After the weigh in and also before the fight, there’s the stare down. For some fighters it’s a fun part of the theatre of fighting. Other fighters believe it’s nothing more than a really annoying ritual. I clearly fall into the latter category.   I never use the stare down as a psychological tactic. Fighters have to deal with tremendous mental stress for weeks leading up to the fight. By the time of the weigh in, a fighter is either mentally prepared for what’s coming or he’s not. Staring isn’t going to make any difference.  Whenever I’m on stage I do make a point of presenting a confident look. I want my opponent to know that I’m prepared for combat. If he is unsettled by that, then it’s only because he’s in a weak mental state. Some fighters appear cocky, but that can be a cover for lack of confidence.  By the time a fighter heads to the arena, it’s way too late to have mind games add up to anything.

		I’m wondering why there are some bad things that happen but like you said maybe without suffering we would not know happiness and never seek God’s help. Thanks for being real and a stand up man. It is great to see that there are good people still out there in the world that have the spotlight on them and who choose to give praise to God. May God bless you and your family. Sent by David

		Very deep. I don’t know who I am responding to and if this is the right way to respond but I just wanted to write and say that this article actually meant a lot to me. I’m a big UFC fan and Rich is definitely my favorite fighter. He’s not my favorite fighter because of the way fights, which is definitely outstanding, but rather the way he conducts himself. The guy never has a bad thing to say about someone, he never makes excuses and he shows tremendous character.   We all go through some tough times in our life, no one is exempt. And in those tough times I also turn to my faith in God. But there are times when life just doesn’t make sense and you’ll never be able to grasp why certain things happened. In my time of adversity, it actually gives me increased strength to hear Rich has had these struggles and has gone through these same things but yet he continues to believe and push forward.  Sent by Jeff Cabrera

Evan Tanner and I pummeled each other in two ferocious octagon battles. I held him in high regard and found him sincere and engaging. Last summer we had a chance to spend time catching up with one another in Las Vegas, when he was fighting. Little did I know this time together would be our last.     Many fans followed Evan’s blog. Reading it reveals his restless need to journey through wilderness in search of self-discovery. How ironic that the California desert he loved so much, was also the place of his death.  It’s been said that bad things sometimes happen to good people. So when a good person like Evan is dealt a terrible situation, it’s hard to absorb, much less understand. Trying to grasp how a likeable guy such as Evan could have died, and in such a tragic way, is a large-sized spiritual mystery.  Being a Christian, I turn to my faith first when confronted with yet another example that the world can be so unfair. I’ve read the story of Job and realize that for centuries it has offered some perspective during times of coping with shocking loss. Perhaps it is possible that we need suffering in order to appreciate what it’s like to experience goodness and happiness and peace.  It has been said that the principal reason some people embrace religion is the same reason others reject it. That reason is the existence of suffering and death. Non-believers choose to walk away, saying they cannot worship a deity who could indifferently preside over so much awfulness.  Those who worship understand that there is also a real chance for making contributions on earth and having a spiritual life beyond it. This awareness helps to give meaning and hope when confronted with life’s complexities.  Although the human capacity for reason is one of our best weapons in getting through life, it can take us only so far. Contemplating the infinite vastness of the universe, we soon get to a point of diminishing returns as we try to make sense of sad situations such as Evan’s. It is then that my faith is what pulls me through.  God is all-powerful and all-knowing and yet, mysteriously, bad things will always happen. Spirituality can demand inward struggle while at the same time offering great emotional comfort. Sometimes I’m at peace with not knowing God’s incomprehensible ways. At other times I’m unsettled because I can’t explain that which is beyond my imagination. That’s when I really have to work at accepting that not knowing is okay.  What I am certain of is that I will continue to study and to pray, determined to walk towards the light.

