Rich Franklin Ready to Fight at 185 or 205 Pounds

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin has been floating in a kind of limbo since losing his title and a rematch to Anderson Silva. He’s fought at light heavyweight 4 times and at a 195lb catchweight twice. Now Franklin tells MMA Junkie that he’s open to a move back to the 185lb division when he returns in June-July:

“Here’s the thing with the 185- and 205-pound divisions. I realize that I’m a small fighter at 205. Yeah, I could feel the size difference in the (Forrest Griffin) fight. Until I get in the ring and say, ‘Holy crap, that guy was way stronger than me; I should not be at 205 because I’m not strong enough,’ then I’ll deal with that when I get there.”

“If the UFC came back to me and said, ‘Move back to 185, and let’s see what a title pursuit is going to look like for you,’ and they threw some names at me to put me in contention, then perhaps I’d be tickled.”

Rich “Ace” Franklin (28-6) [Num. 14]
Loss Forrest Griffin – Decision (Unanimous) UFC 126
Win Chuck Liddell – KO (Punch) UFC 115
Loss Vitor Belfort – TKO (Punches) UFC 103

Rich Franklin talks about his future in the sport.