VIDEO | UFC Legend, Rich Franklin Tells Us What it Would Take for Him to Fight Again
“Let me just say that…you made a comment earlier about flying around like a rockstar. And when you travel this much, to maintain the kind of training that you would need to actually put together a camp, it’s not realistic. I do train, I train on almost a daily basis. Now granted, I have some stints here and there where i’m out of town for a week so I might only get two days of training in that week because i’m on the road.
To say that I never think about it would be a lie, I do. It crosses my mind from time to time but…i’ll say this… I try to avoid saying ‘never’. But with that being said, i’m pretty sure that those days are about behind me.
Like, every day older I get, I can feel the difference in my body like i’m 43 now and it’s like ‘oh that doesn’t quite move the way it did when I was 25’ so… I believe I could get through another fight camp or two if I needed to but for me to realistically look at making a comeback, I would ask myself this question: ‘if I plan on making a comeback, what would be the purpose? Could I make another title run? Could I compete at the top level?’
And if the answer to that question is yes then I would possibly consider it but at this age, I don’t think I have enough time yet to actually do that so then it would be for what purpose?
Rich “Ace” Franklin is one of the UFC Middleweight division’s biggest legends. Franklin became the fourth champion in UFC history when he defeated Evan Tanner by TKO in 2005. The Cincinnati, Ohio native, Franklin would go on to defend his title twice before dropping it to Anderson Silva.
Franklin last competed in 2012 in a losing effort against Cung Le. The legend has since been busy acting as the Vice President of ONE Championships. ONE and Franklin have recently started the ONE Warrior Series which documents Franklin and his travels across Asia looking for the best rising prospects that the continent has to offer.
In regards to a return, Franklin capped off his interview with John Hyon Ko stating what he missed most about fighting:
I think the thing I miss the most about my career is the comradery I had with my team. Like going in to the gym everyday, it truly was like a family and that’s the thing that I miss the most so if there was anything that I could replicate more than anything else… You know, people think you miss having your hand raised or you miss being in front of the fans and all that kind of stuff, no. It’s more about the comradery with my team that I miss the most. And that’s a difficult thing to replicate you know, because that time was when it was.
Possible. Not probable though.”
Would you like to see Ace make a comeback? If so, who against?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/30/2018.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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