First Look Studios proudly announces the DVD release of CYBORG SOLDIER. In CYBORG SOLDIER, former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin stars as I.S.A.A.C., a genetically altered assassin determined to bring down the crooked military institution set to create ruthless killing machines. The DVD is in stores on October 7, 2008 at an SRP of $24.98.
I.S.A.A.C. (Intuitive Synthetic Autonomous Assault Commando) is the first prototype of a confidential “human weapon” program that genetically reconstructs humans to become deadly assassins. Searching for freedom and the truth about his military group, I.S.A.A.C. is on the run, taking Deputy Lindsay Reardon (Tiffani Thiessen, “Beverly Hills, 90210”) as a hostage. Their lives collide as they try to expose the secrets and lies of the corrupt organization. CYBORG SOLDIER is a highly charged explosive thrill ride that will leave your heart pounding.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/09/18/ultimate.fighting.championship/index.html

		I’m really not that preoccupied with my intake of sodium. Most people pay little attention to salt, unless they develop a medical condition.   Your body needs salt to function. If you’re dehydrated, sick or injured, the first thing they give you in the hospital is a saline solution IV.  Refined table salt is not very good for you. Most of it comes from mines, and is so heavily processed that many minerals are depleted.  If you’re cooking, try using sea salt if your recipe calls for it. This is a healthier alternative. Sea salt has greater nutrient value.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Why the move up to 205?Rich Franklin: I was talking to the UFC after the second [Anderson] Silva loss and they encouraged me to move up to 205. They told me my position there would be more appealing to them from a business perspective. They weren’t interested in a third match between me and Silva and they didn’t want me fighting contenders because I could eliminate possible title fights, so I was stuck in that I was going to be fighting people on the back end of their losses to Silva and I didn’t care for that gatekeeper position. After the Travis Lutter fight, I said I would try my hand at 205 again.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What’s the toughest part of the transition in weight classes?

Rich Franklin: I think that’s a question better suited for September 7, but me giving up some pounds there is quite the adjustment. If I’m carrying an extra 20 pounds in this fight and it goes the full 15 minutes, that takes a toll on conditioning.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you think about Matt Hamill?

Rich Franklin: He’s looked great, his success doesn’t surprise me at all. Matt’s an accomplished wrestler and a competitor. The first time I met him it was before he was doing MMA and I said when you’re done wrestling and all that — he was making run for Athens games — you ought to give MMA a thought because you could be good at it … and before I knew it he was in The Ultimate Fighter and his only loss is a controversial one. He’s looked strong.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What would be your ideal fight?

Rich Franklin: I don’t know, it doesn’t really matter to me, I’m really just all about competing and having fun, doing it and putting on good fights for the fans. I’m one of those guys where if fans said “we’d love to see Rich Franklin fight so and so” I’d be in to doing that.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What part of the sport’s growth has you the most excited?

Rich Franklin: I would guess the international growth at this point. The international growth the UFC is experiencing is showing how solid the future is going to be for this sport. So that’s great for guys like myself, who 10 years from now, I won’t be fighting anymore and having a job within the MMA profession will be a possibility, but it’s also exciting for up-and-coming athletes.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you think is the biggest misconception casual sports fans have about MMA?

Rich Franklin: It’s that there are no rules. It’s the funniest thing I hear people talk about. People say, “I’ve seen that you fight in cage and there’s no rules,” and I’m sitting there [thinking] “yeah, exactly.” Quite frankly, the rule book for this sport is complex, more so than for most sports probably.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What is one thing you would want people to know about you?

Rich Franklin: I just think that people see the TV persona that’s developed and although I’m a lot like my TV persona, things get amplified and magnified so to speak, and all that stuff gets taken out of proportion. One aspect of your life seems to overwhelm public perception and they forget about other things. From what they read in newspapers they think they know you, but what it boils down to is they don’t.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Have you ever had any weird requests from fans?

Rich Franklin: Yeah, requests like “can you shave your autograph into my back hair” or stuff like that, it’s really not that bad though. I don’t get, like, women’s panties in the mail or weird fan mail or anything. I have had threatening phone calls to my house on numerous occasions. People call to threaten to kill me or beat me up when I’m not looking. My wife has also had threatening phone calls, which is odd because I’m a fairly well-liked fighter, so its weird. It’s weird having that kind of stuff happen because I come from a normal small town here in Ohio and suddenly my life is blown up and I’m perceived to be way more important than I am.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Do people call you a lot like that?

Rich Franklin: It’s kind of out of the blue, it will be three or four in the morning. I had a string of these calls occur over a couple months where they came semi-frequently. Then when I was out of town my wife was getting them. I had a fan who one time did some research and got my home number and called my house. My wife picked up and he said “This is Bob, I’m calling Rich about an interview,” and she said, “OK, who are you with?” He just said, “Oh, with no one, I just wanted to interview him.”

