I really doubt he'll be a contender or champion, i don't think he can beat evans, rampage, lil nog, shogun, machida or jones. I can see him being the headliner to fight night cards but overall he is more of a gatekeeper
I think he is a lot better then people think, I agree that 205 is extremely stacked and it will be hard for him to beat some of the top guys but quite honestly I think he is a game opponent for any of the top 10.
The LHW division is way too stacked for him though. I think he is better in the MW than a LHW division. He will be more of a Gatekeeper in the LHW division. I can only see him beat Randy Couture and Forrest Griffin.
Rich Franklin IS the next Randy Couture. He's well rounded, intelligent, ever evolving, likable, and respectful. He's got the skills and heart to beat some great fighters, but he lacks the dominance to stay on top.
Rich is seriously my favorite fighter. Maybe this is why I think he got robbed against Dan. Does anyone agree? He might be in a different position now if that was a win for Rich. And I know its only a what if...
I don't think he needs to get thrown under the bus just yet. He still is a great fighter, unfortunately the UFC has just got too many better fighters than him in either the 205 or 185 weight classes. Rich Franklin still has potential to beat some top fighters but he won't beat either champion (Silva, Machida), either way he will be with the UFC for awhile...... Chuck and Randy are still fighting.........
what's up with this poll? Rich lost against some top fighters and now some people think he's washed up or something? when he's fighting non-Brazilian fighters he looks like an Anderson Silva, he has amazing accuracy. He's still one of the top guys imo.
people are ignorant assholes...if someone loses 2 or 3 fights they'll say oh that guys washed up...If Anderson Silva lost 2 or 3 fights FOR SURE people will say "oh well he's done"...and really, Rich has only lost to the VERY BEST out there...Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, and Vitor Belfort...wow....4 of the best ****ing fighters in the world beat him...how shameful...And an my opinion i can see him beating Evans, and bones Jones...Rich is still an amazing fighter...people seem so uneducated it's crazy...it's like this site gets filled with ignorant WWE fans...maybe 60% of you should go back to watching 79 year old Ric Flair...WOOOOOOOO!
i think rich should stay at 185 and wait for another opportunity at the title. he should still fight top guys and work his way up. he can fight any of the top contenders right now and do well. a third shot at silva is better than most peoples first shot. he may have a good night and silva have a bad night and who knows. i don't see that happening, but if he fights silva tough, he will gain even more respect from me.
I have a hard time understanding why great strikers like franklin, lidell, w. silva don't improve ground game and their takedowns. the reason GSP has so much success on his feet is because their opponents don't know what is coming.
Poor guy, anderson being at MW really put his career in trouble. He should have beat henderson, that should be on everyones list of bad decisions.
Hendo heatbutts him, gasses in the third VISIBLY, and then a miraculous eyepoke that gives him the well needed resting time he needs to barely escape with a win. That was pathetic, poor Rich.
Rich's performance against Wanderlei was excellent and one which I'm sure Bisping was aiming to follow. His loss to Vitor could happen to anyone and if he could've worn Vitor down carefully he may have won the fight. If he wins this fight he should fight the loser of Rampage vs Rashad then we'll see where that takes him.
Rich is still awesome... I wouldn't call him a contender, or a gatekeeper, but he's main-event. I will be watching him fight Grandpa Couture, it's going to be great.
Comments
he should train with a.silva more and maybe he can be a tittle contender, i hope he retires with the ufc and the ufc dont drop him
i would not count randy out of their upcoming bout, he may be older but he'll still put up a challenge for rich
I really doubt he'll be a contender or champion, i don't think he can beat evans, rampage, lil nog, shogun, machida or jones. I can see him being the headliner to fight night cards but overall he is more of a gatekeeper
Disinfecting the octogon between each match.
