Rich Franklin (Photo by Josh Hedges/ UFC.com)

By FCF Staff

Rich Franklin plans on stepping into the Octagon at least one more time, before he calls it quits on his decorated career, and the former champ is reportedly interested in fighting a familiar foe, Anderson Silva.

The 39 year-old Franklin hasn’t fought now since November, 2012, when he KO’d by Cung Le at UFC on FUEL TV 6. Since then, the fighter has been developing his ZeLin Juice and Fusion Cafe company, but Franklin has consistently stated he intends to fight again. While speaking to Submission Radio recently, here is some of what Franklin had to say about the possibility of fighting Silva (quote via MMA Fighting.com):

“Would I fight Anderson a third time? Absolutely,” says Franklin. “Is it because I feel like I have some unfinished business? Not at all. It’s just, in my mind as a champion and to have the mentality of a champion I 100% wholeheartedly believe that I can beat Anderson in a fight.”

Silva quickly stopped Franklin in 2006, to end his reign as middleweight champ, and then TKO’d him again in a 2007 rematch. The 38 year-old Silva continues to recover from the broken leg he incurred versus Chris Weidman at UFC 168 in December, but he’s also said he doesn’t plan on fighting in 2014.

Prior to facing Le, Franklin (29-7) worked his way to a unanimous decision win over Wanderlei Silva in June, 2012. The Ohio fighter is 2-3 in his last 5 contests.