Photo Courtesy of Dayton Daily News

By Dave Walsh

Do you think that Rich Franklin is the best? Do you think he is just a bland dude from Ohio? Do you have no real opinon about him? Well, express it anyway on our forum!

When I think about Rich “Ace” Franklin, honestly, the last thing I think of is calling him “Ace” after being completely decimated by Anderson Silva on two occasions. There is absolutely no shame in going down to the deadly striking power of Anderson Silva, as many have before Franklin, and many will after Franklin, but the real question is where does Rich go from here? On Saturday Rich Franklin heads into a fight with a very game Travis Lutter, with both men having losses to Anderson Silva as their last fight.

For Travis Lutter, his Febuary 2007 loss to Anderson Silva was the last time that he fought, and one would have to think that after such a long layover he’ll be looking to getting back into his winning ways. For Franklin, a lot more is on the line. Just like Lutter, his last fight (and subsequently last loss) was to Silva in October. For Franklin it was his second fight with Silva, and his second, devastating loss.

Franklin was always that border-line star in the UFC; he was nowhere on the level of Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture or the other coach from his season of TUF, Matt Hughes, though. Both Hughes and Franklin can owe a lot of their popularity with newer fans to being coaches on the Ultimate Fighter, with both of them landing Xyience TV spots and getting red carpet treatment by the UFC. But the problem was that Franklin didn’t have the same caliber of opponents that Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture had, as well as you could argue he simply wasn’t as good of a fighter as the rest. He was good, but never seemed to be on that elite level that fans love to talk about.

Franklin was running roughshod over a division where the competition was good, but not great. If anything, his most memorable fights were against an aging Ken Shamrock, where Shammy slipped and walked into a right hand (seriously, I’m not making excuses) and his scary knock out of an ill-prepared for high level competition Nate Quarry. When the time came for Franklin to fight Anderson Silva, it was almost like a make or break for him. It was his chance to prove that he was an elite fighter as well. At this point, Matt Hughes was seen as the best welterweight in the world, Chuck Liddell was unstoppable, a millionaire, the face of the UFC, and Randy Couture was recently retired and serving his role as the father figure for the UFC, the inspirational and knowledgeable guy around to give fans real talk while Goldberg and Rogan are doing their usual banter.

Franklin went in confident, and walked out a humbled man. It was at this point where Rich’s “Ace” nickname started to rub off a bit. Franklin then went on to beat Josh Macdonald and Yushin Okami, two guys that really, I have no opinion on. Macdonald is a guy that still has a ways to go, and Okami can be rather inconsistent. From there, he went on to get outright embarrassed against Silva again. What it is coming down to is that Franklin’s stardom from the Ultimate Fighter series might be flash-in-the-pan, as he couldn’t live up to the hype.

This fight with Lutter could help solidify him in the eyes of fans again as a great fighter, one worthy of their praise and attention, but if he loses, then it is safe to say that Franklin’s star might burn out and he’ll be forgotten. For Lutter, a win over Franklin will end up as business as usual and not really boost him up, much like Keith Jardine’s decision win over a clearly un-game Chuck Liddle on paper seemed like a big win but had little impact. It’ll put Lutter on the right path, and maybe after another win or two set him up for a rematch with Anderson, but it feels like regardless, Lutter has things to look forward to in the UFC. For Franklin, he has to earn his goldenboy status that he held for a while, and prove not only to himself but to everybody watching that he deserves to be a star.

One thing I do know is, when Daddy Dana makes you a star, you don’t fail him, because if you do, his scorn will rain down upon you like your name is Arlovski.