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[TBEAR]

Source As Rich Franklin enters twilight of career, "Ace" considers life beyond the cage | MMAjunkie.com

LAS VEGAS — Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (25-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) is sure of one thing he won't do when he retires: open a gym.

But ask him what he wants to do when he hangs up his gloves, and he has no idea. Ask him what he likes to do, and he's simply not certain.

"I don't know," Franklin told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) at a media dinner prior to this past week's UFC 108 event. "People ask me that all the time, and I have no clue."

Fighting, of course, is still first in his mind. But at 35, Franklin is two years away from the age he imagines retiring, and the six-fight deal he recently signed with the UFC will likely prove his final deal.

Historically, there's a long, long line of active and retired fighters who open their own schools. With lifetimes of combat education, many feel they have no other option to continue earning a living. Most ultimately struggle to stay in business.

Franklin has spent more than his fair share of time in dojos and gyms. He started Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate at the tender age of 12, and he quickly removed "karate school owner" from his bucket list.

Franklin breaks it down to percentages.

"I've seen so many people that have owned facilities before, and my view of owning a gym is that you end up doing stuff that you don't want to do 80 percent of the time," Franklin said. "You open a gym and you say, 'I want to train fighters,' and then you find yourself teaching kids' karate classes, women's non-contact kickboxing, and doing paperwork most of the time. Those are the things you don't ever think about, and you end up doing those things 80 percent of the time so that 20 percent of the time you can do what you want to do."

Since Anderson Silva claimed Franklin's middleweight belt, there have been many questions regarding Franklin's future. He is a bona fide star — one of just a handful of fighters who can successfully headline a pay-per-view event without a title on the line — but sometimes it feels like he's in a pastime paradise. Franklin fits in as a guy you love to watch but that probably won't get his title back while making a slow ride into the sunset.

Franklin says he's still very focused on his fight career and wants to return in May, but at this point, pleasing the fans is more important than getting a belt again.

"If I can make a title run, that would be awesome," Franklin said. "That would be a great Cinderella story for myself, especially for someone like me. I'm a third-string high school football player, and that's my athletic history.

"If I didn't (get another shot at the title), I would not lose any sleep over it. In between, if I'm putting on fights that fans want to see and that are exciting, that's really what the goal is, because I still love to compete. I haven't lost that edge for competition."

The former math teacher says he could conceivably stop fighting now and continue to provide a modest lifestyle for his family. A couple more years, and he could be set for life.

"I'm hoping that I mentally cash out before I physically cash out," Franklin said. "To wake up one morning and say to myself, 'I've fought enough; I want to move on and do something else,' and still physically feel good ... would be great. To wake up one morning and be so broken down that you can't perform anymore – but to mentally have that desire to keep getting back into that cctagon – would be horrible."

So far, Franklin has flirted with acting (he often reads for projects in Los Angeles) and broadcasting as an MMA commentator, but beyond that, he’s placed his fate in his faith as a devoted Christian.

"I want to make sure that whatever I do after this is something that I do out of enjoyment and not out of necessity," Franklin said.

I hope Rich can stay focused and not thinking about fishing like CC

[cnlclink]

Franklin is the man and whatever he ends up doing I hope he is as successful with that as his mma career. Perhaps he would go back to teaching math again?
Either way I hope he still has a couple more years in him to fight. Franklin vs Jones?

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by cnlclink

Franklin is the man and whatever he ends up doing I hope he is as successful with that as his mma career. Perhaps he would go back to teaching math again?
Either way I hope he still has a couple more years in him to fight. Franklin vs Jones?

Yeah I hope Rich can stay in the game mentally. He is the man

[foutch550]

Franklin will float for the next two years, but he wont do anything special. As long as Anderson (and now Vitor) is at 185, he'll never see that belt. And at 205, WAY too many guys are faster, stronger and probably just overall more talented than Franklin. Therefore he wont see that belt either. Franklin needs to focus on nice paydays from here on out.

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by foutch550

Franklin will float for the next two years, but he wont do anything special. As long as Anderson (and now Vitor) is at 185, he'll never see that belt. And at 205, WAY too many guys are faster, stronger and probably just overall more talented than Franklin. Therefore he wont see that belt either. Franklin needs to focus on nice paydays from here on out.

I agree like he said do the fights for the fans. He is still a warrior

I would like
Rich v Forrest
v Jones
v T Silva

But after his last three fight of Hendo Wandy and Vitor give him a break damn that is a hard three fight strech

[roaddawg]

Hes pretty much in the same position as Wandy in regards to just fighting for the fans. However unlike Wandy I can easily see Franklin doing well in the big screen.

He would make a damn good terminator lmao.

[KevoOnTheRadio]

Originally Posted by roaddawg

Hes pretty much in the same position as Wandy in regards to just fighting for the fans. However unlike Wandy I can easily see Franklin doing well in the big screen.

He would make a damn good terminator lmao.

Coming soon to a theater near you.......Universal Soldier VI, starring Dolph Lungren and Rich Franklin. Now More Universally Soldierish.

[mma #1 fan]

i bet he would lose sleep if they told him he had to fight Anderson again . I know i would

[Daellusx]

I think Franklin could probably get an ambassador type position for the UFC once he retires from fighting. The guy is well educated, classy, respectable, and has a good image. He could easily go around the country helping to promote the UFC.

He could probably also be used as a scout for the UFC (does the UFC even have talent scouts?).

Whatever he decides to do i'm sure the UFC will always have a place for Rich.

[Matrix]

Originally Posted by mma #1 fan

i bet he would lose sleep if they told him he had to fight Anderson again . I know i would

That was hilarious.