How good was Richard “Math-Ace” Franklin?

TheSpider said:
Prime Rich would be top 5, possibly top 3 in today’s weak MW division.

Past prime Rich (after the Silva beatings) arguably beat prime Hendo in a razor close split decision loss. Beat prime Okami, prime Louiseu, Lutter and he also has wins in LHW and Franklinweight vs Wand 2X, prime Hammill, and Chuck. One of the most underrated fighters of all time.
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I usually agree with your posts but Hendo was 39 when Rich lost to uneventful fight to him and Wand was getting lit up by Chris “BKFC” Leben so….


But Anderson made Rich look like he just came from math class without any mma training.
 
It’s hilarious to me that people give him shit for losing to a prime Anderson Silva of all people.

So many dipshits on this forum. It’s like people calling Justin G a bad fighter because he lost to Khabib on the ground.
 
Rich was very well rounded, a solid MMA fighter. Unfortunately he lacked athleticism so his ceiling was limited. Most of his loses came from PED cheats:

Anderson x 2 - PED abuser
Lyoto - PED abuser
Hendo - PED abuser
Vitor - PED abuser
Forrest - admitted TRT cheat
Cung Le - PED abuser

Of course many thought Rich was a PEDS guy too, but, he was never caught:
Rich-Franklin-23-4UFC53-750-747x370.jpg
 
RemyR said:
It’s hilarious to me that people give him shit for losing to a prime Anderson Silva of all people.

So many dipshits on this forum. It’s like people calling Justin G a bad fighter because he lost to Khabib on the ground.
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Justin is the worst fighter of all time. Did your see him get taken down and choked by Khabib? He almost lost to Michael Johnson too. He isn't good.

Herp. Derp.

You gotta love Suredawg.
 
Sloppy brawler without adequate training in other areas of martial arts.
 
He was alright and it was fun to watch his fights. If he was in his prime now against current middleweights, he would probably peak at around top 8-15.
 
A jack of all trades but a master of none

Is still always better than a master of one
 
DOMMA said:
Rich was very well rounded, a solid MMA fighter. Unfortunately he lacked athleticism so his ceiling was limited. Most of his loses came from PED cheats:

Anderson x 2 - PED abuser
Lyoto - PED abuser
Hendo - PED abuser
Vitor - PED abuser
Forrest - admitted TRT cheat
Cung Le - PED abuser

Of course many thought Rich was a PEDS guy too, but, he was never caught:
Rich-Franklin-23-4UFC53-750-747x370.jpg
Click to expand...

Rich was a known juicer.

CTT_5209-600x375.jpg
 
DOMMA said:
Rich was very well rounded, a solid MMA fighter. Unfortunately he lacked athleticism so his ceiling was limited. Most of his loses came from PED cheats:

Anderson x 2 - PED abuser
Lyoto - PED abuser
Hendo - PED abuser
Vitor - PED abuser
Forrest - admitted TRT cheat
Cung Le - PED abuser

Of course many thought Rich was a PEDS guy too, but, he was never caught:
Rich-Franklin-23-4UFC53-750-747x370.jpg
Click to expand...
Lyoto never took no PEDs.
7KetoDhea is not a PED.
Yes it's banned but not a PED.
 
LilNicky95 said:
First of all, he was a former math teacher so to go from that to fighting in a cage is exemplary. However, in his two matches with Anderson, it looked like a match teacher vs a professional fighter.

Franklin was on top for a bit in a very shallow MW division. But he did have some good wins against the likes of David “Crow-Bar” Loiseau, Travis “ MJ of BJJ” Lutter and Nate “the Great” Quarry…

Overall tho, despite his worth ethic and toughness, Franklin always seemed limited as far as his skills and never seemed polished in any one area. Don’t think he would crack the top 10 these days but he was always game and ready to fight.

How will he be remembered?

images
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I think you are being highly dismissive and somewhat dishonest with Rich.

Let us remember that he was 22-1 when he met the spider.
And that only loss was to Lyoto Machida at Catchweight (214 lbs).

That's an amazing record.
Don't forget he beat guys like Okami, Wandi or Tanner beyond Nate, Loiseau or Lutter.
he knocked Chuck Liddell with a broken arm!!!

IMO he was just unlucky Silva showed up...but he deserves far more than the credit you give him.
 
Last edited:
Shaddows said:
I think you are being highly dismissive and somewhat dishonest with Rich.

Let us remember that he was 22-1 when he met the spider.
And that only loss was to Lyoto Machida at Catchweight (214 lbs).

That's an amazing record.
Don't forget he beat guys like Okami, Wandi or Tanner beyond Nate, Loiseau or Lutter.
he knocked Chuck Liddell with a broken arm!!!

IMO he was just unlucky Silva showed up...bu7t he deserves far more than the credit you give him.
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TS is just very ignorant. The fact he didn't even mentioned his wins over Okami and Tanner when talking about his wins at MW, being probably the best opponents he ever beat in that division, is telling enough
 
pankrat said:
TS is just very ignorant. The fact he didn't even mentioned his wins over Okami and Tanner when talking about his wins at MW, being probably the best opponents he ever beat in that division, is telling enough
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That's the dishonest part I mentioned.
I took he mentioned Loiseau just to prove a point he fought unknowns more than anything while omitting the rest...

Rich was one of my favorite fighters. I was truly sad when he lost (and the way he lost) to Silva... both times... such a brutal ending to someone so nice!
IMO he should have been heavily marketed as the face of MMA.
Because being a teacher, it would kill the stigma (at that time) that these were cockfighting for brutes who couldn't use their brain for anything that required thoughts beyond "Me smash".

edit: Callout to @Doctor Stoppage
Maybe next time won't judge too fast whom I defend...
 
Rich was a well rounded beast and a finisher. If he got the rightful decision against Henderson I don't even think people would be making threads questioning his legacy.
 
Flboycanscrap2 said:
Rich was a well rounded beast and a finisher. If he got the rightful decision against Henderson I don't even think people would be making threads questioning his legacy.
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Meh. Hendo was 39 at the time and is known for being inconsistent….fight was uneventful either way.
 
pankrat said:
TS is just very ignorant. The fact he didn't even mentioned his wins over Okami and Tanner when talking about his wins at MW, being probably the best opponents he ever beat in that division, is telling enough
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Stalker alert!
<VinceShock>​
 
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