An ‘Ace’ in Transition

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin has his sights set on conquering another division, this time at 205 pounds.

The 34-year-old Cincinnati native made a dominant return to the light heavyweight ranks in September when he stopped Matt Hamill with a third-round body kick at UFC 88 in Atlanta. He will collide with two-time Olympian Dan Henderson in the featured bout at UFC 93 on Jan. 17 at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

After two stoppage losses to current UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva, Franklin (24-3) found himself with two options on the table.

“The UFC came to me, and, basically, they weren’t interested in another Anderson Silva-Rich Franklin fight, and it isn’t good business for me to fight the top contenders,” Franklin said. “If I keep winning, I could eliminate possible title fights, so I’d end up being a gatekeeper at 185; that’s why I chose to move up to 205.”

While Franklin expects to start training specifically for Henderson (23-7) following UFC 91 this Saturday, he has a good idea of what to expect when he steps into the Octagon come January.

“He’s not afraid to stand with me,” Franklin said. “I’m going to have to look out for his big right hand, and, ultimately, he’s probably at some point in time going to look for a takedown.”

Franklin does not feel weight will be a factor in the fight, as both he and Henderson have fought previously at middleweight and light heavyweight.

“Neither one of us are really big 205-pound fighters,” Franklin said. “I don’t think that weight in this particular fight is going to be the focus.”

As for reconditioning his own body for the light heavyweight class, Franklin admits the process has been far more difficult than cutting weight.

“It’s easy to take weight off [but] difficult to put good quality muscle back on,” he said. “I’m continually putting on a little weight here and there; I’m walking around right now at about 215.”

Despite comments from a Spike TV representative in October stating the winner of the Franklin-Henderson match would coach opposite of Michael Bisping on season nine of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Franklin denied having received an official offer.

“Being on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ is not particularly an incentive,” said Franklin, who served as a coach on the second season of the reality series. “Winning is an incentive enough in itself, and the UFC hasn’t actually talked to me at all about being a coach on the show.”

With Lyoto Machida -- the only man other than Silva to defeat Franklin -- now entrenched near the top of the UFC’s light heavyweight pecking order, Franklin indicated he would welcome another crack at the unbeaten contender.

“Avenging the Lyoto loss … if it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’m not one to get caught up on that,” Franklin said. “If the fans wanted to see me fight Lyoto again, then I would take a second Lyoto fight if the UFC wanted. But otherwise, I’m here to fight whoever they put in front of me, and I’ve been that way my whole career.”

Having endured two brutal defeats to Silva, Franklin conceded recent events inside the cage have impacted his mental approach to fights.

“I think a feeling of complacency in my position being champion may have contributed to my [first] loss [against Silva],” Franklin said. “Some things take your focus off the fight game. Staying in town, I sometimes get caught up in everyday business and all that kind of stuff.”

Franklin has also had to deal with the loss of his father, who died of a heart attack at the age of 56 earlier this year.

“Little things remind me of my father, but I feel like my dad is in a good place right now,” Franklin said. “I think about my dad all the time, but my dad was really proud of what I do, and because of that, it gives me comfort knowing I can go to the gym and do those things.”