“Rich has to make a decision. We’ve certainly considered going to 205 and seeing how he does up there. He’s fought almost everybody in the 185-pound division. There are some guys that he could fight, but if he beats them it knocks them out of title contention. And nobody is looking to see Rich and Anderson Silva 3 right now, including me. He’s not helping the 185-pound division right now by beating everybody up in it. We’ve talked about going to 205 and how would he match up with some of those guys, with a Forrest Griffin or a Keith Jardine. There’s a whole bunch of 205’s that I think would be interesting. In the end, we do what the UFC wants. If they want us to try 205, we’re up for it. If they want to keep us at 185, then we’ll do that too.”
-Manager Monte Cox tells MMAweekly that former UFC middleweight champion (and light heavyweight competitor) Rich “Ace” Franklin is considering a return to light heavyweight if it makes sense for all parties involved.
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I THINK HE SHOULD CAUSE WE ALL KNOW HE CAN’T COMPETE WITH THE SPIDER
rampage would destroy him even worse though
***Arizona legislature passed a law allowing mma events to take place in the state of Arizona***
also: Matt Arroyo will make his return to the Octagon at the TUF Finale event in June…He did not name his opponent though!
Drex Ficket hurts his knee. The Jake sheilds fight is scratched again!
Kevin: this is for you. New Tito Ortiz Quote:
I’m getting ready for that fight right now, May 24th in Las Vegas , Nevada at the MGM Grand. This is the last fight in my contract with the UFC. Then I’m going to go and sign up with somebody else just because the way Dana White treats me as a fighter is very disrespectable.
It’s not about money anymore it’s about respect. I’m going to go with someone else who will pay me more money and treat me with more respect than Dana White has ever treated me. I’m very excited to move on, to grow and go somewhere else and help them build a company like I did with the UFC.
Dont sound like he plans on re signing with the UFC to me!
Everybody knows that in any professional sport respect and money are the same thing. Just ask Randy.
AGAIN? They should just stap the WW belt around Jake Shield’s waist. Its inevitable.
VM: Ficket messed his knee up. This fight is starting to look like its just not meant to be. Reports indicate that this match will just get postponed again, but I would suggest they find Sheilds someone else to fight in the meantime!
heres the thing, if you can’t beat a guy at the lighter weight, are you really going to be able to compete heavier? I’m not convinced tthough I do agree that no one is jumping to see him get mamed again by silva. It’s a tough decision, and commend him for being honest with himself! One guy who needs to move down IMO is vera. I like him and think he’d be a great lhw
moving up makes no sense. he was out muscled in the clinch. guys at 205 are way stronger. he’d be more ‘competitive’ moving down to WW. If Cole miller can make 155lb @ 6′1″, Rich can be a dangerous size @ WW.
no, he’s a big mw, I can’t see him cutting another 15 lbs.
Rich would have to chop off an arm to make 170.
Couture got destroyed at LHW and moved to HW?
I think this would be a good move for Rich. This might make him relevent again. No disrespect to Rich, I like the guy, but A. Silva has invalidated his presence in the middleweight division. Rich could hang with some of the best LHW. I don’t think we’ll see Rich as a champ again, but he’s a fan favorite and we all want to see him win some fights against some descent competition again.
True fighters go where the competition is , I dont know what this guy is talking about and match ups. Turn the kid loose on everyone.
DONT DO IT BRO!!!..Man, Ace will get worked at 205. Really undersized for that weightclass and not enough power.
No way Rich is plenty big for 205 he would make for some great mathcups. Rich has already shown he’s by far the 2nd best in the middleweight division so why not see what he can do at 205.
You do relize when Rich is fighting he weighs around 205 right? When GSP fights he weighs about 185, when chuck fights he weighs about 215 you get my point. Rich would be a big Light heavywieght not small.
I see Rich getting by the very few 205 chumps but as far as being a contender for the belt I don’t believe he will do well. Fight Hendo and see where you stand first against him, then think about a move up. Rampage, Ice and Forrest will handle Franklin with ease.
I think that is his best option, but I want him to fight Hendo before he moves up.
I dont care what he does as long as he fights Henderson 1st!
That fight will be an f ing war!
Rich vs. Hendo would be one of the best fights of the year, but then I think of all the Pride guys sucking in the UFC. Hendo looked worse than Rich against the Spider so I guess it would depend which Hendo showed up for the fight.
