Rich Franklin

Rich Franklin is a retired mixed martial artist with a special day, February 21, named after him in Cincinnati. This American fighter is a former middleweight champion under the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is currently the Vice President of One Championship, which is an Asian mixed martial arts company.

Nicknamed “Ace”, Richard Jay Franklin II was born on October 5, 1974 in Cincinnati to Vaila and Richard Sr. Franklin. He studied at William Henry Harrison High School and at the University of Cincinnati where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics. Before being a professional mixed martial arts fighter, Franklin was a teacher in mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati.

Franklin first learned Karate in the early 1990s. He also trained in submission fighting and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 1999, he started his professional career in mixed martial arts and retired in 2015. His fighting styles include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and boxing. At present, Franklin boasts of a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He comes with a mixed martial arts record of 37 fights with 29 wins, 7 losses, and 1 no contest.

In addition to his mixed martial arts career, the talented fighter is also an actor and a businessman. He and a business partner created an athletic clothing brand in 2002. By 2012, Affliction Clothing expressed interest in the brand and bought majority of its shares. This brought Franklin’s clothing line to mainstream retailers. Franklin also distributes organic bottled juices.