Rich Franklin says his next fight will be his last

It’s been a little over a year since former UFC middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin (29-7 MMA, 14-6 UFC) last saw action inside the octagon.

Franklin’s last fight served as the headlining bout of the UFC’s debut in China and saw him pitted against former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le. Unfortunately for “Ace,” Le was able to land a devastating right hand in the opening round that sent Franklin flying face-first into the canvas.

The 39 year-old, Franklin, appeared on Friday night’s (Nov. 22, 2013) episode of ‘Inside MMA’ on AXS Television where he spoke to hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten about is future in mixed martial arts.

Here is what the former UFC middleweight champion had to say:

“You know, I lost my last fight, and that really kind of solidified my decision to make this my last fight coming up. I know that took me out of title contention and so for me to get back into the title hunt would be a couple years’ worth of work and I know that. I’m 39, I’ll be 40 next year and it’s getting to the point where it’s late in my life and it’s really too late to have that title run so I started questioning, what am I really fighting for, if I can’t make it to the title anymore? I know I’m not in title contention anymore and I realize that so, that’s how it is.”

Franklin’s UFC career has spanned over a decade. Rich defeated Evan Tanner via TKO back at UFC 53 in 2005 to claim the UFC’s middleweight title. He would go on to defend the belt twice, against opponents Nate Quarry and then David Loiseau, before eventually losing his strap to the great Anderson Silva at UFC 64 in Las Vegas.

Rich was always known as being an excellent company man. He took short notice fights on multiple occasions for the UFC, including battles against legends Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, both of whom he defeated.

With his next fight being his last, who would you like to see Rich Franklin end his storied career against? Let’s hear it Penn Nation!