How good was Richard “Math-Ace” Franklin?

[GOAT.]

Average skills.

Good athletics.

Good toughness.

Good composure.

 

[MikeyB]

If he beats Belfort I think we have a different discussion.

Overachiever when the division wasn't great. I love Rich, but his resume just isn't as good as it needs to be.

 

[pankrat]

Mma math doesn’t always work man

Arguing that Rich Frankllm has been taken down and put in bad positions by several grapplers, some of them inferior to Filho, is not MMA math, dude. It's called discussing, which are your points to argue otherwise?

 

[abject]

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?

Dominant champs make a decent division weak in the eyes of the uneducated.

 

[Siver!]

Arguing that Rich Frankllm has been taken down and put in bad positions by several grapplers, some of them inferior to Filho, is not MMA math, dude. It's called discussing, which are your points to argue otherwise?

I think I know where to place Franklin in the timeline, very high, but Filho?

This is a guy that could submit anyone he wanted for a while, then couldn't even beat Denis Kang or Ronny Markes.

I think anyone who was well rounded by today's standards would have killed Filho, but even then I'm not sure about that statement since Filho just seemed to randomly lose his mind mid-career.

 

[LilNicky95]

Dominant champs make a decent division weak in the eyes of the uneducated.

In the eyes of the intellectually compromised(such as yourself) sentiment can supersede actual facts.

Not only did Rich lose to Silva but looked as bad as a professional fighter can look in those fights.

Rich had some solid wins due to his size and toughness but as far as skill goes, he was never elite and would get humiliated by several fighters these days.

Educate yourself before speaking on education…goof.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

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?

He was comparable to Dan Henderson, so whatever people say about Hendo should IMO apply to Franklin as well.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

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:

I don’t really care about the Griffin loss, as he was a really big LHW, or Le, because he was old.

Hendo was a competitive matchup, always would have been.

Highly explosive guys like Anderson and Vitor would always have been his kryptonite in my view.

Franklin was great. He’d beat guys like Vettori, Hermansson, Holland, Brunson, Gastelum, etc.

 

[Swoliosis]

Underrated...He is at the level of Chuck Lidell/Matt Hughes, his name should be that big IMO.

Yep, doesn't get the recognition those guys got IMO. Really sharp and smart dude too.

 

[Tris]

Anderson rearranging Franklins face was a sight to see

 

[froggyluv]

Ace forgot to "carry the 1" everytime he got plummed

 

[Local Plata]

Yeah sure dude. Lutter or Okami took him down and put him in bad positions in the ground yet Paulo Fiilhi in his prime, who was a wrecking ball back in the day, wound not have a solid chance over him. Sure, dude.

Also, be honest. You didn't watch Filho during his prime

Sure I did, he was juiced as fuck and a short lightweight fighting at MW. He wouldn't have gotten anywhere near Rich with the crazy reach disadvantage. He also beat absolutely nobody, but you can say he was a 'wrecking ball' if you want for armbarring the notoriously submittable Chael Sonnen lmao.

 

[kevinramsdell]

A pioneer of the sport, a man amongst boys. A former (defending) world champion and holds wins over some great names. A true hall of famer.

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?

 

[LilNicky95]

Ace forgot to "carry the 1" everytime he got plummed

 

[Necrosis]

MW was so weak during Silva's era that two guys he beat got title shots at two different weight classes after he beat them.

Make that 4 sir. Vitor Belfort, Damian Maia, Dan Henderson and Chael P. Sonnen all got a title shot in different weight classes after fighting Silva for the Title.

 

[pankrat]

Sure I did, he was juiced as fuck and a short lightweight fighting at MW. He wouldn't have gotten anywhere near Rich with the crazy reach disadvantage. He also beat absolutely nobody, but you can say he was a 'wrecking ball' if you want for armbarring the notoriously submittable Chael Sonnen lmao.

Its not me who says its. Most pundits and fellow fighters and coaches praised him as one of the best MW's back in the day, before he was a drug addict. He was actually ranked #1 in the division at the time.

15 years later we have your typical shertard revisionist saying he was never any good because he was very short lol. Cool

 

[pankrat]

Make that 4 sir. Vitor Belfort, Damian Maia, Dan Henderson and Chael P. Sonnen all got a title shot in different weight classes after fighting Silva for the Title.

Nate Marquardt became WW champ in Strikeforce too

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Very well rounded and good fighter, would still be champ today or top 3

 

[Brueskie]

I find it pointless to speculate how an old fighter would do if he fought today in his prime. If Rich fought today he'd train just like all current fighters do, so he wouldn't be the same as his past self. Same shit as imagining Bruce Lee fighting in MMA today. He wouldn't be bouncing around the cage making those goofy squawking noises and employing Jeet Kune Do; he'd be fighting just like everyone else.

 

[Franklin U.]

The best compliment I can give Rich is that he stayed with the mma curve after his losses to Anderson. He exchanged wins and losses over 2 weight classes against top competition. He sought out Matt Hume to make sure complacency wasnt on menu. A cerebral and complete fighter. Hes not an all time top 5 or even 10( maybe on the cusp of " 10" ish) middle. I think prime Rich a better fighter than prime Bisping ( more power and better BJJ defense).