How GOOD was Rich Franklin Actually?

[@tthompson4768]

Criminally underrated, tough as nails, literally fought EVERYONE, always kept it classy, absolute joy to watch. Ace was cold!

[@bradenstewart6270]

Ref Matt Hughes is a cool thing to see I need this in UFC 4 haha

[@mikeuffman4941]

Ahahahahaha I looked to the comments for confirmation and there you were

[@cjichida8174]

I was shocked 😂😂

[@ghhhp]

yeah i wasn’t paying attention when that part came on i heard it and was like wtf lemme watch that again did i hear that right? 😂

[@Bucephalus84]

Put it in 3. 4 sucks.

[@jaredgilmore5792]

Just saw that I thought Matt and rich Franklin were fighting until the other dude walked on screen and I realized what was happening 😂

[@Lowbro1351]

Rich is so underrated, one of the first guys I was a fan of.

[@demonanangel]

Same here man. Agree with you

[@hippiehazy96]

Super underrated! One of the most well rounded fighters loved watching him fight.

[@kayleeensley3102]

I disagree I don't think he was ever underrated, Silva took the shine away from everyone at one point. Hardcore fan's know how good he could be he fought the best. I agree I'm surprised him and Bisping never crossed path's.

[@johncamp7679]

I got a pair of his shorts( not worn or anything) I was such a fan. I was absolutely devastated when Silva got him in that clinch. I got a pit bull puppy the other day, and his name is Rich Man I miss, and glad I have seen the UFC in the early days.

[@SchizmKing]

He was good. Very well rounded. But Silva came outta nowhere and seemed otherworldly. Like when radizt beat the tar outta Goku in the opening episodes of dbz 🤣

[@richmello2710]

He knocked out Chuck Liddell with a broken arm. You can not ascend to a level of badassery beyond that.

[@Recise]

he had a pretty nutty career and fought champion after champion solid work, me boy

[@michealburns8017]

Hall of famers on the left and right!!! All world champions or contenders who fought for the belt.... He didn't fight any bums once he was in the UFC

[@zumo2076]

Lol Mr. Krabs?

[@shotgunshelz7987]

I didn't realize he fought such high level competition so long. Amazing career. Great video.

[@madgavin7568]

Which is what makes Anderson Silva's wins over him all the more impressive.

[@maxanderson3733]

@shamp00p Agreed, dude an Ex-math teacher who was willing to fight just about everyone

[@twistedtrailerparktales2126]

Right! Wins over Wandx2, Chuck, Hamill, Okami, Lousaiea*, Quarry, Tannerx2. A between older Franklin and a not yet primed Bisping would have been entertaining.

[@joshriel8017]

Please stop talking like a fucking retard and stop dragging out your last word . Wtf is that shit. The info is great but fuck me you sound so fucking awful. Who told you that is a good way to talk? Fucking stop please

[@warrenmooney9422]

I didn't realize it either.

[@andrewpopely9511]

I’d forgotten that he fought literally every great fighter of his era.

[@markvandenboogaard8523]

He used to be a math teacher but mma math never adds up 🤣🤣🤣

[@traviswilcox3472]

Rich was a solid fighter & good dude.

[@thebrownbaldy]

Yes, one of the first guys to show you don't have to be a billy bad ass in order to become an MMA fighter. Definitely one of the best to ever do it.

[@HeyMaxIsMyName]

I love Rich Franklin. Extremely underrated. Also it's a small detail but I love how you put their records at the time of their bouts when you show them.

[@johncamp7679]

Yes I could almost tell you where I was in each one of them.

[@ohbogey]

Facts, Rich represents what are now rare fighters. The fighters that don't need to trash talk opponents & claim that they're trying to promote their fights by looking like annoying imbeciles.

[@maxanderson3733]

This! It really sucks that kind of No Gimmick fighter is slowly becoming what feels like an extinct species in MMA

[@chaeltheamericanmurderersi8450]

@@maxanderson3733 there is tons of fighters who refuse to trash talk. They always say the same thing “I let my fist do the talking”. You think they’re a rare breed but that’s only because the shit talkers catch your attention

[@mracisthy3732]

I like him because his politeness, I became his fan through his fight with Cung Le.