I can see him beating Couture and headlining a card with a big name that 's going to lose in the next few months
*Cough* *Evans* *Cough*
I think he is a lot better then people think, I agree that 205 is extremely stacked and it will be hard for him to beat some of the top guys but quite honestly I think he is a game opponent for any of the top 10.
i agree he can still bang!
he went toe 2 toe! with Henderson! and Wanderlei!
he got KO by Belfort but so did randy vs chuck and randy was still able to win the heavyweight title after that!
beside hes still young hes not that old! he still have like 3 strong years in MMA!
i can see rich as a contender! by the end of the year!
Rich Franklin is still a very good fighter. Anderson Silva being the champ in the MW division just made things very difficult for him.
The LHW division is way too stacked for him though. I think he is better in the MW than a LHW division. He will be more of a Gatekeeper in the LHW division. I can only see him beat Randy Couture and Forrest Griffin.
Does anyone else think Franklin, and Griffen look alike?
Nah he looks more like Jim Carrey ( the actor)
That's why they call him ace
Rich Franklin IS the next Randy Couture. He's well rounded, intelligent, ever evolving, likable, and respectful. He's got the skills and heart to beat some great fighters, but he lacks the dominance to stay on top.
Rich is seriously my favorite fighter. Maybe this is why I think he got robbed against Dan. Does anyone agree? He might be in a different position now if that was a win for Rich. And I know its only a what if...
I don't think he needs to get thrown under the bus just yet. He still is a great fighter, unfortunately the UFC has just got too many better fighters than him in either the 205 or 185 weight classes. Rich Franklin still has potential to beat some top fighters but he won't beat either champion (Silva, Machida), either way he will be with the UFC for awhile...... Chuck and Randy are still fighting.........
what's up with this poll? Rich lost against some top fighters and now some people think he's washed up or something? when he's fighting non-Brazilian fighters he looks like an Anderson Silva, he has amazing accuracy. He's still one of the top guys imo.
people are ignorant assholes...if someone loses 2 or 3 fights they'll say oh that guys washed up...If Anderson Silva lost 2 or 3 fights FOR SURE people will say "oh well he's done"...and really, Rich has only lost to the VERY BEST out there...Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, and Vitor Belfort...wow....4 of the best ****ing fighters in the world beat him...how shameful...And an my opinion i can see him beating Evans, and bones Jones...Rich is still an amazing fighter...people seem so uneducated it's crazy...it's like this site gets filled with ignorant WWE fans...maybe 60% of you should go back to watching 79 year old Ric Flair...WOOOOOOOO!
i think rich should stay at 185 and wait for another opportunity at the title. he should still fight top guys and work his way up. he can fight any of the top contenders right now and do well. a third shot at silva is better than most peoples first shot. he may have a good night and silva have a bad night and who knows. i don't see that happening, but if he fights silva tough, he will gain even more respect from me.
I have a hard time understanding why great strikers like franklin, lidell, w. silva don't improve ground game and their takedowns. the reason GSP has so much success on his feet is because their opponents don't know what is coming.
Poor guy, anderson being at MW really put his career in trouble. He should have beat henderson, that should be on everyones list of bad decisions.
Hendo heatbutts him, gasses in the third VISIBLY, and then a miraculous eyepoke that gives him the well needed resting time he needs to barely escape with a win. That was pathetic, poor Rich.
Probably a gatekeeper though
I really thought he won that fight too, I think they wanted Henderson to coach on TUF.
I don't like to say it but, I put gatekeeper. If he want to get back to winning ways, I think we need to see a serious evolution of his game.
Who knows.
When I say "winning ways" I mean, to get back into title contention.
Rich's performance against Wanderlei was excellent and one which I'm sure Bisping was aiming to follow. His loss to Vitor could happen to anyone and if he could've worn Vitor down carefully he may have won the fight. If he wins this fight he should fight the loser of Rampage vs Rashad then we'll see where that takes him.
Rich is still awesome... I wouldn't call him a contender, or a gatekeeper, but he's main-event. I will be watching him fight Grandpa Couture, it's going to be great.
I don't think he will be a contender any time soon. But he isn't a bad fighter so I can definitely see him being a main event fighter.
Franklin = Dana's Bitch.
Grow up buddy.