411mania Interviews: Rich 'Ace' Franklin

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 11.15.2010

411 speaks with the former UFC Middleweight Champion and current UFC light heavyweight fighter, Rich Franklin about his role in the movie Hamill, friends fighting friends, his upcoming fight with Forrest Griffin, and much more.

While at the AFI Fest premiere of the new movie Hamill, 411mania.com was able to catch up with attending actor Rich Franklin (28-5, MMA; 13-4, UFC), the former UFC Middleweight Champion. Franklin will be facing Forrest Griffin (17-6, MMA; 8-4, UFC) in a light heavyweight showdown on Super Bowl weekend at UFC 126 which is shaping up to be an absolute barn burner, blockbuster of a card.



Jeffrey Harris: What is your part in the movie Hamill?

Rich Franklin: I play a small part. I'm the Purdue coach [Coach Pruitt]. So I cut Matt [Hamill] from the wrestling team, and I was on set for a couple of days. It will be interesting to see how the whole thing turns out.

Jeffrey Harris: So how close are you with Matt?

Rich Franklin: Matt and I, we're both from Cincinatti. We've known each other for a long time. Matt and I met before he was training for the '04(?) Olympics and it was about that time we had just met slightly prior to that -- when he was training for the Olympics and I told him, "When you're done with wrestling you need to think about doing some MMA." And so fast forward, here we are in LA and they are making a movie about him and his accomplishments and what he's had to overcome and his position in life.

Jeffrey Harris: Now going back, you actually had to fight Matt. How hard was that for you?

Rich Franklin: Very difficult. With the history that we had, we trained together, we weren't lifetime partners, but we had trained together a dozen times and just good friends. And both of us came from the same town. We'd been there kind of advising each other as well even though we didn't do a lot of training together. And so it was really difficult stepping into the ring, a very awkward situation for both of us.

Jeffrey Harris: Fighters fighting friends or training partners is something fans, promoters, and training partners can all be critical of. If there was a title on the line would you be willing to fight a friend or training partner though?

Rich Franklin: I mean . . . I'd have to be put in that situation. All I'll say is, I was in that situation with Matt and I didn't like it. But that's just me personally. However, I would not let the fan opinion or the media buzz sway whatever decision I was going to make. The fact that I was uncomfortable fighting Matt had nothing to do with public perception. It's my character in general. So it would have to be one of those situations, depending on the friend, depending on the time. You know and he and I could talk and say, "It's time to fight and we got to do what we got to do." It might be one of those deals where if we were longtime training partners and I said, "Look, I'm not fighting this guy. I'm not doing it," so it's more complex than just to answer with a simple answer.

Jeffrey Harris: You are coming off a great win over Chuck Liddell. You won the fight with a broken arm. How are you feeling and how is the arm doing?

Rich Franklin: The arm is healed up. I'm back to training. I have Forrest [Griffin] Super Bowl Weekend, February 5 in Vegas. It's going to be an exciting fight. I've been back to training now I guess about a month. And taking all that time off, my body was like what are you doing?! And long story short, I'm basically back to normal training. I'll start getting ready for Forrest specifically first or second week of December. And I feel good man.

Jeffrey Harris: This is a cool match-up too. This is a fight we have never seen before. And speaking as a fan, I really want to see this fight.

Rich Franklin: Well, I'll tell you what, that's what excites me the most about the match-up. Forrest and I are both very tenacious fighters and both of us are very known for our cardio and our willingness to not quit. So I think that is going to make for an exciting fight. I like the match-up. For me, February is a good time for me to come back. Mentally, I'm in a good spot. I'll be ready to go by then. I know I'm going to come on top of my game, but I know its not going to be an easy fight either. So I'm not going to sit here and say anything about how I'm going to walk through Forrest or anything like that because I know it's not going to happen that way.

Jeffrey Harris: With all the huge career wins you have had: beating Evan Tanner for the belt, beating 205 legends like Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, where do you rank some of those particular wins in your career?

Rich Franklin: You know really for me, I don't really rank wins as far as one is more important than the other. I'll say after my win over Jason MacDonald which is one that's not talked about a lot was an important win for me because that's a win coming off right after a loss. And it's important for me to get myself back on track and those are the kind of wins that really stand out in my head more than winning the title or beating a big name like Chuck Liddell or something like that because its more important to me to prove when I'm down, I can pick myself back up and get back on track and do what I need to do.

Jeffrey Harris: Now with a win over Forrest Griffin, he's a big name and a former champion. And a win over Forrest is really big for you and definitely puts you closer to the title at 205.

Rich Franklin: Yeah – I know a win over Forrest will put me if not into immediate title contention, I'll be within a fight or two or it would probably put me in like the top 5 of the weight class, depending on how things play out with everyone else. I understand this, but I'm one of those people who I really focus on what is in front of me. I don't put the carriage before the horse because once you try map out your road, you're going to find out that road has speed bumps that you didn't see it coming. So I know what the potential is, but quite frankly I don't get caught up in the fact that Forrest is a big name, it's a big win. It's another fight. This is what it boils down to. Strip Forrest, strip his name out of the equation, I'm fighting a very tough opponent in February, somebody who is going to bring it. And I have to be ready. And bottom line, that's what it boils down to.

Jeffrey Harris: Do you like Forrest Griffin?

Rich Franklin: I love him. He's a really good dude. I've known him for a long time. He's funny. He has a great sense of humor. He's one of those guys if you don't get his sense of humor you can watch him and think man, what a jerk. But he's a good dude . . . every time I listen to him speak I laugh. There are some times I listen to him speak, and I'm like, "Oh man. Some people are going to be like, ‘Wow, I can't believe he said that!'" He's a good-hearted guy, and I really like Forrest. And I know he feels the same about me, I think he does anyway. I'm not going to speak for him, but it's going to be odd because I constantly get mistaken for him. No lie. Even when I'm walking down the street, people are like, "Oh my God! Forrest Griffin!" And I'm like, "No, you got the wrong guy." I think I get [recognized as] Forrest and Jim Carrey more often then myself *laughs*. Those two combined more often than Rich Franklin.

Jeffrey Harris: Are there any sponsors you would like to thank?

Rich Franklin: My sponsor, American Fighter.

Rich Franklin showed me a picture of his living room which features a painted mural of the Incredible Hulk and The Thing. This definitely makes Rich Franklin one of the coolest guys on the planet. Thank you to Rich Franklin for speaking with us. Remember you can bookmark 411mania.com or save us to your homepage to keep up with all the upcoming UFC events as well as getting quick, live play-by-play coverage. You can also follow us on:

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