[@dylan2na652]

his pink and brown shorts will forever be my favorite signature UFC shorts

[@twistedtrailerparktales2126]

Thanks for this video. Rich is still in my opinion top 5 MW's of all time. It was a huge inspiration seeing him fight Evan Tanner for the title. In a world where it seemed you had to be a wrestling, jujitsu, kickboxing world champion before you started here was a guy from a time when there weren't many crossover schools taking boxing classes twice a week, mauy-thia kickboxing twice a week, and jits twice a week after grading papers as a high-school math teacher challenging the champion whom started his career with instructional video tapes practicing with his imaginary friend.

[@Chopper51138]

Anderson, Weidman, Israel, Whittaker (he’s like 15-1 as a middleweight), and then it’s a toss up between Hendo and Rich for me.

[@twistedtrailerparktales2126]

@@Chopper51138 I'd rank him over Whittaker. Whittaker is great but he loses points in my opinion for the fact he seems to absolutely refuse a rematch with Izzy.

[@teamkhabib7217]

@@Chopper51138 Rockhold?

[@Chopper51138]

@@teamkhabib7217 Rockhold didn’t do enough. His only great wins are Weidman (his best win imo) and Jacare back when Jacare was just a grappler.

[@kevthegoat8774]

@@Chopper51138 No Mousasi?

[@vincewidemann868]

Anyone remember the late great Evan Tanner? I do. He deserves a video.

[@madgavin7568]

I do, the man was a true pioneer of the sport. I'm surprised the UFC haven't already inducted him into the Hall of Fame. Its very tragic that he died at the age of 37.

[@josephgroom2646]

It would be really cool if u could cover Benson "smooth" Henderson. Always felt he gets quite under-appreciated as a fighter and a former ufc champion.

[@antslayer6140]

Finally thank you !!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@yisroelackerman]

Rich Franklin is my original inspiration for training. Thanks, Kiyon!

[@curtharakaly4620]

Just so happens all those brazilians back then were juiced to the gills too. Not saying Rich necessarily wasn't as well. But Anderson, Vitor, Wandy and most likely Lyoto as well,were all on gear for sure.

[@takesfromjake3769]

Kiiyon is on a roll this month!

[@cannae216]

He was one of my favorites 15 years ago. Classy guy, great fighter. Very impressed he knew exactly when to leave (cough cough BJ Penn cough cough)

[@shroudimmortal5109]

I had forgotten the reason I didn't like Silva, because he beat my boy Franklin...twice...and badly. But I never forgot what a great fighter Franklin was. Don't sleep on my boy!

[@youtubeis...]

He has such a fluid way of moving that you don’t see how much damage he does until his opponent drops

[@burninghammerstudios7033]

rich Franklin was one of my favorite fighters growing up and I still consider him in my top 10 to this day. also love the pink and brown shorts

[@Guru-ue2yp]

Dude, thank you for this video. Rich Franklin is one of my top 3 favorite all time fighters

[@thomasalarcon-clark1946]

Baddest teacher on the planet

[@FLBoyCanScrap]

If he rightfully got the decision against Hendo he'd be heralded. Inevitably his chin went from average to bad as he aged and that was traditionally why he would lose, even if he was out striking his opponent.

[@Hotsauce-cj7kj]

Surprised it took as long to get to Franklin Kiiyon. Love Rich. Thought he was the next big thing when he took out Shamrock. Which was around the time MMA was becoming mainstream. Only to realize down the road Shamrock wasn’t near an elite level fighter as his legendary early status proclaimed. Rich WAS the next big thing for sure, no question. Great champion. Until along came a spider 🕷. Who in my eyes is THE GOAT 🐐.

[@omegjonneboy4027]

Always was a fan, always thought he was a former champ, regardless of silvas dominance when there was someone who dominated as champion before it was Rich Franklin

[@kayleeensley3102]

Yes he will alway's be champ, I don't think he was a dominant champ because he didn't have the belt that long. But he put great performance's and had such an unorthodox way of striking. His level of competition is top notch. He fought a lot of champion's. Him and Bisping was the only fight that should have happened. Who would have won? Rich would have beat Bisping..