I know people say Rich is a big 185, so would he be a small 205? I’ve never seen him next to a Forest or Chuck? Poor Rich is stuck in a middle ground…can’t beat the Spider and would have a rough time at 205?
Hendo look worse than Rich against the Spider? I disagree. Hendo won the first round of his fight. Hendo’s face was in tact at the end of his fight. If Hendo had better cardio he may have done better (ie lasted longer, certainly not claiming he would have won).
Franklin got creamed in both fights. His face was a mess in the first fight, and wasn’t looking to good in the second fight either. It was never a question of cardio, Franklin got his butt kicked.
I don’t think Ace vs. Hendo makes sense for the UFC. Both guys are important to the promotion and both guys have been losing more then winning. I don’t think the UFC wants to see Rich or Hendo lose another fight so soon.
Rich needs to be fighting at LHW for his next fight. Hendo…I don’t know. I would like to see him take down a couple middleweights and get another crack at A. Silva. I think Hendo could do a lot better against Silva a second time around. I would like to see Hendo fight someone like Cote or Ricardo Almeida. If he beats one of those guys, maybe a fight against Bisping.
I think Bisping still has to prove himself and earn a fight with Hendo. Let him face Leben, and if he wins ( which i doubt) another fight or two before stepping in to fight a top 5 guy.
I would still like to see Franklin fight Kampfmann and I wouldnt mind him re-arranging Bisping’s face either. I would love to see the Hendo fight as well. I think Franklin can still hang around at MW for a while. The new season of TUF I’m sure is supposed to pump some new life into this division as well.
i agree john. hendo vs franklin 1rst. who the hell else is hendo gonna fight at 185 thats better than rich than silva. franklins already beat okami. a move up to 205 might prove well. what he loses in size and strength he can make up for in speed and quickness. besides even if he does beat hendo theres still no fight left for him at mw and a win could make him a instant contender at lhw. i dont see him ever being a champ again in the ufc at any wieght, but there are still alot of high profile fights left for him.
AMEN
I agree with mmamaniaReader. Hendo DEFINITELY did better than Rich did against Anderson.
Rich’s first fight - KO’d and required facial surgery, fight ended in the first round. Has never been the same since
Rich’s second fight - He gets KO’d at the very end of Round 1 and needs to be dragged to the stool. Didn’t even think he’d make the bell. But he did, and got creamed.
So Rich has been in the octagon with Anderson for 3 rounds, all of which would have been scored 10-8. And that 8 is pretty generous for a couple of those rounds…
In Hendo’s fight vs Anderson, Hendo WON the first round on every judges score card. He was winning the fight. Rich can not say that for himself. Hendo got too comfortable with his standup and ate a big knee that had him wobbled. Then the body triangle took the rest of his gas and he was choked out.
I don’t think it really matters who did better because they both got absolutely handled. Franklin got the worst beating but that’s what happens when you try standing with Silva. Hendo is a world class greco guy but still got submitted with realtive ease. Hendo is a durable guy and I would give him a better chance against Silva then Rich. Hendo’s style is also more condusive for a better fight with Silva.
sad thing is lutter looked better against silva than either of these guys.
Tough situation for Rich. I think he would find himself in the exact same situation at 205. He would be solid, but not able to beat the best.
yeah hed deifnetly make it far in the ranks..but he will definetly have a reall hard time getting anywhere int he top 5! to be honest this monte cox being a greedy scum…he wants to market him with more fights! there is a reason the rest of the middle weights cant get past him…because the rest have no absolute chance againts silva! only franklin and hendo are the ones closest to being any threst to spider! i think he should stay at 185 and have some of the bigger welter weights move up! or wait till some of the smaller 205 guys move down! and fighting hendo will answer questions if rich can compete at 205 anymore!
Running from Bisping!!!!!!
LMAO dont dream of it “Mate”….franklin will run thru him like matt hammil on a brit! i will give him that we will go far in the middlewieght if he get thru leben. if not…i dunnoo where he could stand.
He could take the place of who ever is standing on your dictionary at the moment.
he very well could…as long the division had franklin and hendo gatekeeping the title…bisping wont get his shot. actually it really depends how he play his fights..if he runs thru decent contenders he may be able to by pass hendo and face franklin. or if they want hendo to rematch with silva. hendo will fight bisping if bisping makes his wins streak notable. no more charles mcarthys, sinosics, or schaffers for him lol. as long as he is in that division franklin and hendo wont ever let anyone face silva lol…what is up with this weight class? so many fighter too little talent! except the elite few who cant beat him!
