Franklin: “Being at 205 gives me the possibility of making a run for the title right now.”

Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3)  will launch into the 205-pound weight class next weekend in Atlanta.  Franklin answered questions and worked out for the media Wednesday morning at Jorge Gurgel’s (12-4) Mixed Martial Arts Academy in West Chester, north of Franklin’s native Cincinnati.

Fighters.com: You had said you’d take fights at 205 if the UFC offered an interesting match-up.  Why is “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1) interesting to you?

Rich Franklin: Well, uh, the UFC more or less encouraged me to move up to 205 because my standing in the 185-pound weight class kind of left me stagnant, in a position where I was going to end up fighting only the guys who lost to Anderson Silva.  They weren’t…the UFC right now is not interested in seeing me fight Silva a third time and they really don’t want me fighting any of the contenders coming up because that would eliminate possible title fights.  And, with that said, I really don’t have anything much to shoot for at the 185-pound class.  So, they kept talking to me about moving up to 205; and, having agreed to move up to 205, they previously offered me one fight before they offered me the Hamill fight and I had turned that fight down; and then, uh, they came at…they came to me with the second fight, which was the Hamill fight.  And, I kind of put myself in a situation where I couldn’t really turn the fight down even though Matt and I had known each other and had some history together.  Um, I basically said to the UFC, you know, I said, “Well, that’s kind of a tough fight for me to take.”  I said, “But, if you take it to his camp and they’re interested in the fight, then I guess I’ll sign.”  And, that’s basically how the ball got rollin’ on that.

Fighters.com: You’re not real excited about the fight?

Rich Franklin: Uh…it’s…it’s not that.  No.  I mean, it’s not that I’m not real excited about the fight or anything, or…or whatever.  I mean, I’ve fought guys…the UFC is a small circuit of people, so you run into people constantly.  All the time.  You end up basically fighting guys that you know anyway.  Um…so, this isn’t completely uncharted territory.  It’s just, uh, you know, I mean.  If…when you talk about preferences or whatever, you obviously…it’d be easier to fight somebody you absolutely didn’t know.

Fighters.com: You had made clear months ago that you intended to stay at 185, but that you would take fights at 205 if they were interesting.  It seems like that’s changed.  You are now a 205 fighter?  Is that how you view yourself?

Rich Franklin: Uh…I think that’s how the UFC is viewing me for the time being.  Does it meant that I’ll never ever fight at ‘85 again?  No.  Not necessarily.  I think at this point in my career…well, I’ll just say this: At least being at 205 it gives me the possibility of making a run for the title right now, with the UFC not being interested in me making a run for the ‘85-pound title.  So, at least there’s something to shoot for;  but, it doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be…that I couldn’t move back down to ‘85 and fight there in the future or whatever.  It’s just…I don’t know.  At this point in my career, I’m just, um, just kind of taking things fight-for-fight and worried about putting on good fights for the fans and being exciting.

Fighters.com: Do you have any interest in avenging your loss at 205 to fifth-ranked light heavyweight ”Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0)?

Rich Franklin: Yeah, if the UFC wanted that and it’s good for tickets and business and all that kind of stuff, then I would definitely give that some thought.

Fighters.com: Hamill has five MMA fights.  You have 26 fights, including title challenges, title defenses, five-round fights, world-class opponents, etc.  Is this a fair match-up?

Rich Franklin: Uh, yeah, well, I think so.  I’m giving up some stuff too.  I’m moving up a weight class.  I’m going to be giving up some weight here.  And, Matt, although his record says that he has five fights, he has the whole stint on The Ultimate Fighter and he’s had a successful career in the UFC.  At this point, the only fight he’s lost is the Bisping fight and that was a controversial decision within itself.  A lot of people felt, including myself, felt that he earned a victory there.  So…  And, as far as I’m concerned, I’m fighting an undefeated fighter.

Fighters.com: Hamill trained in your circle in Cincinnati; but, did you ever actually train with him?  Roll or spar with him?

Rich Franklin: Uh, yeah.  Probably, uh…you know, half a dozen times or so, we trained together.  Um, actually, I met Matt through my boxing coach, Rob Radford down at Boxing and Fitness, and he introduced to Matt because I was in need of someone helping me with my wrestling.  And, so, um, I met Matt because he had come into the gym to actually help me with my wrestling a few times.

Fighters.com: You expect Matt to want to take you down and wrestle, ground’n'pound, right?

Rich Franklin: Yeah, that’s what I would assume.  I wouldn’t put it passed him to try to stand-up with me.  But, I would assume that ultimately he’s going to want to put me on my back.

Fighters.com: I expect he’ll try to stand-up with you, take you down if the takedown is there; but, his last two fights he’s deliberately tried to impose his stand-up.  If he’s happy to trade with you, will you knock him out?

Rich Franklin: Um…well, I would say that my stand-up is definitely…that’s my strength in this fight.  I’m not going to go out there and try to out-wrestle him.  So…um, you know, we’ll see.

Fighters.com: I guess at this point you’d normally be in the middle of a weight cut?

Rich Franklin: Yeah, I would be in the thick of it right now.  And, so, the approach to this fight mentally…I mean, it’s just a much different approach to this fight.  There’s a lot of things I don’t have to worry about here.  I’m worrying about keeping on rather than taking it off.

Fighters.com:  At this point you’re probably usually pretty grumpy.  Do you feel more comfortable now?

Rich Franklin: Um…I don’t really…I haven’t notice, but my wife says I’m easier to get along with now that I’m able to eat more food closer to the fight.  That might be a question…that’s a question more for the people that know me.

Fighters.com: Do you feel much stronger at 205?

Rich Franklin: Well, uh…you know what?  Really, I’m not sure.  That’d probably be a good follow-up question to ask me after the fight.  I think the biggest difference is, I mean, the guys that I’m facing are going to be heavier.  So, you know, now I have to, in my opponent, carry an extra 15 pounds for the whole fight.  And that’s a lot of grinding on you for 15 minutes. So, the question here is: Am I going to feel strong against my opponents at 205?  As strong as I did at, say, 185?  Or, you know, is this going to be an overwhelming experience for me, which I seriously doubt?  I’ve been at 205 before.  I train with 205ers.  So, we’ll see what happens, but…  I mean, quite honestly, I’m not really too overly concerned about the weight factor here in this fight or anything like that.

Fighters.com: I notice you’ve already got the black eye.  Will that be there for the fight?

Rich Franklin:  It’s there.  It’s there right now.  It’s starting to heal up; so, I don’t know.  It might be gone by fight time.  Who knows?

Fighters.com:  That’s becoming your trademark.  What is that?  Why do you always have that black eye before a fight?

Rich Franklin: I don’t know.  Carelessness.  Lack of skill.  My training partners.  There could be a plethora of reasons that I have that thing all the time.  But, it’s always there.  Put it this way: You know I’m preparing properly, I guess.