Rich Franklin Fighter Profile

Often nicknamed "Ace" because of his resemblance to Jim Carrey (well known for playing Ace Ventura), Rich Jay Franklin has had a surprisingly successful career in the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). With 21 wins to 1 loss it's hard to believe that Franklin possesses a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati. In fact, before becoming a professional fighter in the MMA he taught mathematics at Oak Hills High School. Franklin is also a very religious man, as he is a born-again Christian and quotes Psalm 144:1 ("Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight") on all his fighter gear. 
Franklin claims that his first lessons in submission were from watching instructional videos on the subject. Coach Jorge Gurgel has trained him since then, and Franklin is currently a brown belt at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. But despite lacking a black belt, he has managed to put quite a foot hold into the UFC. Classed in the Middleweight division of the UFC Franklin has yet to actually be defeated during an official UFC competition. He prefers to win by Knock Out but his experience with UFC has given him a broader acceptance of victory methods. A win is a win but Franklin enjoys being hard-core. During non-UFC match "BattleGround 1: Warcry" Franklin even managed to secure a Knock Out victory with a single punch against Roberto Ramirez.
Within the UFC he has fought Evan Tanner (twice), Jorge Rivera, and even Ken Shamrock. He is the current middleweight champion and continues to defend his title. One of his latest challengers for the title was previous contestant on the Spike TV reality show The Ultimate Fighter, Nate Quarry. While Nate Quarry never actually fought on the show, he did win three UFC bouts which earned him a right to face Franklin on November 19th 2005 during UFC 56. Two and a half minutes into the first round Franklin won by knockout. During UFC 58 -USA vs. Canada- Franklin battled David "The Crow" Loiseau. It took a unanimous decision at the end of the 5th round to give Franklin the victory, which was very impressive considering that Franklin had broken his wrist during the second round. The injury was so intense that it required surgery, including a metal plate. It is believed that Franklin will be out of action for the next six to eight months as a result. 
Franklin has created quite a fan-base for himself, including his home town of Cincinnati. February 21st 2006 was officially named "Rich Franklin Day" in honor of their native UFC champion. Currently he continues his training with Jorge Gurgel, Neal Rowe (Muay Thai instructor) and boxing coach Rob Radford. It could very well be that Franklin's branching out to multiple techniques gives him the edge to continue his flawless career within the UFC.
Fight Record 22-2-0 1 No Contest
<ul>
<li>06-16-2007 - Defeats Yushin Okami, UFC 72, Unanimous Decision </li>
<li>03-03-2007 - Defeats Jason McDonald, UFC 68, TKO Round 2, 5:00 </li>
<li>10-14-2006 - Lost to Anderson Silva, UFC 64, TKO Round 1, 2:59 </li>
<li>03-04-2006 - Defeats David Loiseau, UFC 58, Unanimous Decision </li>
<li>11-19-2005 - Defeats Nathan Quarry, UFC 56, KO Round 1, 2:34 </li>
<li>06-04-2005 - Defeats Evan Tanner, UFC 53, TKO Round 4, 3:25 </li>
<li>04-09-2005 - Defeats Ken Shamrock, TUF 1 Finale, TKO Round 1, 2:42 </li>
<li>12-12-2004 - Defeats Curtis Stout, SB 38, Submission Round 2, 1:28 </li>
<li>10-22-2004 - Defeats Jorge Rivera, UFC 50, Submission Round 3, 4:28 </li>
<li>07-14-2004 - Defeats Ralph Dilon, AFC, Submission Round 1 </li>
<li>04-16-2004 - Defeats Leo Sylvest, SB 35, Submission Round 1, 1:13 </li>
<li>12-31-2003 - Lost to Lyoto Machida, IBBY '03, TKO Round 2, 1:03 </li>
<li>09-26-2003 - Defeats Edwin Dewees, UFC 44, TKO Round 1, 3:35 </li>
<li>07-19-2003 - Defeats Roberto Ramirez, BG 1 WC, KO Round 1, 0:10 </li>
<li>04-25-2003 - Defeats Evan Tanner, UFC 42, TKO Round 1, 2:40 </li>
<li>09-17-2002 - Defeats Antony Rea, UCC H, TKO Round 1, 2:46 </li>
<li>06-15-2002 - Defeats Yan Pellerin, UCC 10, Submission Round 1, 3:23 </li>
<li>11-03-2001 - Defeats Marvin Eastman, WFA 1, Submission Round 1 </li>
<li>08-25-2001 - Defeats Dennis Reed, ECT, Submission Round 1, 1:38 </li>
<li>07-13-2001 - Defeats Chris Seifert, EC 41, Submission Round 2, 1:45 </li>
<li>03-17-2001 - Defeats Travis Fulton, Rings USA BOC, TKO Round 1, 5:00 </li>
<li>01-13-2001 - No Contest to Aaron Brink, IFC WC 11, Accidental Injury </li>
<li>06-29-2000 - Defeats Dennis Reed, EC 35, Submission Round 1, 1:56 </li>
<li>05-13-2000 - Defeats Gary Myers, WEF 9, KO Round 3, 0:59 </li>
<li>03-24-2000 - Defeats Rob Smith, EC 31, TKO Round 1, 2:30   </li></ul>

Weight Class Eligible for Top 10 ( tick if yes )

( Seperate each weight class with a space. Tags for weight classes are: lw = light weight, mw = middle weight, lhw = light hw, he = heavy weight )

What did you change? In an effort to make editorial approval easier please specify briefly the changes you made to the bio. If you updated the fight record, say so, improved the bio explain how. Simple, short but clear explanations please! When changes are approved you will get POINTS and also credit for the last change.