[@BLUEDELUCA]

as an OG UFC fan who dipped out after the initial few years got brought back in by Franklin......I never felt as bad for a hero as I did when he got rocked by Silva. loved Franklin.

[@kayleeensley3102]

Rich has never been forgotten he wasn't champ very long. But he fought the best and he had a great career.

[@Hanke86]

Rich was one of my favourite fighters back in the day. Wasn't afraid to get in the cage with anyone and came across as a gentleman and didn't need to trash talk or put his opponents down to make himself look good

[@ManoloSeFue]

From a teacher to a fighter..that’s pretty awesome.

[@jaredcurtis5652]

Thank you for doing this episode. I was one of the many people who requested this one because Rich is my favorite fighter. I’m sorry I’m just watching it now a year later, but I love your channel and you do an excellent job brother 👍

[@diegot143]

Ace was like my Captain America man he was so likable. Broke my heart the way silva did him in both of their fights.

[@CzarAice01]

Rich is a case of being the best, if the goat was not there. If it wasn't for silva, he would be dominant

[@reaver1414]

He was one of my favorite fighters and he became champion shortly after I started following the sport but Anderson just had his number

[@chikish]

In almost 40 fights Rich literally only ever lost to current and/or future Hall Of Famers. Very impressive.

[@lawrencehackett6479]

Love your content. Its actual self made. Not some generic d.c and r.c bullshit. Not to trash d.c but Dominick cruz is 100% right on his assessment of d.cs commentary skills. Ive always felt bad for new fighters in the pre lims who only had d.c and bisping to tell the fans about them even tho they have not a goddamn clue at who these fighters really are. Which makes me realize if d.c doesnt actually know much of fighters not in the main stream then how does the public expect ryan clark to know. Such a bad idea to replace ariel with a former nfl cornerback

[@haroldb.3092]

Super UNDERRATED! SO happy he's the VP of ONE. Great guy, smart guy and definitely has a great eye for fighters. Check out RIch Franklin's ONE Warrior series. It's ONEs "Lookin for a fight" except it has wayyy more culture and you get to learn more about the fighter

[@X9Z17]

His record was 22-1 (!) heading into the first Anderson fight, and scrubs don't make it to 22-1! Some fighters who made it to 22-1; DC, Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, almost Urijah Faber, Alexander Volkanovski, Miguel Torres, Matt Hughes, Sean Sherk, Fedor Emelianenko, and Israel Adesanya. Some fighters who couldn't make it to 22-1? Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Stipe Miocic, BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar, Mirko Cro Cop, Big Nog, Conor McGregor, Demetrious Johnson, Hency Cejudo, just to name a few. Heck, first fight I ever saw live on tv was Franklin vs Shamrock... yes, I missed the TUF finale fights, shut up.

[@siddhantpandey2000]

2:19 I see Matt Hughes being a referee in a lot of fights

[@HeyMaxIsMyName]

Do Sage Northcutt next! He competes in ONE now but his career in UFC saw some amazing potential

[@Asian-Hawaiian-Orian]

Are we gonna talk about Kiiyons weird inflection at the end of every single sentence?

[@icemanfede]

Just wanted to post that

[@leemarples1643]

One badass maths teacher, bet his pupils made sure their homework was in on time haha

[@legin777]

im so fucking glad you did this. I trained at the JGMMA gym as a teenager and Rich was always awesome there.

[@coldblooded7510]

Cincinnati Ohio oak hills high school graduate here rich was cool as hell as a teacher.

[@Onlyicedmilk]

Damn, Rich only lost to elite competition. Respect

[@JF_332]

Imagine getting a new teacher for your math class and seeing the next day that your teacher Mr Franklin has just kicked some ass and made a living out of it lol

[@benjaminrichard7741]

Franklin is the first fighter I started following back in high school!

