What did Rich Franklin do so fundamentally bad against Anderson Silva?

[Chomsky Honk]

To this day Rich Franklin still receives flack on the internet for how he defended against Anderson Silva's knees in the clinch in both of their fights. I have been hearing about this since I started following MMA, but I actually don't know what Rich Franklin was supposed to do. I don't train so I thought I would go to the Sherdog striking experts for their input.

Rich Franklin vs Anderson Silva

What did he do wrong?

What should he have done?

 

[DoctorTaco]

Basically- blocking knees with your arms is a terrible idea. You should fight into a better position upstairs while smothering their hips so they can’t swang and bang those knees

 

[koquerelle]

Nothing. AS was an animal and Rich couldn't do anything against him.

 

[Natural Order]

Rich should have tried to hug Anderson to close that distance in the plum. Instead he allowed Anderson to set the distance and just tried blocking rather than preventing.

Easier said than done of course, when you're talking about one of the most savage strikers the sport has ever seen unloading on you.

 

[Trabaho]

Those online experts would
1) shrug prime AS off
2) trip him
3) painful bearhug
4) swept the other leg when he throws a knee
5) elbow and kneed him with a opening
6) knee to stomach into power bomb
7) filled the room with upercuts
8) touch with the jab so he can not come close

They did it to little Timey in training many times so they sure would make it work vs Andy

 

[Sinister]

Box
Kickbox
Karate
TKD

Not knowing any of those

 

[Frode Falch]

He was cocky enough to go in there, believing that the clinch would be his "sweet spot"

 

[NoSmilez]

He could have put the ridge of his forearm across Silva's face/head/neck and turn his own shoulder away. It will break the plum grip but they can attack while you try to break free. He could have also went for a body lock to break the back. It's a little illegal in MT but it's fine in MMA. I think he would have been safe there too.

You don't tug on someone's head like that unless you don't respect their clinch game. Pretty much Franklin didn't use his hands to fight the clinch or position his hips closer to prevent straight knees. I think he tried to swim a little in the first fight but he panicked when he ate his first straight knee. He did make that adjustment in the second fight but he rested too much in one position. All Anderson had to do is change his own hip angle to make space to do a curved knee.

 

[Cole train]

Was simply far away from silva on technical level

Cant win stand up, cant wrestle him out so not much you can do

Man i miss old ufc with all the characters

 

[Hog-train]

He couldn't do shit because he was outclassed.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Most obviously you can throw punches yourself when in the thai clinch.

I think really what happened is Franklin got out chinned and out powered, in the second fight Anderson walked though his offence and beat him down even without the thai clinch.

 

[Bullitt68]

He was cocky enough to go in there, believing that the clinch would be his "sweet spot"

Most people weren't following the sport at the time and so don't know that, or they forgot it, but yeah, after he mauled The Crow, Franklin thought that he was just too big and strong for any MW striker to hurt him. He figured he'd be able to box Silva up on the outside and muscle him around on the inside. When that didn't happen and he started getting blasted with knees, it was such a shock that he went deer in the headlights and just froze and ended up getting kneed into oblivion.

in the second fight Anderson walked though his offence and beat him down even without the thai clinch.

To be fair, Franklin did MUCH better in the second fight. He opened strong with low kicks and punches and cracked Silva a couple of times, and when Silva went to the clinch Franklin defended perfectly, got him up against the fence, and took him down rather quickly from the body lock. Franklin often fought predominantly as a striker, but he had solid TDs and a really good ground game. I always thought that he should've fought Silva the way that he fought Jorge Rivera, make it gritty and throw lots of punches and then change up to TDs and grapple him. Instead he let Silva dictate tempo way too much and hung back. He obviously fought that way because he was intimidated, not because he thought it was a good idea, but regardless, strategically, it didn't work for him because it gave Silva time and space, and you can't let Silva pick you apart...because he'll pick you apart

 

[Deleted member 110072]

To be fair, Franklin did MUCH better in the second fight. He opened strong with low kicks and punches and cracked Silva a couple of times, and when Silva went to the clinch Franklin defended perfectly, got him up against the fence, and took him down rather quickly from the body lock. Franklin often fought predominantly as a striker, but he had solid TDs and a really good ground game. I always thought that he should've fought Silva the way that he fought Jorge Rivera, make it gritty and throw lots of punches and then change up to TDs and grapple him. Instead he let Silva dictate tempo way too much and hung back. He obviously fought that way because he was intimidated, not because he thought it was a good idea, but regardless, strategically, it didn't work for him because it gave Silva time and space, and you can't let Silva pick you apart...because he'll pick you apart

I suspect Rich was probably supprised a bit at just how good Andersons chin was, he lands some good punchs late in the first but Silva just walks though them and unloads on him.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

A bit of a talk about here - time stamped

 

[Bullitt68]

A bit of a talk about here - time stamped

I don't know who that dude is but that's either (a) hyperbole because Franklin did MUCH better in the second fight or (b) proof that it was surprise and not a lack of skill that cost Franklin the first time around because he did MUCH better in the second fight. The "He had no clue about MT" thing is ridiculous since Silva couldn't replicate his clinch attack from the first fight in the second fight. That shows either that the first fight was a fluke and Franklin really was better in the clinch than he showed that night or that Franklin did improve between the first and second fights.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

I don't know who that dude is but that's either (a) hyperbole because Franklin did MUCH better in the second fight or (b) proof that it was surprise and not a lack of skill that cost Franklin the first time around because he did MUCH better in the second fight. The "He had no clue about MT" thing is ridiculous since Silva couldn't replicate his clinch attack from the first fight in the second fight. That shows either that the first fight was a fluke and Franklin really was better in the clinch than he showed that night or that Franklin did improve between the first and second fights.

That's Kevin Ross - who was a pretty good muay thai fighter.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

Talks about the clinch and Anderson

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

I don't know who that dude is but that's either (a) hyperbole because Franklin did MUCH better in the second fight or (b) proof that it was surprise and not a lack of skill that cost Franklin the first time around because he did MUCH better in the second fight. The "He had no clue about MT" thing is ridiculous since Silva couldn't replicate his clinch attack from the first fight in the second fight. That shows either that the first fight was a fluke and Franklin really was better in the clinch than he showed that night or that Franklin did improve between the first and second fights.

And yet it was the clinch, the 2nd time around, that was Franklin's downfall (where he took the most damage again). Sure he did better but he still lost the clinch fight.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

He was cocky enough to go in there, believing that the clinch would be his "sweet spot"

Yeah, I remember him saying that he thought he'd muscle anderson around in the clinch. As soon as it went there he looked clueless as to how to deal with it - even the 2nd time around. He did decent early but eventually got caught in the clinch and took shots that really hurt him and was eventually finished in a clinch situation again.

 

[Bullitt68]

And yet it was the clinch, the 2nd time around, that was Franklin's downfall (where he took the most damage again). Sure he did better but he still lost the clinch fight.

Silva finished Franklin with two knees, but Franklin was out of it at the end of the first round when Silva dropped him at the bell. Franklin was saved by the bell as he was out from a punch. In the second round, all Silva had to do was tag him and he was right back on wobbly legs, and eventually Silva chased him to the fence and finished it there. The clinch wasn't Franklin's "downfall," it's just where Silva put on the finishing touches.