The Ohio fighter retires armed with an impressive record of 29-7. He spent the final seven years of his career fighting for the UFC. I had the privilege of fighting in eight different countries…Many years ago, I was just a guy chasing his dream.
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That night, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on a war for the ages in the Ultimate Fighter season one light heavyweight final, and it was the start of the MMA explosion in the United States. Franklin’s title reign helped usher in a significant growth period for the sport, and the former teacher was a go-to ambassador when UFC officials needed to make a good impression with sponsors, business partners and regulators. Along the way, Franklin ended the career of Chuck Liddell with a violent knockout; won two fights with Wanderlei Silva, and lost a debatable decision to Dan Henderson.
In his post on The Players’ Tribune, a media platform founded by retired Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter, Franklin thanked his family, friends and coaches and acknowledged it was, from a physical standpoint, time to move on. And I wrote in my article that I can tell that I’ve slowed down, and it nearly seems negligible, but it doesn’t take much to actually make the difference between winning and losing in the upper echelon.
The former UFC middleweight champion penned a retirement column on theplayerstribune.com, a site that future Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter founded in 2014 to give athletes a direct medium to reach fans. “And I want everybody to come through that line to know that their experience with me is unique”.
At UFC 53, Franklin again defeated Tanner, this time via fourth-round doctor’s stoppage, and became the UFC middleweight champion. Franklin would go on to successfully defend the title twice by beating Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. So his quick, one-sided title loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 64 was as shocking as it was brutal. “I truly can not express the amount of gratitude I hold in my heart”, Franklin wrote. He still played a very important part in getting MMA to where it is today in my opinion.
It was a story everyone could latch on to before fights, and once Franklin stepped into the Octagon, he kept everyone’s attention with his performances.
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So what will I miss the most from this journey?