[@Kilashok]

Imagine seeing your math teacher become a ufc champion

[@louiszippittelli9345]

Rich was humble.without being humbled

[@Fresh06jr]

Finally let’s goooooo🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@mj-7444]

Best fight that never happened at 185. Ufc 117 Chael vs Rich Franklin

[@livefree1030]

Rich joining the UFC HOF was well placed. I spent a good 5 years arguing as an advocate for MMA (Pit Fighting in the 90's). When Rich came along they promoted him in the media as a Teacher, he was well educated, well spoken, his School Faculty and students championed him. He broke the barrier in the sport that only the animals fight in MMA. He broke the stereotyping within the Sport of MMA

[@Schismatic1336]

Nice to see a classis style KK vid!!

[@weaamahmed8853]

Bro Please do [ Mike Brown ] Next .. Dustin P - Head Coach .. The Guy Was A Champion At "WEC" And Now A Great Coach At "American Top Team" One Of The Biggest Team In MMA, Where He Coach A lot Of Good Fighters .. The Guy Was a Great Fighter And Now He's A Great Mind Behind Great Fighters ..

[@nowayitskevin]

great video. still cannot believe how beautiful that cung le knockout was

[@charlesburroughs9770]

Like you, I also forgot just freaking AWESOME Rich Franklin was!!!

[@vinslungur]

Man the vocal fry is real. If he outsourced the narration then the quality would improve drastically

[@drunkenmmamaster419]

My man Kiyon is the goat for great unique content all the time !! Much love bro

[@5trezip23]

I been saying for a while, due to the timeline he's overlooked. But he was dominant for some time. He was also one of the first to have such a respectable life outside the cage it was used to bring legitimacy to the whole sport.

[@igorcesardealmeida6196]

two of the guys that he fought are already dead: Evan Tanner and Travis Fulton.

[@mrpiccolo6949]

Awesome Kiiyon, good video and stay warm bud.

[@AlecTramblayCoaching]

Shit I forgot how bad ass Rich was. That’s why these vids are so great

[@harrygreb3457]

Finally!! Lol been requesting this one for quite a bit

[@zedek_]

Just look at the caliber of his opponents. Rich is a fucking legend.

[@Northwest425]

Kiiyon baked af

[@kevinlawler2571]

Never forgot about him.. he was a great fighter.👍

[@sullyb23511]

His post fight life and career brings a smile to my face. Well done, Rich.

[@Thor-Orion]

Your opening line is basically what I always say about him; the single most underrated champion ever just because he ran into the Silva that was in his “proving” era and on the warpath without any of the clowning that would later be his demise. If Anderson Silva never exists Rich Franklin stays middleweight champion probably until Rockhold. But definitely at least until Weidman. And people don’t outright dismiss him. People hang those two Silva losses around his neck as if any other middleweight in history would have done any better against that version of Silva. It’s just ludicrous and as near as I can tell Rich is either the second or third greatest middleweight ever.

[@Thor-Orion]

Franklin also contributed more prominently than any other single fighter in dispelling the notion of “human cock fighting.”

[@Thor-Orion]

Not just heavy handed. Dude one strike finishing power with every limb. He broke dudes ribs with body kicks.

[@Thor-Orion]

8:37 you missed a really important of his grappling which is super nuanced; the extending of scrambles until he was able to secure dominant position.

[@popperpoppler4569]

Nah, nowhere near that long. He only really lost to top guys but that still included Hendo and Vitor when they came over so I think it’s safe to say one of them probably would have dethroned him.

[@Thor-Orion]

@@popperpoppler4569 maybe, hard to say. Confidence is a huge thing and if he never lost so definitively to Silva twice who knows how that affects his confidence going forward?

[@recoomedabest9970]

the comments will say he was a good, solid fighter and such. In hindsight though, if you breakdown his wins/losses vs opposing careers it actually is extremely impressive. He had a very close split decision loss to Henderson who will go on to go on a tear (except losing to shields LOL). He was better then just a solid fighter, he was as good as anyone in the world except for basically Anderson lol

[@south97north]

He should have his own movie.

