By FCF Staff

Another of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first mainstream stars plans to hang up the gloves soon, as former middleweight champion Rich Franklin has announced that his next fight will be his last.

The 39 year-old fighter made the announcement on the latest edition of “Inside MMA”. Franklin cited the fact that he’s no longer in title contention, as a result of his KO loss to Cung Le last November, as a key reason why he plans to retire soon.

Franklin (29-7) has gone 2-3 in his last five bouts, which have been spread out over four year time frame. During that time he’s earned wins over Wander Silva and Chuck Liddell, but also incurred defeats versus Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort.

The decorated fighter is not currently booked for a bout.