Category: Radio Highlight

Rich Franklin opens up about life after fighting: ‘That’s a difficult adjustment’

It’s not easy to walk away from fighting, but Rich Franklin has made a smooth transition.

Unlike many fighters, [autotag]Rich Franklin[/autotag] seemingly ended his professional fighting career and never looked back.

Even though the former UFC champion and current UFC Hall of Famer never made a comeback to MMA after hanging up his gloves, Franklin admits it wasn’t an easy transition to make. Franklin officially retired in the fall of 2015 with his last fight being in late 2012 – a knockout loss to Cung Lee in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 6 in Macau.

“Theres a couple of things in play here,” Franklin recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “First of all, as an athlete, that is my first love. As a young boy, I dreamt of becoming a professional athlete, and I was able to fulfill that dream. When you get to an age where you can’t compete at a top level anymore, at least consistently at a top level, you have to look at doing something else and you have to remember that second thing you’re doing at the time is not your first draft pick, so to speak. It’s your second love, and that’s a difficult adjustment at first for a lot of people. Fortunately for me, I was able to secure a good career in the industry working for ONE Championship.”

Franklin has been serving as vice president for ONE Championship for several years now.

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On top of being an ambassador for the promotion, Franklin is also in change of the company’s Warrior Series, which is a set of events that host cards in different parts of the world in search of up-and-coming talent for the major ONE Championship events.

“Ace” said his work at ONE Championship has helped him replace his passion for getting in the cage.

“Within the umbrella of ONE Championship, we created the Warrior Series, and I run that project,” Franklin explained. “I’m the CEO of that particular company here in Singapore, so the good thing about that is that I pretty much have full creative control of what I want to do, where I want to go, the athletes we’re recruiting, the card that I put together with my matchmakers, and I work extensively with my team.

“The way that I run my team, it’s kind of like the knights at the round table because I believe everyone has something to contribute on the team, and it’s been a beautiful thing because I’ve taken that product specifically and treated it like my martial arts career. Every day, I sit there and think of how can I make the content that I’m putting out better, how can I be a better host for a travel show, and I treat it all the same. It’s the refinement process that I really I guess miss about competition, so I apply that to my role as an executive, and that’s what really keeps me motivated.

“So initially the transition was difficult, but once you take a look at something at a different angle and take the same approach with something else, it almost in a different kind of way feeds those competitive juices that I felt as an athlete.”

It’s getting close to a decade since Franklin was last seen in action, meaning there’s quite a few newcomers to the sport that don’t remember his time on top. It’s a measure the former UFC champ uses to distinguish the hardcore MMA fans.

“I think when you run into fans, the reality is that I haven’t competed live in a numbers of years now, so when I run into somebody that actually recognizes me, I’m like, ‘OK, you’re a true fan to recognize me seven or eight years after having competed,'” Franklin said.

Check out the full interview with Franklin in the video below.

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MMA Junkie Radio weekly live stream on SportsCastr (noon ET)

MMA Junkie Radio brings you a live streaming weekly show on SportsCastr to break down all the latest MMA news.

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MMA Junkie Radio hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” will go live Wednesday at noon ET with streaming commentary and analysis on the latest news and developments via SportsCastr, where you can chat with the guys and ask questions.

They’ll discuss the latest surrounding UFC 249 and the interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, fights that could possibly take place on Dana White’s secret island, and more.

Be sure to check back and follow @MMAjunkie, @MMAjunkieRadio and @SportsCastrLive on Twitter to be notified when the guys go live.

Ray Longo wants UFC to cancel upcoming events: Fighters ‘not getting near a normal training camp’

“I got to tell you, New York is a (expletive) show”

[autotag]Ray Longo[/autotag] is doing the best he can in New York to get by as a world-class MMA coach while also following the government’s recommended safety guidelines during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Longo lives in Nassau County and trains many high-level UFC fighters in the area, including former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who’s scheduled to headline UFC Oklahoma City on May 2.

With social distancing guidelines in place and the closing of non-essential businesses in the state, which includes gyms, Longo is having tough time preparing Weidman for his drop back to 185 pounds to face Jack Hermansson.

“He’s trying, yeah, definitely, but he’s got to do it at his house,” Longo told MMA Junkie. “I really wish the UFC would’ve just come out and canceled a couple of shows because I don’t like to see these guys go in compromised, you know what I mean? They’re definitely not getting near a normal training camp. I even have Matt Frevola; he thinks he’s fighting on April 26, which I just don’t see it’s a possibility.”

New York’s death toll due to coronavirus has surpassed 3,500, and the state’s total cases number well over 100,000.

