Opinion: Come on ‘Ace,’ Time to Retire
By Michael Hatamoto
Former UFC middleweight champion Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin hasn’t retired and wants to fulfill his UFC contract before deciding to throw in the towel on his 14-year career.
Franklin has lost three of his last five fights, with his most recent fight a brutal knockout loss to Cung Le at UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le in November 2012.
The former champion has one or two fights left on his contract and the UFC invited him to take a rest before deciding what he wants to do next.
In addition to his own business ventures – and possible acting and color commentator position – I think the UFC can find some type of front office position they could offer Franklin.
Depending on the matchup, I don’t want to see Franklin unconscious and face down on the canvas ever again – and after the Silva losses, Belfort’s TKO and Le’s brutal knockout – I wonder how much more damage the 38-year-old can endure.
If he does want to come back to the octagon and compete with a top 10 middleweight, I think a matchup with Michael Bisping could be a lot of fun. However, Bisping just beat Alan Belcher and is already climbing his way back up the UFC middleweight rankings – so I don’t know if he would necessarily want a fight against Franklin.
Hey Rich – open up your Los Angeles-based juice bars, ask Uncle Dana for a cushy office job, collect your paychecks, and leave fighting for the younger guys – you don’t have anything left to prove.