Your vision from across the pond must be blurred if you think your Brit Boy can hang with toughness of the American Ace!! I agree Biz has skills, but no where near the level of Rich. I think he will have is hands full with Leben so if I were you, I wouldn’t get your hopes up!
Leben ref stoppage due to foot stomps!!! Biz will be having tea and crumpits through a straw after Leben.
Now that is funny!!!
no you are prejudice man. id ont give two Sh*ts and a f*ck about where a fighter is from. you are just as ignorant as sherdog bloggers!
Hahahaha….This is so funny. If you americans are going to bomb the brits don’t go nuclear!!! Us potato loving leprauchans have to survive.
Bisping is better than many american mma fans think. He’s not as good as many British think. I like him though and think he has a lot of potential and is going to shake things up at MW.
Yeah, I’m sure fighting Bisping keeps him awake at night. (sarcasm)
It was meant as a joke, posted ages ago that he would never be able to hang with Franklin or Henderson or Silva.
Sorry, I thought you were serious. It’s a relief to find your not. lol
lol
lol. “Dripping” sarcasm.
I dont know about this idea. Franklin cant beat Silva but he is still one of the best middleweights in the UFC which is the 2nd weakest division behind Heavyweight. I think Rich should Fight Dan Henderson at middleweight before deciding weather or not to move up in weight. Fans deserve to find who the 2nd best middleweight in the UFC is. Franklin should stay in the middleweight division a little longer until some of the up and comers step up and replace him. He needs to pass the toarch to someone else 1st. Taking him out of the division right now would be a big loss to the division.
There are many middleweights out there that he hasnt fought that arent named Anderson Silva.
If he does move up to LHW, I think he could do well against many of the top guys. For example: He could do well against jardine, Forrest and he wouild probably easily beat Rashad at 205….So either way I think he has at least 2 good years left!
I would say Franklin vs Forrest makes more sense than Rampage vs Forrest
James S, I completely agree. I think Forrest would have a tough time against Franklin at 205, so how can some people expect him to take the crown from King Rampage?
There are a lot of TUF fans out there that remember his epic battle with Bonnar wher 700,000 punches where thrown and landed with zero power. He submitted a one legged, gassed Shogun, he went three rounds with the ever so popular, yet past his prime Tito Ortiz. And the list goes on. I’m a fan of Forrest, he is an exciting fighter to watch, but he ain’t knocking Rampage out, and he ain’t submitting him, so I can’t figure it out. Speaking of Bonnar and Forrest.. I think Franklin and Forrest would be a similar fight, except Franklin has a little more strenghth behind his punches.
Franklin has a LOT more strength in his punches.
I don’t think anyone actually expects Forrest to win. But you gotta love an underdog. That’s what makes this sport so exciting. Anything can happen.
see, john, how I rate guys is if they can beat or contend with the champ. he can’t at mw, and didn’t machida beat him??
yeah. he koed him.
Maybe your right John but then again I really don’t want Henderson to lose another fight. Sure its against 3 amazingly good fighters but then where does that leave Henderson? And Franklin losing the fight to Henderson would leave him knowing he can’t stand in the LHW division. Who is left at MW that has a chance of beating Silva? Let alone Franklin, Henderson, or Okami? I think the best move would be for Franklin to move up to MW, fight a fight or two and then take on Henderson who by then should have one a fight or two as well. This would make the fight more exciting and also give an automatic title shot to either of the winners, Henderson beating the respected number two of the MW division and Franklin beating the last pride belt holder. This would leave the UFC 2 super fights that the fans would appreciate more. Also this would give more credit to Franklin if say he could be Hendo at his regular weight class.
As far as fights that pay the most, 205 is a good option. There are really only 2 money makers for him @ 185 - Hendo & Bisping - and Bisping is a few fights away from being able to challenge Rich. Ace can move to 205 and immediately have three or four bigtime fights, including a fan favorite matchup w/Forest (assuming he is not the champ). Also possible matchups w/Wandy, Jardine and maybe even a rematch w/Lyoto? I don’t care either way, I just think he would be able to make more money @ 205, cause there really are not very many interesting matchups for him @ 185 - and he has basically taken himself out of title contention by repeatedly saying no one wants to see Franklin-Silva III. He is right.
Ditto. It’s all about the money matchups. There’s a plethora at 205. He’s dominated at 185, and as a result worn his welcome…Rich, pull a Couture and move up.