With the conditions of the community, Longo has been forced to train Weidman through FaceTime, as their gym is currently closed. He also doesn’t want contact with any of his fighters in fear of potentially spreading or getting the virus due to it’s asymptomatic characteristics.

“I don’t even trust myself,” Longo said. “The last thing I want to do, I would hate to pass something to someone else, to somebody that couldn’t deal with it properly. That would be a bad thing for me. I would regret that more than anything in the world. That’s why you have to do it by FaceTime.”

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Almost all major sports organizations have postponed their seasons and events due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. Yet, the UFC has continued to attempt to keep their annual schedule intact by trying to relocate events and take fights where they’re not affected by state bans on sporting events and public gatherings.

With Frevola scheduled to fight at UFC Lincoln later this month, Longo is allowing the lightweight to access the gym but admits he’s split about letting his fighter continue to train.

“I let him get in the gym, which I probably shouldn’t be doing,” Longo said. “It’s just him and another guy sparring, but it puts everybody in an awkward position because I really don’t want to do it, but then again, I want to see the kid get his work in. So it just kind of sucks, man.

“If you’re from New York, I don’t know how everybody else is dealing with it, but I got to tell you, New York is a (expletive) show. You’re staring to hear, it was like six degrees of separation, but now we’re two degrees away from people that we know that are dying and just the people that are losing (someone) saying goodbye on a walkie-talkie outside the hospital. It’s horrible.

“The stories are starting to pour in. I think the other day we lost 1,000 people in New York, and they say we’re not even close to the peak yet. So it’s hard to focus on something that’s more of an enjoyment to you, but this is real life. It’s not a joke, and it’s hard to get past all that. My point to Matt Frevola was, ‘Look, man. I think you should chill because you still live with your father. He’s like my age, and you can get that guy in a lot of trouble if things go south.’

“So everybody is in a weird position. I really wish they (UFC) would just call and say, ‘Hey, you’re not fighting for a couple of weeks,’ at least the guys in New York. ‘Guys, chill out. I know what you’re going through. We’ll get you fights in June, July, but right now chill out.’ It’s hard to abide by what everyone is telling us to do and stay in the house when guys think they’re still fighting and trying to get camps in.”

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MMA rankings report: Why one UFC 248 title-fight loser drops but not the other

Did Yoel Romero or Joanna Jedrzejczyk drop in their division in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings?

UFC 248 this past weekend featured a pair of title fights on opposite ends of each other in terms of entertainment value, but their impacts on this week’s USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings is definitely felt.

In the main event, [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] remained undefeated with a lackluster unanimous decision win over [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] to retain the middleweight title. And in the co-main event, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] and [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] had an instant classic, with the champion retaining the strawweight title after a narrow split decision.

One of those losing fighters dropped in their respective division’s rankings, while the other stayed put.

Hear from rankings chair “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” of MMA Junkie Radio as they discuss this and other UFC 248 results with rankings implications in the latest edition of the MMA rankings report.

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Spinning Back Clique: Agree with Dana White? Was UFC 248 main event letdown Yoel Romero’s fault?

So much to discuss coming out of UFC 248, and this week Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture joins the show to unpack it all.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” are joined by guest Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture to unpack the fallout from an eventful – and uneventful – UFC 248 and more.

SHOW RUNDOWN:

  • The UFC 248 headliner between middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] was anything but the war we all expected, with Adesanya winning a bizarre snooze-fest by unanimous decision to retain his title. Afterward, UFC president Dana White placed all of the blame on Romero, who, at 42, received this title shot despite a two-fight losing streak. The way White sees it, it was on him to go all out and win the title. Do we agree?
  • On the complete opposite spectrum of the UFC 248 headliner was the co-main event, an instant classic that saw strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] retain her title by winning a split decision against [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag]. What did we learn about both women after such an incredible and brutal title fight?
  • With UFC 248 out of the way, UFC 249 is the next pay-per-view, and you know what that means: [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] finally will attempt to meet inside the octagon after four failed bookings. Before they do, though, they came face to face at the first UFC 249 news conference in Las Vegas, and it was quite the intense experience. We share our takeaways.
  • [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] and [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] returned to the octagon at UFC 248 after dealing with lengthy ordeals involving the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which ultimately resulted in their exoneration. And both men looked good in claiming victories. What do we think is next as they try to get their career back on track?
  • In a story from out of left field, UFC featherweight [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] allegedly attacked Jay Park, rapper and friend of “The Korean Zombie” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag], while sitting cageside at UFC 248. The incident, which was caught on video, is so unlike anything we’d expect from Ortega given the character he’s shown through the years. We react to what transpired.