[@HomesByDeVoe]

Great video I just have so much trouble paying attention when you keep doing that with your voice. What is that?

[@chuckhf420]

Agreed man, its unbearable

[@cripplermaximus]

How was I not subscribed already? I am now. And Franklin is one of my my favorites.

[@Ahmed-uq2yo]

Rich was my first role model and really shaped my younger years. He was a father figure to me

[@MoeJaxon]

Yo bro! Let’s do these How good was Evan tanner??? How good was Diego sanchez How good was Josh Koscheck How good was Kenny Florian How good was Gabriel Gonzaga How good was karo parysian How good was Nate quarry How good was Jason McDonald’s How good was the Chinese Zombie How good was Travis luter How good was Matt hammel How good was melvin gullard How good was Chris lights out lightal How good was Sean sherk How good was kung Lee

[@erikowings6729]

I have known Rich since I was 6 years old. Most impressive thing about his accomplishments is that he was self trained his first 10 fights or so and wasn't really doing it properly full time until mid way into his career.

[@gabrielsadaraka494]

The ufc movie warrior was based on him and brother Greg Franklin

[@lucasrogers412]

Awesome job on the video kiyon :)

[@oddballgunman5288]

What an absolute world class fighter! Once again I 💯 agree with your outtake

[@addison6665]

Yay! You did it! Thank you

[@anzi8469]

Bro love your videos!!. Could you do one on Dennis Siver I’m just curious on what his story is. That would be sick !!!

[@aaronl8609]

Franklin was one of the greatest.well rounded.he always gave an action packed fight

[@BradTheBrobarian]

He's a top 5 all time middleweight in my opinion.

[@Cub__]

You should really do a video on 🐊🐊 Souza now that he retired recently. Great video and content as always keep up the great work.

[@Deadwaverxse]

The way u end sentences lmao😂😂hilarious

[@titomish5914]

I can’t believe he fought Ken “the god” shamrock

[@randallflagg3700]

I kinda wish Kiiyon talked about the controversy that followed Rich's win over "The World's Most Dangerous Man", back then it was one of the biggest tinfoil hat MMA conspiracies around. So many people believed that Shamrock threw this fight, just because of a gif that was too short to make sense of the entire sequence, so all you saw was Ken seemingly falling down because of a punch he had dodged. And back then, it wasn't as easy at it is now to watch MMA bouts only (especially UFC fights; PRIDE ones were way less complicated to gain access to), so lots of people had only seen that one gif, and were convinced something fishy had taken place...

[@jeremievivianagriffin9458]

Keep up the great work

[@BGSWGN32]

He was my favorite fighter. Hurt me bad when I watched his destruction at the hands of one of the Goats.

[@Sdot-od8jf]

I always thought Rich looked like Jim Carey. I still do.

[@multiibrahim4636]

2:20 when he fought Anthony Rea , was Matt Hughes the ref !? 😂😭

[@Heyjoe-dw2hj]

How good was Patrick Coté, one of the best chins in UFC history, also a pioneer as a Québecois mma fighter

[@josephwatts2904]

I was a huge fan of this dude back in the day!

[@mateobocanegraagraso5206]

Referee Matt Hughes, that was WTF moment 🤣

[@cjichida8174]

ong

[@azrael557]

Hey Kiiyon you should review more robberies, I know you havent done that in awhile but I'd like to see you review Rose vs Zhang 2 and Ross Pearson vs Diego Sanchez.

[@godzrapture8362]

Rich is my favorite fighter of all time.

[@oddballgunman5288]

I'll never forget watching his fight with Chuck Lidell and his fight with Forest Griffin. UFC was barely making noise at that time! Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, George St. Pierre, BJ Penn, and Anderson Silva were dominating the UFC during that time!

[@AceMcSch00ly]

Randy Couture and Matt Hughes were as well.

[@dr.feelgood7615]

Rich was a beast, I give him that. I made A LOT of money of his 1st Silva fight cuz not that many ppl knew about Silva when he 1st came to the UFC.

[@definit1on119]

I agree. Good dude and great fighter