We have new tshirt designs being sold exclusively at Walmart. Locally, you can check Springdale, West Chester, Middletown and Hamilton Walmart. We also have our clothing in Walmart stores in California, Nevada, and Texas.

I wanted to post some recent pictures of my dad. Many of you know he passed away earlier this month at the young age of 56. Losing a parent is one of the most difficult things a person can go through in their life…especially when you are close with them. When you go back to look at pictures you have of someone that recently passed, you realize how many times you were together and did not bother even taking a picture.
Fortunately my dad and I recently took a vacation to New York together. We were planning a road trip. I asked him, “If you could go anywhere, Dad, where would you go?” He said, “I’ve always wanted to go to New York.”

Thanks to Silvia, Arnie and Rafa for their hospitality, my dad had so much fun in New York. I remember the first day we decided to “see” the city…on foot My dad wasn’t much for walking. All smiles at the beginning of the day, but 2 hours, 15 blocks and half of Central Park later he was not very happy. If you look at the picture of us on the bus, you can tell by my face that it is uncomfortably hot. My dad on the other hand was happy to finally be sitting and seeing the city. Hope you enjoy!

In mid-July, Rich, Mike Pyle, Big John McCarthy and Dr. Michael Gervais…AKA Mavrick…had the opportunity to visit the USS Truman off the coast of Florida. They spent time with the troops to learn about life on the aircraft carrier and also taught a seminar and signed autographs for their fans. Check out some of the pictures from their trip.

[admin=41]

Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky. The museum explains the history of the earth from a biblical point of view, including an in-depth scientific analysis of the flood recorded in Genesis. The exhibits are top notch, some containing animatronic dinosaurs designed by people with resumes including Universal Studios. I am sure the pictures will not do any of this justice, but I hope you enjoy.

Rich and Beth just returned from spending a week in Alaska with friends. Look at the new picture group to see all of the fun things they had the chance to do.

[admin=14]

Check out www.shomanart.com Evan Shoman- one of the best artists we have ever met- has drawn an amazing set of pictures of Rich. They are being sold with Rich’s autograph on Evan’s website — You have to check out his art…You will love it!

The Sonor Drum Company was generous enough to donate a brand new set of drums to Rich so he could attempt to pick up a new hobby in his down time (what little he has). The drums are amazing so we have posted a few pictures of Rich playing. Be sure to check out the new photo group.

Things are going well. I am taking some time away from training and instead I am working on the land I bought. I am unable to train at this point, awaiting clearance from the doctor who did my surgery. I should see him the first or second week of December, and will know more about any upcoming fights at that point. It has been good to take a break from training, but it is impossible to take a break from the sport completely…with interviews and appearances.

I have become much more involved with the business side of American Fighter since my fight. We are building a fan based team website, and we are working on expanding American Fighter to much more than a clothing company.

Anderson is a great fighter, and my hats off to him. He is a class act, and I could not have lost my belt to a better man. I did not perform to the best of my capability that night, and refuse to make any excuses for a poor performance. However, it was clear that Silva was on that night…and you can’t make mistakes like that against elite fighters. This fight was much like any other fight…belt or no belt, losing sucks. I am once again a contender, and winning my next fight is my first priority. I’m not sure who I will fight next or when I will get a rematch. There are too many variables in this sport to try to make a prediction like that.

Training has been a topic of discussion within my camp, and some changes will be made for my next fight. Perhaps I am over-training…many fans believed I looked “drained” coming into the fight. If that were the case, it would have been events leading up to the fight, such as training. The weight cut went well for this fight, and becomes easier each time I make weight.

Flexibility is the key component in the United States Army. Those of you without military experience may not fully comprehend the meaning of this statement. Our troops are working in 120+ degree conditions fifteen to twenty hours each day. Often times they get little amounts of sleep and have no time for R&R or working out. The picture of the pod is the living quarters for the troops. Each unit houses 4 soldiers…at least they are air-conditioned.
I can’t say thanks enough to all the troops doing service for our country overseas. The picture on my “Home” page is of the people assigned security detail for us, while we were in Iraq. They took great care of us and made sure our trip ran as smoothly as possible. A special thank you to these five individuals.

We flew into Kuwait and drove to Ali Al Salem (I hope I spelled that correctly) Airforce base. The Airforce took us to Baghdad via a C-130. You can see the pictures of the plane, as well as Randy and I in the cockpit. We visited that base as well as several others, and the Army transported us with Blackhawk helicopters. Weather conditions made it very difficult to travel from base to base. We found ourselves waiting for hours to transport to a new base, and in the process lost the time to make it to every scheduled base. Randy and I had a chance to do question and answer sessions, teach a couple of clinics, and eat lunch with the troops daily.

By the way, for those of you who do not know…the picture of me with the hand is the hand from the statue of Saddam the Marines tore down.

The Mayor of Cincinnati has announced that February 21st, 2006 is officially American Fighter/ Rich Franklin Day in the city of Cincinnati. This is quite an honor- one that doesn’t come to many people. A special announcement was made on 1360 Homer as Rich talked with Lance McAlister on the radio. Congrats to Rich. Keep doing good things for American Fighter and for the “Keep it in the Ring” Foundation.