Jim Carey and ‘Ace’ Ventura

Record: 26-4

UFC Record: 11-3

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

Fights out of: Cincinnati, Ohio

Strengths: Incredible stamina, very well rounded

Interesting facts:

•Rich earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and his Masters degree in education from the University of Cincinnati.

•Before becoming a fighter, he was a high school math teacher at Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati.

•His martial arts training began with instructional videos and training with one of his friends in a 12’x15’ lawnmower shed in the backyard.

•Rich stared in the action movie ‘Cyborg Soldier’ where he played a genetically created super soldier that escapes the lab.

•He is a born-again and devoted Christian who quotes Psalm 144:1 on his clothing lines made by American Fighter. Psalm 144:1 Blessed be the Lord My strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.

•Rich trains strength and conditioning at Powerstation Gym, his ground work with his friend Jorge Gurgel and JG MMA Academy, his Muay Thai at Sacan Martial Arts, boxing at Boxing 4 Fitness, and also works with MMA specialist Matt Hume.

•Franklin is the former UFC Middleweight Champion, and Anderson Silva, who defeated Rich for the belt and again in a rematch, has developed such a respect for Rich’s fighting abilities that he asked Rich to spend some time training in Vegas to train with him. Rich finally accepted after making the permanent move back up to Light heavyweight.

•He has also fought the current Light-Heavy weight champion Loyoto Machida in Japan in December of 2003.

Overview:

Rich Franklin was one of the most dominant Middleweights in the UFC until Anderson Silva moved over from Pride. He is very tough, having knocked opponents out with a broken hand, has an incredible work ethic that is unmatched in MMA, and is one of the most complete fighters in MMA. Soft-spoken and very respectful of his opponents and fellow fighters, Rich is the poster boy for sportsmanship and is one of the great ambassadors for the UFC and MMA. Unable to find a way to beat Anderson Silva, but absolutely dominant over all of the other fighters in the middleweight division, Franklin is making the move back up to the light-heavy weight division where he has decisively beaten fighters like fellow Ohioan Matt ‘the hammer’ Hamill and UFC hall-of-famer Ken Shamrock. Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin has been one of the most exciting fighters to watch throughout the years, never seeming to put on a boring fight, and although father time is starting to catch up to him, he has a couple more years to thrill the fans before he retires and is inducted into the UFC Hall-of-Fame.