Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder
Rich
Franklin was the tacit figurehead of the organization in
incrementally reshaping the brand image from “human cockfighting.”
Most of his peers embodied the archetype of a fighter to which the
mainstream audience could not relate. Franklin, a former high
school teacher lacking garish ink on his body or flamboyant
hairstyle, became the distinctive figure fans could associate with
and a common man they could look up to. The organization inducted
him into the Pioneer Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame class in 2019.
With 37 professional fights under his belt during a 13-year career,
Franklin compiled a 29-7 record with one no contest. Wins over
Ken
Shamrock,
Chuck
Liddell,
Evan Tanner
and
Wanderlei
Silva anchor his resume.
Nearly nine years removed from Franklin’s retirement, here are five
things you might not know about him:
1. He has a mathematical mind and a fighter’s heart.
Before Franklin became a professional prizefighter, he was a math
teacher in his native Ohio. He holds a bachelor’s degree in
mathematics and a master’s degree in education from the University
of Cincinnati, which led to his becoming an educator at Oak Hills
High School. Franklin’s father warned him that he was potentially
throwing away a secure career in teaching by pursuing a career in
mixed martial arts. “On the weekends, I would take a fight here and
there,”
Franklin told
UC Magazine. “I remember my first professional fight I made 200
bucks, and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I can make money fighting?’ I
thought for a while that I wasn’t going to be able to make it in
this sport, and I really started questioning myself. I considered
going back to teaching, back to the security of my job, my
retirement plan and my health benefits, but you have to learn to
have a little bit of stick-to-itiveness.”
2. He was driven by the need to shatter the stigma around
fighting.
UFC CEO Dana White and several others have fought an uphill battle
trying to destigmatize preconceived notions surrounding fighters
and their backgrounds. White has emphasized many times that many of
the fighters are high school graduates with brilliant minds,
routinely pointing to Franklin as an example. Franklin claims that
competing inside the cage requires intelligence, dedication and
sharp mindedness, just like any other occupation. “It takes a high
amount of intelligence and savviness to be socially adept and
understand the concepts of this job,” he said. “A lot of people
perceive that I have gone from a job that required a high amount of
intelligence to a job that does not in fighting. If you want to be
a successful fighter, you better surround yourself with some highly
intelligent people, or you better be a highly intelligent person
yourself and understand marketability, how to speak in public and
exactly what the fans want and need.”
3. He has an entrepreneurial spirit.
Franklin started an athletic clothing brand in 2002 with business
partner Jeff Adler, focused on a full line of athletic training
clothing, casual wear and training gear for martial arts. In 2012,
they achieved a huge milestone when Affliction Clothing expressed
interest and acquired the majority of their company. They also
brought the brand to mainstream retailers, and it has flourished
ever since. In 2013, Franklin also launched Ze/Lin Organic Juice &
Fusion Cafe in Beverly Hills, California, along with business
partner Billy Zebe. Unfortunately, the cafe was shut down in nine
months. The company has since focused on wholesale and distribution
of bottled juices.
4. He has been a warrior on the big screen.
Besides fighting and his business ventures, “Ace” has also appeared
on the silver screen, making his acting debut in the 2008 film
“Cyborg Soldier.” Franklin played a cyborg prototype of a
top-secret military program. Following that, he starred in the 2010
movie “The Hammer”—a story inspired by the life of deaf UFC fighter
Matt
Hamill. In addition, Franklin played Coach Billings in the 2014
comedy “Mantervention.”
5. He wants to empower the next generation.
Franklin has a soft spot for kids who grew up in bad neighborhoods,
and he wants to be the guiding light to show the underserved
communities that hope endures. In his vision to empower the next
generation of MMA talent, he signed on as the vice president of
ONE
Championship in May 2014, serving as the face of the brand and
traveling throughout the United States and Asia. Moreover, he also
hosts ONE Warrior Series, a talent scouting platform to recruit
surging talent.