My “inner Joe Silva” says-
Lyoto vs. Rich
Hendo vs. Rich or if they’re feelin’ lucky
Houston vs. Rich
i think he should stay @ 185. theres still a ton of good fights for him. Henderson, Cote, Leben, Wandy(if he drops). i would rather see those fights first.
The problem for the ufc is, if he beats these guys, who is gonna fight Silva?
Exactly. Cox is not saying Rich has a better chance at being champ at LHW, but it’s better for the UFC, and probably better for the fans (more interesting match-ups).
then they arent interesting match up in my opinion..what is the use of saving all these guys wins streaks and skip franklin to fight silva. to be honest if they cant beat hendo or franklin they have no business fighting silva. why watch another marquardt type sacrifice fight? i would liek to see franklin face sum of the smaller 205 out there! ace vs machida II. ace vs shogun.wandy and so on.
Sounds like a good move, at least while Anderson is holding the belt.
Frankiln moving to LH that would be like comitting suicide with a few more surgeries. Franklin has a better chance of going to elite xc and fighting Robby Lawler.
Or he could just retire while he’s still healthy.
why retire like that when you can retire as a hall of famer or a real fighter does. it wont be exactly as bad as you say ktown. i can definetly see franklin making it close to #1 contender spot. but i do see him having a hard time staying up there too long. im sure he wont be a champ there as well. but i can see him in contention.
Catch-weight fight at 195 with Henderson? Both guys can do it, it will make his jump to LHW easier, and Hendo can go either way after the fight.
Why 195? They both regularly fight at 185 anyway.
Exactly, thats like having a catch weight of 180 for a fight between GSP and Fitch.
If they are both staying at 185, then there’s no point. But if Franklin’s moving to LHW, it might be better to go up 10 pounds at a time than make 1 huge jump. Hendo has fought at both weights, and could take this fight on the way to a Henderson/Silva 3 at 205 or against another big name.
so why not make it a 205 bout against hendo then? or just 185… no sense in making it a catch weight.
Did you read my post? I suggested they fight at 195 because I think it will be a smoother transition to LHW than going up 20 pounds at once. Could be wrong, but that’s my logic. What do you think is the advantage of fighting right away at 205?
well if you fight hendo. who fights at 205 as well. it can be a testament to what he can do at 205. im sure it wont be smooth how ever the fight is set…its easier to go up a weightclass that to go down. your bodies metabolism changes so much. almost irrepairable.
I know franklin vs sivla 1 and 2 were disasterous losses for franklin but I still belleive that when sila gets beat it will be on that ground. We saw slimps of it in the lutter fight and the hendo fight. Maybe rich should take a year to work his ground game? last time all he worked on was the clinch. Rich seems tough on the ground, as per his lutter fight and the okomi fight. Just a thought. And yes, I do realize that anderson silva is a black belt in BJJ and is no slouch on the ground. Lets just put it this way, he’s been in more trouble on the ground than he’s ever been in on his feet. Also his losses have been submission losses. The loss to Okomi was from the illegal blow from his back, but okomi did have him on his back.
how bout welterweight?
I don’t think he should do it. I don’t think he has the power or the size to beat the likes of Liddell, Forest, Rampage, etc. I want to see him fight Bisping, Leban, and Hendo first. Don’t tell us there are nobody left to fight at 185. Here’s three good ones right here!
Nobody is saying that there are no good fights left for him @ 185. What we are saying is that if he beats them, they are no longer in title contention, and he is not at a place where top contender is remotely marketable. Basically rich is the division killer, a dam that won’t let other talent through to have a shot at silva. We all know that style matchups are often what makes or breaks a fight so if you can’t get past franklin does it mean your style won’t give silva trouble? IE lutter?
Even if Franklin was able to keep up with Hendo, granted that they eventually fight… I don’t think thats solid evidence that he will be successful at 205. Hendo is a freak of nature and a tough SOB with a lot of greco-roman wrestling knowledge. That’s how he’s able to hang with such bigger guys, but don’t get me wrong he does have gorilla strength.
Franklin’s technique can’t even stop the Muay Thai clinch at 185, so I think it would be murder to get in arms/knees length of a bigger MT specialist like Wanderlei. We all saw what he’s done to Quinton.
My guess is Franklin’s success in 205 won’t even get the chance to take off and establish himself as a LHW.
I love seeing Ace go out and compete. But as much heart as he has, I really don’t think he has it in him to stand up with the elite on either weight class. He’s in the upper level (obviously) of the 185 class, but I don’t see him cracking the top 5 of the 205lb class.
I could see him doing well at 205
He’d run through competition lyke Rashad or Bonnar in my opnion
Maybe its gonna be a surprise announcement from Dana that the Hendo - Franklin fight will happen but at 205
Now that i wouldn’t mind seein cause the winner won’t get an automatic shot lyke they would if the fight were to take place at 185
Hendo’s an animal, but still doesn’t deserve a 3rd shot at a title in 4 fights
sucks for the loser if Franklin and Henderson have to fight it out at 185 or even 205….Henderson would be 3 straight losses and Rich…well it would just place him at #3 in 185lb division….Rich needs to work on his ground game and wrestling and maybe go to Thialand and practive his muy thai and then string some more big wins together and challenge Anderson Silva a 3rd time a year or so from now….
Could be interesting. Lots more fight opportunities for him at 205 than at 185 currently. There’s what right now, Hendo(who I wouldn’t be surprised to see return to 205 too), and that’s it, unless Wanderlei drops. I don’t think he’d be giving up too much of a size advantage against some of the top LHW’s out there, and worst comes to worst and it doesn’t work out, he can just drop to 185 again.
HE WILL GET HAMMERED AT 205 HE CAN BARELY STAND NOW
Franklin must be a idiot
I like it. Especially if he beats Henderson. Rich used to fight at 205 so it isnt foreign to him. Yeah he might be better at 185 in general but like Cox said, the UFC (and most of the fans for that matter) dont wanna see another Silva fight. Let him go up and if he beats 2 decent guys and a contender then he should be able to fight for the title. At that point win or lose that title fight and I say he should be able to fight Silva back at 185 if Silva is still undefeated.
He’s in a tough spot. If he stays at middleweight all he does is beat everyone down knocking all the #2’s off of the title shot picture. Nobody will get by Rich in middleweight and Anderson will sit there with nobody to fight because nobody can get by Rich.
Franklin looked not too great against Lutter. I think Nate Marquardt can beat Franklin. Rich has nothing to gain by staying at Middleweight. Sure, Hendo vs. Franklin would be entertaining, but what’s the point? If Rich wins, then what? Another Silva thrashing?
I think there are many MWs that can give Ace a hard time. Is Monte Cox saying nobody else can beat Ace? I disagree. Even Bisping will give Ace a good run.
Pretty much, yeah lol. OK, we know anythin can happen and anybody can lose, but aside from Hendo, there are NO GAINS from other fights. He can only go down, not up, so what’s the point?
I’d like to see Rich take on Hendo, Leben, and Bisping before he goes anywhere.
I guess I’m in the minority here, seeing as I wouldn’t mind seeing Franklin-Silva III. I’m not saying it would be the event of the year, but damn, it can’t be any worse than the Tito-Scamrock trilogy… at least it’s two LIKEABLE fighters.
I’d like to see what The Spider could do at 205. I’ve read interviews where he’s mentioned that he has a pretty big cut to make 185. If he could bulk up a bit, without degrading his speed and agility, then perhaps he could make some waves in the LHW division. I love “Ace,” but I can’t visualize him penetrating the Top 5 as a LHW right now.
I am with you dude. I wanna see a Franklin vs. Silva III. I still think the thrid time will be the charm for Franklin against Silva.
You’re crazy man. There was no shining light in either of the Silva fights for RICH. He looked terrible in both, got destroyed in both, and it will happen again if they fight for a third time.
I’m a huge Rich Franklin fan, and even I can see that.
Silva is Franklin’s kryptonite.
Silva/Franklin III just isn’t an interesting fight. Give me FRANKLIN vs HENDO!!!!
I AGREE, Rich should fight HENDO, LEBEN, and BISPING before he moves up to LHW to get destroyed.
There would be more exciting match ups for Frankling at 205. Also his cardio isn’t what it use to be. I believe his age + weight cutting is begining to wear him down a little. He should be able to go a good 3 rounds at 205 without the weight drop.
so franklin fought at heavyweight at the beginning of his career so maybe he could go straight to super-heavyweight and chuck needs to move to heavyweight, hughes to middle and heath herring should just retire. i don’t understand why everyone seems to think that there can be only the champ and #1 contender. people still want to see big names fight no matter the weight or whether or not it’s for a belt.
He would have more chance at HW than LHW!! seriously!