Former UFC Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin, is at a crossroads. Still a fan favorite, Franklin has found himself with four loses in nine fights. Intending on moving permanently to the light heavyweight division, Franklin instead fought in catchweight bouts at 195 pounds against Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort. Part of the change was personal choice, but a major factor for the move came from the UFC itself.

“The UFC has repeatedly told me that they aren’t interested in seeing me fight at 185 any more. Because of that, I moved up to 205. It all comes down to the fact that they didn’t want to do a Franklin-Silva III. I’m a ‘never say never’ type of guy, but the problem is that if the UFC doesn’t want to see me do a title match at 185, ultimately I would be stuck fighting in that weight class without ever being able to fight for a title again, which would make no sense since that is the whole reason we do this and the goal we work towards as fighters.”

At UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Frankin will go back to 205 pounds and square off against former light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell. If it’s up to Franklin, this fight will mark the end of his weight class purgatory.

Competing at a catchweight wasn’t a problem for Franklin as he slowly made the transition. However, now that his physique has become accustomed to the increased muscle mass, Franklin doesn’t believe he could ever move back down to the middleweight division. At this stage in his career, Franklin wants to focus on working his way up the ladder to another title shot, only this time at light heavyweight. If successful, Franklin would find a familiar face: Lyoto Machida. Franklin lost to Machida by TKO back in 2003.

“Fighting at 195 isn’t that bad for me physically because I can cut down to that weight without cutting into the muscle that I have. If I cut back down to 185, it’s a completely different cut to make it and I will have completely undone everything I’ve done to put on the size I have. I want to make a run for the title and I don’t want to keep doing things that are counterproductive to that, like fights at 195.”

Standing across the cage on June 12 will be Liddell, another fan favorite who has seen better days. Both men have something to prove to the fans and themselves. As such, Franklin does not take his opponent lightly. Doing so could lead to a violent ending.

“You can’t count Chuck out of any fight. Yeah, he hasn’t fought in a year, and yeah, he’s lost four of his past five fights, but look at what he’s done over the span of his career. He’s a legend and he has beaten such an incredible list of opponents, it would be a huge mistake to look past a guy like him.”

Does Franklin have enough juice left to make a run in the light heavyweight division? With the likes of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Rashad Evans, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Ryan Bader standing in his way, Franklin will have to push himself harder than ever before to close out his career with a championship belt around his waist.

(Source: Cage Potato)