Issue 107

November 2013

He has a degree, was a high school teacher and held the UFC’s middleweight title – what’s next for ‘Ace’?

We hear you are in LA right now, so what’s going on in the world of Rich Franklin? Are you thinking about going into movies full-time?

“I’m always out here taking meetings and getting the ball rolling for my post-fight career. I don’t know what I’m going to do exactly, yet, but this is a good opportunity to open doors for things I may not have thought about otherwise.”

We are always hearing about fighters making the transition from MMA to Hollywood. Do you think there is a natural crossover because of the hard work both jobs call for? Or is it a personality thing?

“Motivation wise, I think that athletes in general, and myself specifically, are hard workers. Acting is an art and I consider what I do for a living an art as well. It takes a lot of hard work to be good at what I do. I think a lot of people hear my story and think I just was teaching high school, after getting a degree, and woke up one day and decided to be a fighter, and become a UFC champion. We all know it doesn’t work like that. It took a lot of blood, sweat and hard work to get where I’m at.”

How important is it to you to be a good ambassador for MMA and the UFC specifically?

“It’s very important. It’s important for the UFC due to the checkered past of mixed martial arts. As athletes we have had to work very hard to gain the notoriety we have gained.

“You are starting to see highlights on ESPN, but it has taken a long time. We are not viewed in the same way as football players or basketball players, we are viewed as substandard athletes. It’s a shame.

“But more important than being a good ambassador for the sport is being a good ambassador for myself. When I’m at an autograph signing, or something of that nature, I want everyone to leave with that authentic feeling that I make them feel unique, and I make the next guy feel unique, and that I’m not just regurgitating the factory line of responses.”

If you could choose one fight from your career that you are most proud of, which one would it be?

“Strangely enough, I like to talk about my Travis Lutter fight, but not many fans stop me and say that they loved that one. You hear people talk about the Chuck fight, fighting through with a broken arm; or fighting through a broken hand against Loiseau; or getting dropped against Wanderlei and winning a unanimous decision. But the Lutter fight, for me, was a real gut check.

“I remember I’d prepared really hard for that fight and devised all sorts of strategies to defeat him. But during the fight they just didn’t seem to be working. I really had to ask myself, ‘Do you really want this victory? If you do you really need to get yourself in gear.’ 

“Thankfully I ended up winning the fight by TKO. That was one of the fights when I’ve had to come from behind and grit it out.

“It’s very easy to win the fights when things are really going your way. The Nate Quarry knockout: I see it all the time on the UFC highlight reels, but I was in control, so to me that is not an impressive fight.”

Are there certain fighters you enjoy watching more than others?

“It’s different for me because there are certain guys I like watching just because they are my friends. I like watching Matt Brown because he’s exciting, but I really like watching him because he’s my friend. “I also really enjoy watching Tim Boetsch because I have trained with him on several occasions up at Matt Hume’s gym. He’s just one of those guys that if you know him then you are really, really rooting for him. “On the entertainment side of things, I really like watching Frankie Edgar fight. He always seems to put on an exciting battle.”