MMA Stomping Grounds: Do you have to contact the authorities when you get calls like that or do you just shrug them off?

Rich Franklin: At this point I’ve shrugged them off. It irritates me more than anything else. I don’t know, I guess being a fighter you feel you can take care of yourself anyway, but it’s never gotten to a point where I feel the need to call the police.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Looking on the upside of your fame, what are some of the cooler experiences you’ve been able to have during your time as a fighter?

Rich Franklin:That’s the thing with fame — there’s the good side and the bad side. The bad side is when you’re out in public you get recognized, I couldn’t go to a club down here in Cincinnati without expecting to take 100 pictures with people on phones so they can put that crap on MySpace. I understand that goes on when I go out. The cool side of it is I’ve been able to do a lot of things most people haven’t. I got to go visit the troops in Iraq in 2006 and I’m getting ready to go back to the Middle East again. I’ve done tons of cool stuff around the military, like going on aircraft carriers and on a basic level I get invited to nice restaurants and people pay for dinner occasionally. You rarely have to wait in line for clubs and stuff like that. As you’re sitting there signing autographs in a club and by time you hit the 50th picture it’s like “at least we didn’t have to wait in line for this place.” Your friends think its more cool than [I do] but it has some perks.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Does the fame ever feel surreal to you?

Rich Franklin: No, as far as I’m concerned, fame is a fickle thing. One minute people love you, the next they hate you. You always have loyal fans that think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, but really, 99 percent of my life I’m just your average guy. I’m sitting at my home today wondering if I’m going to have to cut my grass before the fight again. I’m not wanting to have to sit on my tractor for a couple hours in the sun doing it but that’s my typical life. It’s pretty normal and things will be more that way once I’m out of limelight and retire. For most part people will forget about you. I sign autographs not because it does anything for my ego but because the people that ask you for it wouldn’t understand if you didn’t sign it, and I want fans to have a good experience when they meet me.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What’s the toughest part about being Rich Franklin?

Rich Franklin: Juggling all the aspects of my life. So many people want your time. Once you gain some notoriety or perceived importance everyone wants or needs you. You have appearances for this charity or sign autographs for this or make appearances at this fight. I need to go visit the troops and I need to train and I need to do PR work for my fights but on top of everything else I need to make time for everything else — family, friends and training and its difficult to juggle all of that.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Do you follow MMA much when you aren’t training/fighting?

Rich Franklin:Yes and no. I watch the bigger fights but there’s so much stuff. MMA has exploded so much that you could sit down and you got your Versus channel and your HDnet and the UFC and the WEC and all these other shows and acronyms. If you DVR’d everything on MMA on TV you could watch fights nonstop in your waking hours. I spend so much time in the gym training that sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and watch more fights. I do watch some fights and anytime there’s a WEC and Jens Pulver or one of my friends fighting I’ll catch the show, but I’m always definitely making sure I pay attention to UFC events and major fights. Honestly, my wife probably keeps up with that way more than I do.

MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you like to do away from fighting?

Rich Franklin: Well, when I’m training, I’m an athlete and an athletic kind of guy so I like to do anything active, but I don’t have the energy when I’m training. I will do things like play my drums, practice my Portuguese. I do often times spend a lot of time reading my bible and stuff like that.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Finally, what do you need to do against Hamill to be successful?

Rich Franklin: I think I gotta be quick on my feet. I’m giving up some weight so he might be giving up some speed. I need to use my footwork to confuse him and stick and move and stick and move and avoid takedowns. Once he does take me down, I can’t let him lay on top of me. I need to stay active on the ground.

From Inside MMA: Total Strikes Attempted by Matt=74. Total by Rich=162. Strikes landed by Matt=22 (30%). Strikes by Rich=71 (44%). Power Strikes landed by Matt=8. Power Strikes by Rich =36. Leg Strikes landed by Matt=5. Leg Strikes landed by Rich=31.

I am glad they boys have such a positive champion like Rich to follow. He is truly a blessing to have out there with his messages. I blow up and print most all of his Hit + Run emails and post them near the grub line so all the kids can read them…and they do…Keep up the positive influence. Sent by Rick and Jodi Christman