Rich Franklin Nose Injuries	Rich Franklin Workout
UFC-Ken shamrock vs Rich franklin	Rich Franklin and Jorge Gurgel Training Weights
Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida vs. Rich "Ace" Franklin	Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida KO Rich "Ace" Franklin

Franklin claims that his first lessons in submission were from watching instructional videos on the subject. Coach Jorge Gurgel has trained him since then, and Franklin is currently a brown belt at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. But despite lacking a black belt, he has managed to put quite a foot hold into the UFC. Classed in the Middleweight division of the UFC Franklin has yet to actually be defeated during an official UFC competition. He prefers to win by Knock Out but his experience with UFC has given him a broader acceptance of victory methods. A win is a win but Franklin enjoys being hard-core. During non-UFC match "BattleGround 1: Warcry" Franklin even managed to secure a Knock Out victory with a single punch against Roberto Ramirez.

Within the UFC he has fought Evan Tanner (twice), Jorge Rivera, and even Ken Shamrock. He is the current middleweight champion and continues to defend his title. One of his latest challengers for the title was previous contestant on the Spike TV reality show The Ultimate Fighter, Nate Quarry. While Nate Quarry never actually fought on the show, he did win three UFC bouts which earned him a right to face Franklin on November 19th 2005 during UFC 56. Two and a half minutes into the first round Franklin won by knockout. During UFC 58 -USA vs. Canada- Franklin battled David "The Crow" Loiseau. It took a unanimous decision at the end of the 5th round to give Franklin the victory, which was very impressive considering that Franklin had broken his wrist during the second round. The injury was so intense that it required surgery, including a metal plate. It is believed that Franklin will be out of action for the next six to eight months as a result.

Franklin has created quite a fan-base for himself, including his home town of Cincinnati. February 21st 2006 was officially named "Rich Franklin Day" in honor of their native UFC champion. Currently he continues his training with Jorge Gurgel, Neal Rowe (Muay Thai instructor) and boxing coach Rob Radford. It could very well be that Franklin's branching out to multiple techniques gives him the edge to continue his flawless career within the UFC.

Fight Record 22-2-0 1 No Contest

06-16-2007 - Defeats Yushin Okami, UFC 72, Unanimous Decision
03-03-2007 - Defeats Jason McDonald, UFC 68, TKO Round 2, 5:00
10-14-2006 - Lost to Anderson Silva, UFC 64, TKO Round 1, 2:59
03-04-2006 - Defeats David Loiseau, UFC 58, Unanimous Decision
11-19-2005 - Defeats Nathan Quarry, UFC 56, KO Round 1, 2:34
06-04-2005 - Defeats Evan Tanner, UFC 53, TKO Round 4, 3:25
04-09-2005 - Defeats Ken Shamrock, TUF 1 Finale, TKO Round 1, 2:42
12-12-2004 - Defeats Curtis Stout, SB 38, Submission Round 2, 1:28
10-22-2004 - Defeats Jorge Rivera, UFC 50, Submission Round 3, 4:28
07-14-2004 - Defeats Ralph Dilon, AFC, Submission Round 1
04-16-2004 - Defeats Leo Sylvest, SB 35, Submission Round 1, 1:13
12-31-2003 - Lost to Lyoto Machida, IBBY '03, TKO Round 2, 1:03
09-26-2003 - Defeats Edwin Dewees, UFC 44, TKO Round 1, 3:35
07-19-2003 - Defeats Roberto Ramirez, BG 1 WC, KO Round 1, 0:10
04-25-2003 - Defeats Evan Tanner, UFC 42, TKO Round 1, 2:40
09-17-2002 - Defeats Antony Rea, UCC H, TKO Round 1, 2:46
06-15-2002 - Defeats Yan Pellerin, UCC 10, Submission Round 1, 3:23
11-03-2001 - Defeats Marvin Eastman, WFA 1, Submission Round 1
08-25-2001 - Defeats Dennis Reed, ECT, Submission Round 1, 1:38
07-13-2001 - Defeats Chris Seifert, EC 41, Submission Round 2, 1:45
03-17-2001 - Defeats Travis Fulton, Rings USA BOC, TKO Round 1, 5:00
01-13-2001 - No Contest to Aaron Brink, IFC WC 11, Accidental Injury
06-29-2000 - Defeats Dennis Reed, EC 35, Submission Round 1, 1:56
05-13-2000 - Defeats Gary Myers, WEF 9, KO Round 3, 0:59
03-24-2000 - Defeats Rob Smith, EC 31, TKO Round 1, 2:30

This page was last updated on by misfit