Props: National Post
Quoteworthy:
“The UFC asked me to fight the catchweight fights to help Silva and Belfort make the drop down to 185 pounds. But now I’ve lost my ranking at 185 and 205. It’s crazy — I can headline a card and not be top-10 ranked. I took the Belfort fight because Dana called and asked me, even though I wasn’t quite where I needed to be physically or mentally. Now, I’m not making excuses, that’s just the nature of the fight game. But now I’m taking some time off and probably won’t fight again until April or May. I need to rest and relax and recover a little bit and I also hate prepping for a fight in the wintertime. Cincinnati can get pretty cold and I hate running and working out when the temperature is always zero.”
–Former middleweight champion Rich Franklin talks about “doing his job” as both a fighter and employee of Zuffa — even if it means jeopardizing his ranking in catchweight bouts against fighters like Vitor Belfort – who knocked “Ace” out in the first round of their main event at UFC 103. Hopefully his loyalty helped both Belfort and Wanderlei Silva (who fought Franklin at UFC 99 in June) effectively transition to 185-pounds — where very little margin for error exists. The question now is, who will the former champion and TUF coach fight upon his return?
(Photo courtesy Glenn Dextras for National Post)
UFC News Credit and Full Story: MMA Mania
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