Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (20-2) preferred to fight at UFC 67 in February to rinse away the bitter taste of defeat as soon as possible, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Here’s a snip from “Ace:”
“Coming back in February may not have been the most intelligent thing to do, but I think it’s a natural reaction of a competitive person that when they lose they want to get back on track to prove themselves. In a situation like this, you’ve got a loss on your mind, and there’s nothing more that you want to do than get back in the ring and make things right again.”
Apparently, the UFC didn’t think he was ready and decided to instead book him for a fight with Jason MacDonald (18-7) at UFC 68 on March 3 in Columbus, Ohio.
Here’s a snip from UFC President Dana White:
“Rich is a competitor, but we always put the best interests of our fighters first. Sometimes we need to step in and make a decision a fighter doesn’t agree with. Having Rich fight in March gives him more time to heal and gives him a chance to fight in front of his hometown fans.”
Not surprisingly, Franklin is in no rush to fight the man who put him on the shelf in the first place with a shattered nose back in October 2006 at UFC 64, Anderson Silva (18-4).
Here’s another snip:
“Winning is what’s important to me, not that belt. I don’t want to set my sights on just the belt. If winning is my goal, and I win, the belt will come.”
I can’t say that I blame him. That looked like it hurt real bad.
16 Comments »
“Winning is what’s important to me, not that belt. I don’t want to set my sights on just the belt. If winning is my goal, and I win, the belt will come.”………??????????? Sounds to me like he said he would rather go beat up on some easy fighters rather then take a chance lossing again. Its only about being the champ Rich. Can’t train heart I guess.
Franklin is probably having nightmares about being caught in another Mauy-Thai clinch from hell.
Hopefully, MacDonald can get inside and clinch him up without getting KO’d.
i think by winning he means competing..and by not wanting the belt, he means not right away..like the arlovski sylvia rematch…by no means does this article question his heart
I agree with MMA Dude. I think it’s smart not to go at it right away. Keep in mind Franklin has fought only twice in the last 18 months because of injuries. Even the best fighters in the world need some time to whack the rust off — Franklin is no different.
yeah exactly, wandelei didnt call out cro cop right after his loss, chuck didnt immediately call out randy or rampage after their first fights, obviously there are kinks to work out in richs game before he fights silva again, i think thats all hes trying to say…not shunning away for the belt, just wanting to fight and win again before going after it
I agree that Franklin shouldn’t immediately fight for the middleweight belt, again. Not because he hasn’t fought much recently or even because Anderson Silva put on a Muay Thai clinic in their matchup. I think he should wait because that gives other guys, like Marquardt, Swick, and whoever else deserves a shot (maybe Grove after another fight or two) to get the recognition that comes with fighting in a title fight.
I disagree Tommy. In no way does that statement question Rich’s heart. In his first fight against top tier competition, he learns about that funny thailandese word and how to breathe through his ears for a month. The guy is smart, realizes he has things to work on, and is stating he is focusing on how to win, not just being a titleholder. I applaud him for it.
I say give him 2-3 fights against contenders before the rematch. 185 has a lot of depth for the UFC (unlike the heavyweight division, since you guys are talking about Arlovski/Sylvia), so from a promoter stand point, they can indeed take their time and still maintain a bit of excitement.
Yeah yeah, I really didn’t expect to make any friends with my comments today. I would love to see Rich take his own helpful advice he gave on tuff. When (if) he does rematch Silva maybe he should start the fight on his knees. See how that works out for him.
Now that’s funny. I was thinking of how I could incorporate that little statement into my last post, but decided to leave it alone. So, yeah, I hope Rich says to himself, “Hmm, Silva knocked my nose to Brazil last time, maybe I should start the fight on my knees?”. I’m almost positive that Serra is gonna start on his knees vs GSP…..~|~
I hate Franklin hes a dick
serra sucks at everything except BJJ, so if someone defends his jits, the defend him, thats their whole game plan…the only way to catch someone for serra is if he gets wreckless or if his opponant does…its not the best advice no, but serra could try something new, he has how many boring fights that go to a decision because everyone just defends his jits, and he wastes so much time taking them down…take a knee and hope the guy bum rushes you so you can get them out of you game, if not, your on the ground anyway where you want to be
and its not like he was referring to GSP or Silva, just the pudwhackers from the show
MacDonald is ready for this fight. I know for a fact that Jason has the heart and determination to win, he has sacrificed everything for the last year to get this far and Franklin is not going to stop him. Jason knows he does not match Ace in striking but he is woking on getting past that and defending it to do what he does best, make ‘em tap. I predict that Franklin will be tapping before the end of round 2 and he, like the rest of MacDonalds victims, will be crying and wondering how “The Athelete” made him look like an amature.
i think it will be Rich, like the 7 other guys that beat macdonald, who will be the one with his hand raised at the end
Did you guys see any of Franklins 20 wins? He’s not a punk. He’s fought alot of good competetion. When he knocked out nate quarry i thought he killed him. lol He won’t make the same mistake twice and id bet he will be champ again.