Would a Prime Rich Franklin be a to 15 Middleweight in 2016?

Yes he would, he was very well rounded and a good fighter. he would do well in 2016 in my opinion
 
Rich was a very smart fighter. He was always huge for mw too.Def top 10.
 
Most likely, the top 7-8 spots at MW are very talent heavy today but after that I think its a significant dropoff.
 
Cry0Therapy737 said:
Rich already lost to Machida early in their careers and he never had the style to threaten him, outside of Shogun who was mad durable Machida only lost to strong grapplers, even Rampage was wrestling him.

And yes Franklin would be top fifteen and maybe top ten, there isnt any real difference between Bisping who is ranked in the top five and a prime Franklin, solid all around fighters who could do everything good not great and didn't have the strongest chin.
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Rich and Bisping is a fair comparison. I'd give Rich a slight edge on having more KO power.
 
InvestigatorIL said:
Agree pretty much with your matchups although Ace would give Weidman problems. Machida beats him also (again)

I would place him in the 5-8 range though
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Liquid Smoke said:
Rich probably wouldn't be champ these days but he was no slouch. I'd pick him to be somewhere from 5-10. I don't think he falls out of the top 15.
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I am not disagreeing that he may still be dangerous, but he still lost to MB who I have trouble viewing as no better than a gatekeeper. A prime Rich knocks MB out Henderson style and I think he beats AS not easily but will get the job done.
 
Franklin like Frank Shamrock would give certain fighters fits depending on if he was at his peak. Obviously Franklin held a prolific career including wins over Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Ken Shamrock, and Evan Tanner. His decision loss to Henderson is a fight I view that could have easily been a decision win, too. I have zero doubt in my mind Franklin would be competitive in a different timeline. IMO him & Bisping might have been an epic fight while they were both active.
 
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Top 15, yes. Top 10, I doubt it. Top 5, very doubtful. Top 3, no way.
 
If late 30s Bisping is considered top 5, than I'm sure Franklin would do just fine.
 
I mostly agree with the TS here.

Honestly, Rich from Franklin/Silva I would beat Anderson from Silva/Bisping.
 
Moot question TS, majority of today's Sherdoggers werent around when Rich was there. They came in when they seen Conor McGregor commercials.
 
Top 10? Definitely.
Champ? Definitely not.
 
Definitely top 15. I dunno about top 10

Luke
Weidman
Yoel
Jacare
Tim
Vitor
Hobert
Lyoto
Gegard

id def have over him.

Then theres Bisping, Anderson, Brunson. I wouldnt put Rich over all 3
 
I think Prime Franklin beats current version of Anderson Silva
 
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