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Former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin would put an end to his retirement… for the right amount of money.
The 50-year-old Franklin hung up the UFC gloves following a loss to Cung Le in 2012, walking away with a pro record of 29-7, having fought the likes of Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Anderson Silva, twice.
No longer fighting, Franklin didn’t leave the sport, signing on to ONE Championship as the top martial arts promotion’s vice president in 2014, a role that he still occupies to this day.
On Wednesday, Franklin was asked on The Ariel Helwani Show if he had been contacted by Global Fight League (GFL) – a newer promotion signing fighters with UFC name-value regardless of age. Such stars on their roster include Urijah Faber (45) and Yoel Romero (47).
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“No, not yet they haven’t,” Franklin answered. “If they’re going to…”
13 years removed from his last MMA fight and the chaos of the UFC Octagon, Franklin details how realistic a comeback would be for him presently. After all, we’ve see aging Hall of Famers compete all the time – most notably a 58-year-old Mike Tyson last fall vs. Jake Paul.
“I mean, look, I’m 50. If I was interested, that window is closing pretty quickly,” Franklin said of potentially fighting again. “I could be under the right circumstances, the right kinda money, the right kinda opponent. I could be definitely talked into to a match for the right decimal place as well.”
“I’m not hungry like I was when I’m 25,” Franklin admitted. “I could probably get my body through another camp or two, but I’m like on that grind when you’re 25, 30 years old, like you don’t have it at this age like you did then. But, it’d be fun.”
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Fighters with great genetics like Yoel Romero have been able to prolong their fighting careers and compete well into their forties. Only a few have done it past age 50, like Rich Franklin’s former foe Ken Shamrock.
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