Rich Franklin: If I have to hand my city over, I'm going to give it to Matt Brown
When the UFC returned to Cincinnati in May, hometown hero Rich Franklin was nowhere to be found on the card. Franklin, who hails from the Queen City, put Cincinnati on the map in regards to MMA in the UFC.
That night, UFC welterweight Matt Brown charged to the Octagon to battle Brazilian Erick Silva in the main event. Brown eventually scored a TKO victory after one of the most thrilling fights of the year and the Cincinnati crowd rallied around another local fighter.
Following the fights, UFC president Dana White stated that what was once known as 'Rich Franklin's town' was now a place Matt 'The Immortal' Brown could call his own.
"This used to be Rich Franklin's town," White said. "This is Matt Brown's town now."
It was a special moment for the Ohio native, who trained with Franklin for several years while coming up through the regional circuit all the way to his time in the UFC.
Franklin just recently turned 40 and knows that his fighting days are starting to wind down. He still has another fight left on his UFC contract and hopes to fulfill it before calling it a career.
When he heard White's statement about Brown ascending to the throne in Cincinnati, Franklin wasn't angry or offended. He was honored that somebody he considers a friend was able to take over the town he calls home.
"I don't have any hang ups about that or anything like that. Because I'm at that point in my career where I'm ready to look for that next phase or whatever. I'll just say this -- if I'm passing the torch of Cincinnati to somebody, there's nobody I'd rather pass it to than Matt anyways," Franklin said on the latest Great MMA Debate podcast. "I've trained with the guy and we're friends. If I have to hand my city over, I'm going to give it to him."
Franklin also talked about his final fight and his plans to make it happen. Currently, Franklin is spending a lot of his time working as an executive for ONE FC, a promotion primarily based in Asia, but he's looking to make some final decisions about his last fight in the next month or so.
To hear the entire interview with Franklin where he's joined by Brown, Jeremy Loper, and UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman listen to the show via SoundCloud or download and subscribe to the show via iTunes:
