Rich Franklin Bio
Rich Franklin

Rich Franklin is an Ultimate Fighting star and former middleweight champion. He is noted for his flexibility and rounded ability with different fighting styles.

Rich Franklin was born on October 5th, 1974, in Cincinnati, Ohio. When he was twelve years old his father introduced him to karate, a sport which he enjoyed but did not at first take seriously. He returned to it in high school after failing in his ambition to make the football team. There he befriended the instructor's sons, Josh and Shawn Rafferty. Shawn had learned some Thai boxing in the marine corps and together the three of them experimented with different styles of fighting. After watching an ultimate fighting contest they began studying Brazilian ju-jitsu. This continued after Franklin began studying at the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and went on to take a master's degree in education. They practised in an old shed in the Raffertys' yard, without heating or air conditioning, regardless of the weather.

Upon graduating, Franklin secured a job as a math teacher at Oak Hills High School, but it would not last for long. By now he and his friends had found a proper training facility, Excalibur Fitness, and a coach, Kerry Schall. Franklin began to enter real competitive fights and secured notable victories over Gary Myers and Aaron Brink. This attracted the attention of manager Monte Cox who was keen o promote his mixed martial arts abilities. Subsequent victories over Dennis Reed, Travis Fulton and Marvin Eastman inspired him to give up the day job and become a full time professional fighter.

Full time fighting was a big risk for Franklin, who had just bought a house with his new wife Beth, but as a born again Christian he drew on his faith for courage and he was not disappointed by the opportunities which came his way. He developed his ju-jitsu skills further under acclaimed coach Jorge Gurgel, eventually becoming a brown belt, and moved to his facilities to train under Muay Thai instructor Neal Rowe and boxing instructor Rob Radford. Thus equipped, he began to participate in UFC fights, making a name for himself by defeating the likes of Evan Tanner, Jorge Rivera and Ken Shamrock. Though possessed of good grappling skills, he preferred to finish fights by going for a knockout, taking advantage of his talent for making swift strikes. In 2005, another victory over Tanner made him UFC Middleweight Champion. He subsequently defended the title against Nate Quarry and David 'The Crow' Loiseau before losing it to Anderson Silva. During the match against Loiseau he suffered a serious hand injury which required surgery, leaving him with a metal plate and screws holding his hand together; consequently, he has been advised not to fight again for several months.

As well as fighting, Franklin has worked as a coach, participating in that capacity in the second series of Spike TV's reality show The Ultimate Fighter, alongside welterweight champion Matt Hughes. He currently trains with his brother Greg and is working on improving his kickboxing with the help of Scott Sheeley. Franklin's friends know him as 'Ace' because of his resemblance to Jim Carrey who starred in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. His success has made him something of a local hero, with Cincinatti's mayor Charles J Luken declaring February the 21st, 2006 officially Rich Franklin Day.


     del.icio.us     Stumble It  

Facts: