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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=358599" target="_blank">
Franklin struggles to find where he belongs
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<a href="/go=news.detail&gid=358599" ><img class="photo" src="http://img.mixedmartialarts.com/method=get&rs=50&q=75&x=40&y=29&w=310&h=165&ro=0&s=rich-franklin-06-13-10-21-46-32-952.jpg" /></a>
<strong class="ArticleSource">[mmafighting.com]</strong>
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Following the UFC 133 incident, Franklin said he sat down with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to discuss the fallout from the situation and his feelings on White's comments.
"That feeling of family, it's dissipated a little bit," Franklin said. "It's not the same as it used to be when I first starting fighting for the UFC, and I basically told Lorenzo that. I said, 'Hey, I feel like sometimes you guys don't really have my back,' and he told me that they'd been really busy with the FOX deal and all that kind of stuff."
After that conversation, Franklin said, he and the UFC "were all on the same page," and there was even talk of a bout with Tito Ortiz in November, which Franklin said he was "definitely open to and interested in."
Unfortunately, his shoulder surgery scuttled those hopes, leaving him focused only on rehab and getting back to fighting shape for now. As for the weight class he'll compete in and the opponent he might face when he returns, Franklin said he's content to leave that up to the UFC.
"If the UFC said something to me about fighting at middleweight again, I'd be great with that," he said, though he clarified that he's not about to request anything specific along those lines. "...If they're not going to let me work toward a title, in the meantime as long as I can just work at putting on exciting fights and that stuff, then I'm good with doing that."
Darth Ryase - Poor Franklin. If not for Anderson, he'd be king.
Oops no I take that back. Vitor would.<br type="_moz" />
Franklin has aged considerably (looked way worse than before against Griffin and is plagued with injuries). I think he would have lost his MW title sooner or later to be honest. Marquardt and Okami always had a serious chance of beating him and for sure Sonnen today would beat any version of Rich.
tough shit rich, why are you complaining now when you could have fought on UFC 133 against alexander gustaffson but you turned it down, why hes angry at the UFC i have no idea.
The LHWs out there are way too big for him and Anderson Silva is almost at the end of his career. While Vitor Belfort is contemplating a move up to LHW.
Wow. You guys are dicks. Franklin's actually very plain spoken here. Just telling it how it is. Take a fight on three week's notice, when the guy doesn't have a 'name'? That's a lose-lose situation.
Franklin's had a bunch of great fights and his non-Anderson losses (hendo eye-pokes, vitor back of head blows, Forrest at +25 lbs) are all very realistic.
That said, i think there are a bunch of great MW matches for Franklin: Sonnen, Bisping, another go at Okami, Leben.... all very good match-ups that I'd pay to see the outcomes of.
sillypants - Wow. You guys are dicks. Franklin's actually very plain spoken here. Just telling it how it is. Take a fight on three week's notice, when the guy doesn't have a 'name'? That's a lose-lose situation.
Gotta agree here, there's nothing for Rich to gain by taking that one, and he's at a stage in his career where he's got to be conscious of that especially as (IMO) his legacy at MW has been pretty much reduced to 'just another guy that had the belt' after Silva's arrival.
In my mind, Rich is one of the best representatives MMA and UFC have had in the last 10 years. He's stayed out of the news, never gotten into any public spats, never tested positive for drugs, always stayed in shape and always fought his ass off.
Anyone that disrespects Rich is showing their own lack of character.
With that said, Rich has not been the same since fighting Anderson. The truth is that he "could" have gone on to beat many many more so-called contenders, but those Anderson beatings really took the wind out of him. He fights hard but without the same confidence and aggression of the past. I don't think he could ever hold another belt again, but I do think he has enough left in him to do it and surprise us all. But first he needs to shed some of his teammates, get some new coaches and work on building that sense of invincibility.
He will always be one of my favorite fighters. All in all, I'm more impressed with the way he has fought than many of fighters people fall all over these days. I'd take an old Rich fight over any current GSP fight any day.
Rich has always been a great ambassador for MMA and the UFC and respresented an educated athlete in a world where the common projection was "dumb thugs".
He is also a hell of a fighter. Can't be a fan of MMA and hate Rich Franklin.
I don't get why no one mentioned the fact that Rich said he'd take the fight despit eit not seeming appealing (which he told Monte Cox).
UFc could've put him in there, they decided not to for whatever reason. Rich did not reject the fight offer, UFC just opted not to use him. Hence why the disappointment with Dana indicating he declined the fight.
With that said, Rich has not been the same since fighting Anderson. The truth is that he "could" have gone on to beat many many more so-called contenders, but those Anderson beatings really took the wind out of him. He fights hard but without the same confidence and aggression of the past. I don't think he could ever hold another belt again, but I do think he has enough left in him to do it and surprise us all. But first he needs to shed some of his teammates, get some new coaches and work on building that sense of invincibility.
I think Rich should stick to the gameplan of big super fights and call it quits when he has has his fill. Rich really doesn't have much left to prove. He was a great champion bested by the best champion to ever play the sport.
