They are two minutes and 59 seconds that Rich Franklin (Pictures) has been dwelling on for a year. In that short time, the Ohio native went from seemingly unbeatable to an also-ran in the minds of many MMA followers.

It is a fate shared by many top-level mixed martial artists. They are lobbed upon the scrap heap of inconsequence long before their shelf life has expired. Such dismissal is almost a rite of passage within a sport that can't seem to crown that mythic unbeatable fighter, the likes of which litter the historical landscape of the boxing world.

Even those boxers carefully shepherded through the ranks toward any number of that sport's meaningless titles eventually lose. But those losses come much less frequently than they do for MMA's top fighters.

Franklin, the 33-year-old former middleweight champion of the UFC, found out how relevant his stellar record was when Anderson Silva, 19-4-0 and now the No. 1-ranked middleweight by Sherdog.com, brutalized him in Las Vegas just over a year ago. Written off as not only a "has been" but to many as a "never was" is a tough pill to swallow when you have beaten everyone put in front of you for more than three years -- a virtual eternity in MMA.

With a return engagement looming one year and six days after a dismantling that forced him under the knife to repair a severely broken nose, Franklin will be looking to heal a much more painful wound, something much more detrimental to a fighter than any physical injury: a tattered psyche.

"After the fight I really sat at the window of my hotel room for several days, just kind of staring out and watching traffic drive by," Franklin told Sherdog.com just days before his rematch with Silva. "You just sit there and try to figure out what went wrong -- where and why -- and you really come to no conclusions. It's a waste of time."

The former high school math teacher had plenty of time to dwell on his disappointing performance. There was the facial surgery and recovery time that prevented any contact -- something akin to not being able to get back on the horse after it throws you -- and the uncertainty of what will actually happen when you ultimately do step back into the arena.

Eventually Franklin (22-2, 1 NC) got back into the cage and did so with success against Canadian grappler Jason MacDonald (Pictures). The fight could not have gone any better. Franklin stopped MacDonald after two rounds before announcing to the Columbus, Ohio, crowd that he would indeed be getting a rematch with the 32-year-old Silva and that it would be happening down the road in his hometown of Cincinnati.

"I had nothing actually to do with the fight coming to Cincinnati myself," said an almost apologetic Franklin. "This was an idea that Dana [White] conjured up and something that he talked about and something that he had me actually announce after my fight in March, when I fought MacDonald."

It is a little odd that a fighter would get a rematch scheduled in his hometown after losing a title so decisively. That fact is not lost on Franklin, who is ready to make a reciprocal offer should he come out the victor Saturday night.

"Assuming I win my title after Saturday night … we can do the third one in Brazil," declared the challenger. "If the UFC wants to go to Brazil, that would be fine with me."

It is that class along with a blue-collar work ethic and approachable demeanor that has endeared Franklin to those closest to him as well as MMA fans. And while many of the sport's notorious hardcore fans casually write him off, Franklin and his inner circle have drawn up a game plan to wrest the middleweight strap away from the man so many hold up as the new indomitable force.

The first step in that process was bringing in noted MMA trainer Matt Hume (Pictures). Hume has been involved in fighting and training athletes since the sport's earliest days. His résumé is not easily equaled.

Summoning Hume might have been an obviously wise choice, but Franklin initially resisted, according to his manager, Monte Cox. After some prodding, though, Franklin agreed to a trial run. The two hit it off immediately, and it wasn't long before the former champion was sold on the idea.

"The one thing I have never had in my career is an MMA coach, someone who puts all that stuff together," Franklin said. "And what Matt does real well is break down the tape of an opponent and look at real specific things you can do."

After spending three weeks in Wyoming with his trainers and teammate Jorge Gurgel (Pictures), who is also fighting at UFC 77, Franklin seemed ready to canonize Hume: "Matt, at this point, I believe is an MMA genius."

He also said that "working with [Hume] has really opened up my eyes on different ways of training for MMA."

"As a trainer, I don't really look at the opponent per se for the ultimate goal of beating this person," Hume said of his coaching philosophy. "I look at what a perfect opponent would be and what a perfect fighter would be, and I try to create that fighter out of the person I am training."

While Hume would not divulge any of the intimate details of his exchanges with the man nicknamed "Ace," he is confident in his charge's preparation, which has surely been the most important of his career.

"It's a long process, and Rich is prepared for this fight, and we have prepared specifically for this fight," Hume explained just after his pupil weighed in for Saturday night's main event. "We are looking at a long-term goal, too. It is not just to win this fight but to win this fight and the next five after this as well."

Part of the strategy for Hume is breaking down his fighters as well as their opponents on film. That meant Franklin would have to watch the fight that cost him his title if he wanted to see what went wrong.

"At this point I've probably watched my fight with Silva at least a dozen times and yeah, there are things that you can point out," said Franklin, Sherdog.com's No. 4-ranked middleweight. "Some things that I did well in the fight, although it may be hard for the average fan to see. And where I actually made my mistakes and things started going downhill for me, as well as the things Silva was doing well and what kind of holes he actually had in his game."

Those perceived holes will have to be exploited if Franklin has any chance of getting that UFC belt nestled back around his waist. Add in the mental hurdle he will most certainly have to overcome, and it is a daunting task.

His good friend Gurgel has absolutely no problem making a call on the fight, and succinctly draws a comparison between two different fighters: the Rich Franklin (Pictures) who got knocked out by a string of Silva's knees and the one Gurgel has spent the past two months preparing with for the rematch.

"Rich wasn't mentally ready for his last fight with Anderson Silva," Gurgel said. "He looked like a different person, he acted like a different person, and right now he is in the best state of mind and more confident than he has ever been."

Franklin seems ready for the confrontation that very well may define his career, but one cannot help but wonder how he will respond when he steps back into the Octagon and stares across the canvas at the new immovable rock of the middleweight division.

"My philosophy is that with each fighter on each night, anything can happen," Franklin said, seemingly trying to convince himself, "and the fight with Anderson and I last year in October, we were different fighters. It was a different night, and this is going to be a whole different situation for both of us."