Tonight, Rich Franklin gets inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. What was his most memorable fight?
Frank Hyden MMATorch Columnist
It would probably be when he won the UFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Evan Tanner at UFC 53. That’s when he cemented himself in the record books, as well as winning being one of the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 2. Franklin was one of my early favorite fighters and I think that winning the middleweight title was the pinnacle of his career.
Michael Hiscoe MMATorch Contributor
Rich Franklin’s most memorable fight is probably his first loss to Anderson Silva. That fight really ended up being the start of a new era at middleweight. If we’re going to look at a win for Franklin, his title defense over Nate Quarry may have been his best highlight. It was a devastating knockout that stiffened Quarry and the clip became a mainstay of Franklin’s highlight reel for the rest of his career.
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Sean Covington MMATorch Contributor
It’s gotta be his two losses to Anderson Silva. Rich Franklin was the man and he was absolutely obliterated, and thoroughly outclassed, like the world had never seen before. For a fighter like Franklin to lose the way he did meant that the sport and the fighters were evolving. An exciting glimpse into the future of a great sport. That moment was all of MMA”s more than it was Franklin’s.
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