In the wake of Rich Franklin’s unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva in Brazil on Saturday night, he had a simple message for Joe Rogan and the MMA world: “Making a title run before I retire.”
His performance in the win over Silva was undoubtedly impressive as he somehow overcame a second round barrage at the hands of the ‘Axe Murderer’ that would have floored lesser opponents, to take the fight on the judges’ scorecards.
Rich looked fantastic during the fight aside from that one instance towards the end of that round when, to borrow a phrase coined by Franklin himself, he got caught up in Silva’s tornado.
His display was all the more impressive when you consider his attitude since taking on the fight at short notice just over a month ago.
With Silva originally scheduled to take on Vitor Belfort until a hand injury ruled him out, ‘Ace’ was in Malaysia training heavily for a fight against Cung Le at UFC 148.
Franklin showed his class by stepping in at very short notice and bringing his camp forward by two weeks as he again proved to the entire mixed martial arts world, as if they needed reminding, that he is one of the most reliable and classiest guys in the business.
Do not underestimate just how difficult it would be to fight such an experienced opponent in their homeland where they could rely on a fervent and frantic following and that is with a full camp and preparation for that particular opponent behind them.
Nothing seems to faze Franklin though and his approach to fighting a man who ruled the roost over PRIDE for four years as middleweight champion in Brazil was astonishingly relaxed.
Throughout the pre-fight interviews and UFC 147 Countdown Show his mindset seemed both focused and calm with no hint of any tension ahead of a fight that he was hoping would propel him back into the line for one last chance at reclaiming the gold he held for just over a year before losing to the man who still hold it today and who defeated Franklin in a subsequent rematch, Anderson Silva.
Does Franklin have what it takes to do this? To mount a challenge, Franklin has all of the skills necessary but when it comes to actually reclaiming the gold, it may be a bridge too far for ‘Ace.’
Due to being defeated twice by the current title holder, the 37-year-old would not come close to a title shot while ‘Spider’ is still the champion but should Chael Sonnen claim the championship on July 7th, and for what it is worth I believe that he will, things could become very interesting and the Team Extreme fighter could be one to test Sonnen.
At the moment it is very much all ifs and buts yet you cannot help be intrigued by it and wonder if Franklin’s storied career has one last “Cinderella story” left in it.
By his own admission he made a mistake moving up to light heavyweight and now that he has returned to 185lb, and looked both big, quick and impressive upon his return, he can certainly stake a claim for earning a title shot.
At the moment the division does have many fighters eyeing up the same prize as the former champion with Michael Bisping, Hector Lombard, Tim Boetsch and Brian Stann all in contention and if Franklin were to score a win over someone like Yushin Okami, Alessio Sakara, Cung Le or Demian Maia then this could see him move into the upper ranks circling Silva and Sonnen such as Bisping et al.
While I believe that reclaiming the title is perhaps just beyond Franklin, I have absolutely no doubts that he has the experience and tools to contend at the top of this division and maybe, just maybe, fight for the belt one last time.
Much of this depends on what Sonnen does in the middleweight battle to end all battles in two weeks but after seeing the shape that Rich is in after this weekend, it is clear that no man is going to intimidate him and he has the advantage over those at the top of the division at the moment in that not one of them have ever challenged for the UFC title before.
Yet this is ground that the Ohio native has covered in the past and he is no stranger to the pressure of these main event fights while others at the top have never experienced this before.
Although the hunger and skill of these men to claim their sport’s biggest prize is not in doubt, Rich is one of the wiliest and most intelligent fighters in the business and will be extremely confident he can put together yet another efficient game plan to put any of those contenders away.
Meticulous in his plans and clinical in carrying them out, he has both the boxing and BJJ to trouble any of these competitors with his boxing and stand-up in particular outstanding, as demonstrated on Saturday night in Belo Horizonte.
His jab is so quick and powerful and his counter-punching can end any man but he is also so elusive in getting out of danger before picking off more big shots of his own that there are few fighters (aside from elite strikers) who have effectively been able to deal with him.
It is certainly an interesting situation to keep an eye on and should he come up against the right fighters, Rich Franklin could be gracing the upper reaches one last time in the very near future. Easily too.
Padraig Whelan: Sports Journalism 
As longs as he doesn’t meet Anderson, he has a chance against anyone :).