44 Facts About Rich Franklin

1.

Richard Jay Franklin II was born on October 5,1974 and is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist.

2.

Rich Franklin is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Middleweight Champion.

3.

Rich Franklin attended William Henry Harrison High School in the city of Harrison Ohio and He was a math teacher at Oak Hills High School in Bridgetown Ohio.

4.

Rich Franklin has one biological brother, Greg, and five half-siblings.

5.

Rich Franklin earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later earned a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati.

6.

Rich Franklin taught mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

7.

Rich Franklin is a born-again Christian and quotes Psalm 144:1 on his webpage and fighter gear.

8.

In May 2014, Rich Franklin signed on as a vice president in the ONE Championship organization, a Singapore-based combat sports promotion which officially launched on July 14,2011.

9.

Rich Franklin serves as a face of the brand and travels throughout the US and Asia hosting seminars and speaking engagements, promoting fights, and working with the fighters.

10.

Rich Franklin has been associated with and trained with Meat Truck, Inc and currently trains at facilities run by Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel, Neal Rowe, a Muay Thai instructor, and Rob Radford, a boxing instructor.

11.

Rich Franklin is currently ranked as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Jorge Gurgel, which he earned on October 11,2014.

12.

Rich Franklin defeated Shamrock by TKO at 2:42 of the first round, becoming the first person to stop Shamrock via strikes.

13.

Rich Franklin defeated Evan Tanner for a second time to win the UFC Middleweight Championship.

14.

The victory led to Rich Franklin being named a coach, along with welterweight champion Matt Hughes, on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter.

15.

At UFC 56 on November 19,2005, Rich Franklin defended his title against Nate Quarry, a competitor from season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter.

16.

At UFC 58 on March 4,2006, Rich Franklin defeated David Loiseau in a unanimous five-round decision to retain his title.

17.

Rich Franklin broke his left hand early in the second round.

18.

The injury required surgery, including a metal plate and screws, and Rich Franklin was out of action for six months.

19.

At UFC 64 on October 14,2006, Rich Franklin lost his title to Anderson Silva.

20.

Rich Franklin was caught in a clinch by Silva and received a flurry of knees and kicks that rendered him unable to continue.

21.

Rich Franklin made his return at UFC 68 on March 3,2007 against Jason MacDonald.

22.

Rich Franklin showed superior striking during the fight, mounted MacDonald in the closing seconds of the second round, and caused significant injury and swelling around MacDonald's left eye.

23.

MacDonald's corner advised ending the fight and Rich Franklin was declared the winner by TKO between rounds.

24.

Rich Franklin fought world ranked Yushin Okami at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 16,2007.

25.

Rich Franklin defeated the top middleweight contender by unanimous decision to be officially announced as the number one contender for Silva's middleweight title.

26.

Rich Franklin became the first person to fight in a UFC main event in Northern Ireland.

27.

Rich Franklin fought Silva for a second time at UFC 77 on October 20,2007.

28.

At UFC 83 on April 19,2008, Rich Franklin faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Travis Lutter.

29.

At UFC 88 on Sept 6,2008, Rich Franklin made his return to the light heavyweight division against close friend and training partner Matt Hamill.

30.

Rich Franklin won by TKO following a kick to Hamill's liver, which prompted the referee to call a stop to the fight at 0:39 of round three.

31.

Rich Franklin faced former PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion Dan Henderson at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland on January 17,2009 and lost by controversial split decision.

32.

Rich Franklin became the first person to fight in a UFC main event in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

33.

Rich Franklin became the first person to fight in the UFC in four different countries in four consecutive fights.

34.

At UFC 103 on September 19,2009, Rich Franklin lost to former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.

35.

Rich Franklin was rumored to face multiple-time UFC champion Randy Couture at UFC 115, but was eventually confirmed to face former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell on June 12,2010, following the withdrawal of Liddell's original opponent, Tito Ortiz.

36.

The injury did not require surgery, which allowed Rich Franklin to recover faster.

37.

Rich Franklin faced former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin on February 5,2011 at UFC 126 and lost via unanimous decision.

38.

Rich Franklin was scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133 on August 6,2011 in Philadelphia.

39.

Rich Franklin faced Wanderlei Silva in a rematch, replacing Vitor Belfort, who suffered a hand injury, in the main event at catchweight on June 23,2012 at UFC 147.

40.

Rich Franklin won the fight via unanimous decision, with both participants earning Fight of the Night honors for their performances.

41.

Rich Franklin returned to the middleweight division against former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le on November 10,2012 in the main event at UFC on Fuel TV 6.

42.

Rich Franklin lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

43.

Rich Franklin made his acting debut in a film called Cyborg Soldier, in which he played an escaped super soldier and partnered with Tiffani Thiessen.

44.

Rich Franklin played MMA Coach Billings in the 2014 comedy Mantervention.