Rich Franklin (29-7, 25) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. on October 5, 1974. At the age of 24 years on June 19, 1999, he made his professional MMA debut against Michael Martin, winning the fight via 1st-round KO.
On April 25, 2003, 28-year old Rich Franklin made his UFC debut on his 13th professional MMA fight at UFC 42 against a 32-year old Evan Tanner, winning the fight in the 1st round via TKO.
He became the UFC middleweight champion on June 4, 2005 at age 30 on his 22nd professional MMA fight at UFC 53 after defeating a 34-year old Evan Tanner via 4th-round TKO.
Franklin's last fight was a 1st-round KO loss to Cung Le at UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le at age 38 on November 10, 2012. He retired from the sport of MMA following this loss.
He has fought 19 times in the UFC, and has a record of 13 wins and 6 losses in the promotion.
Some of Rich Franklin's best fights have been against Nate Quarry, Evan Tanner, Edwin Dewees, David Loiseau, Travis Lutter, Chuck Liddell and Jason MacDonald. For details about these fights refer to "Best fights of Rich Franklin".
Franklin has 7 losses on his MMA record. For details about these losses refer to "Rich Franklin Losses".
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
37  | Nov 10, 2012 38 years, 1 months 29-7 (25) | 40 years, 5 months 8-2 (7) | UFC | MD | 1 | KO | Loss Punch |
36  | Jun 23, 2012 37 years, 8 months 29-6 (25) | 35 years, 11 months 34-11-1 (27) | UFC | LHW | 5 | UD | Win |
35  | Feb 5, 2011 36 years, 4 months 28-6 (25) | 31 years, 7 months 17-6 (10) | UFC | LHW | 3 | UD | Loss |
34  | Jun 12, 2010 35 years, 8 months 28-5 (25) | 40 years, 5 months 21-7 (14) | UFC | LHW | 1 | KO | Win Punch |
33  | Sep 19, 2009 34 years, 11 months 27-5 (24) | 32 years, 5 months 18-8 (14) | UFC | LHW | 1 | TKO | Loss Punches |
32 | Jun 13, 2009 34 years, 8 months 27-4 (24) | 32 years, 11 months 32-9-1 (26) | UFC | LHW | 3 | UD | Win |
31  | Jan 17, 2009 34 years, 3 months 26-4 (24) | 38 years, 4 months 23-7 (10) | UFC | LHW | 3 | SD | Loss |
30  | Sep 6, 2008 33 years, 11 months 26-3 (24) | 31 years, 11 months 5-1 (4) | UFC | LHW | 3 | TKO | Win Kick to the body |
29  | Apr 19, 2008 33 years, 6 months 25-3 (23) | 34 years, 11 months 9-4 (8) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | Win Punches |
28  | Oct 20, 2007 33 years 24-3 (22) | 32 years, 6 months 21-4 (16) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | Loss Knees For UFC middleweight title |
27  | Jun 16, 2007 32 years, 8 months 24-2 (22) | 25 years, 10 months 21-3 (12) | UFC | MD | 3 | UD | Win |
26  | Mar 3, 2007 32 years, 4 months 23-2 (22) | 31 years, 9 months 18-7 (15) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | Win Corner stoppage |
25 | Oct 14, 2006 32 years 22-2 (21) | 31 years, 6 months 18-4 (13) | UFC | MD | 1 | KO | Loss Knee Lost UFC middleweight title |
24  | Mar 4, 2006 31 years, 4 months 22-1 (21) | 26 years, 2 months 14-4 (11) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | Win Defended UFC middleweight title |
23  | Nov 19, 2005 31 years, 1 months 21-1 (21) | 33 years, 8 months 8-1 (7) | UFC | MD | 1 | KO | Win Punch Defended UFC middleweight title |
22  | Jun 4, 2005 30 years, 7 months 20-1 (20) | 34 years, 3 months 31-4 (27) | UFC | MD | 4 | TKO | Win Doctor stoppage Won UFC middleweight title |
21  | Apr 9, 2005 30 years, 6 months 19-1 (19) | 41 years, 1 month 26-8-2 (23) | TUF | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Punches |
20 | Dec 12, 2004 30 years, 2 months 18-1 (18) | Curtis Stout | MD | 2 | TKO | Win Submission to punches | |
19  | Oct 22, 2004 30 years 17-1 (17) | 32 years, 7 months 9-2 (8) | UFC | MD | 3 | SUB | Win Armbar |
18 | Jul 14, 2004 29 years, 9 months 16-1 (16) | Ralph Dillon | LHW | 1 | SUB | Win Kimura | |
17 | Apr 16, 2004 29 years, 6 months 15-1 (15) | Leo Sylvest | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Submission to punches | |
16  | Dec 31, 2003 29 years, 2 months 14-1 (14) | 25 years, 7 months 2-0 (1) | LHW | 2 | TKO | Loss Head kick and punches | |
15  | Sep 26, 2003 28 years, 11 months 14-0 (14) | 21 years, 1 month 29-6 (25) | UFC | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Punches and knees |
14 | Jul 19, 2003 28 years, 9 months 13-0 (13) | Roberto Ramirez | LHW | 1 | KO | Win Punch | |
13 | Apr 25, 2003 28 years, 6 months 12-0 (12) | 32 years, 2 months 27-3 (24) | UFC | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Punches |
12 | Sep 17, 2002 27 years, 11 months 11-0 (11) | Antony Rea | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Punches | |
11 | Jun 15, 2002 27 years, 8 months 10-0 (10) | Yan Pellerin | LHW | 1 | SUB | Win Armbar | |
10  | Nov 3, 2001 27 years 9-0 (9) | 30 years, 4 months 3-1 (1) | LHW | 1 | SUB | Win Armbar | |
9 | Aug 5, 2001 26 years, 10 months 8-0 (8) | Dennis Reed | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Submission to punches | |
8 | Jul 13, 2001 26 years, 9 months 7-0 (7) | Chris Seifert | LHW | 2 | TKO | Win Submission to punches | |
7  | Mar 17, 2001 26 years, 5 months 6-0 (6) | 23 years, 9 months 86-30-6 (83) | Rings | LHW | 1 | TKO | Win Broken hand |
6  | Jan 13, 2001 26 years, 3 months 5-0 (5) | 26 years, 2 months 8-4 (8) | LHW | 1 | NC | NC Accidental foot injury | |
5 | Jun 29, 2000 25 years, 8 months 5-0 (5) | Dennis Reed | 1 | SUB | Win Armbar | ||
4 | May 13, 2000 25 years, 7 months 4-0 (4) | Gary Myers | 3 | KO | Win Head kick | ||
3 | Mar 24, 2000 25 years, 5 months 3-0 (3) | Rob Smith | 1 | TKO | Win Punches | ||
2 | Oct 4, 1999 24 years, 11 months 2-0 (2) | Eugene Pinault | 1 | TKO | Win Submission to punches | ||
1 | Jun 19, 1999 24 years, 8 months 1-0 (1) | Michael Martin | 1 | KO | Win Head kick |