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 19 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

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Off Guard: Frank Mir wants to retire in UFC after avenging loss to ‘glass cannon’ Fedor Emelianenko

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir says he’d love to rematch Fedor Emelianenko, then finish his career in the UFC octagon.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Frank Mir[/autotag] is 40 years old, but he’s not done with fighting just yet. Indeed, he says he has plans for his next fight and for the final chapter of his career.

Mir (19-13 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) is back in training after undergoing stem cell treatment in Medellin, Colombia, in December and is working to bring himself back into fight shape ahead of a return.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, the former UFC heavyweight champion revealed that the clock is ticking down on his Bellator contract, and he’d like to get one more fight in before he considers his next move.

“I’ve been talking to (Bellator executive Mike) Kogan and trying to figure out a date,” he explained. “Contractually, I’m up by April 1, but I don’t know if they’ll get it in by then, so I’ll just work something to try to extend it somehow.”

But that doesn’t mean that Mir intends on staying a Bellator fighter through the summer and beyond. He revealed that he’s ready to field all offers ahead of what is likely to be the final big fight contract of his career.

“I think Bellator’s a great company and stuff, but I’d like to fight more often,” he admitted. “Honestly, too, just because my daughter’s getting into everything now and doing MMA, when this contract’s up I’ll look at my options.”

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Mir’s name value as a former UFC heavyweight champion should guarantee some interesting offers when the time comes, but he said that he’d love nothing better than to finish his career with the organization that saw his best years as a fighter now that the anti-doping program managed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is more understanding of the metabolite issue that he says forced him out of the UFC.

“The PFL’s definitely something that’s super interesting, but in all reality too, before it’s all said and done, I’m gonna retire with the UFC,” Mir said. “Especially with USADA being more realistic with the metabolite issue. What they did with Jon (Jones) really made it to where now I can go back, because that was my whole complaint before. Just how Jon didn’t know how he kept testing positive for metabolites, when they were testing (me) I didn’t know how I was going to test. If you don’t know how you did it, how am I going to avoid it happening next time? And, since I’m not Jon Jones, I could suffer a four-year suspension for an additional positive test. That was my main reason for leaving the UFC to begin with. So now that’s fixed, and USADA aren’t such Nazis, and they realize that obviously there’s more to it than is on the surface, I can go back.”

But before Mir can mull over his potential options, he still has the chance to squeeze one more fight in before his Bellator deal expires. One man who he’d love to face again is one of the last men to defeat him, Fedor Emelianenko.

“The Last Emperor” (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) beat Mir by first-round knockout at Bellator 198 in April 2018, but Mir said that result was a fluke and stated that Emelianenko knows it, too.

“I would definitely love a rematch with Fedor,” he said. “I think he realizes the last fight was a fluke in his favor. He gets touched, he falls down, and I hit harder than Bader, so if I touch him … and then I got over-zealous in my first fight back after two years, (and) he caught me. You know, hey, he’s an explosive fighter, but he’s a glass cannon. He can’t take a shot. So I would just play it safe, not expose myself and just keep throwing jabs, and if one lands, he’s going to go to sleep. So that’s definitely a fight I would like to get back. I would love to be afforded the opportunity to show that what I’m saying is correct.”

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Mark Madsen’s winning formula: ‘Close the distance, take them down, beat them up’

Olympic wrestler-turned-MMA hot prospect Mark Madsen says he’s in the shape of his life ahead of UFC 248 in Las Vegas.

Olympic silver medalist and rising MMA prospect [autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag] is all set for the big stage after one of the most special experiences of his decorated athletic career.

Madsen (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) took Olympic Greco-Roman silver in the 75-kilogram category at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro before making the decision to switch sports and become a full-time MMA fighter.

Eight fights and eight wins later, he was handed his shot in the UFC, and he took his opportunity with both hands, demolishing Danilo Belluardo in just 72 seconds at UFC on ESPN+ 18 in his home nation of Denmark.

“It was a major experience,” he told MMA Junkie. “Being co-main event, in Denmark, in Copenhagen (with) 13,000 excited fans, it was quite an experience. I’ve got to put it way up there (with the Olympics). It was special.”

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Now that Madsen has his first UFC fight – and his first victory – under his belt, the Dane is looking to build a winning streak in the UFC’s lightweight division by securing victory over Austin Hubbard (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 248 on March 7. The fight represents Madsen’s first fight on U.S. soil, and his first opportunity to compete in the UFC’s home city of Las Vegas. And although his debut in Copenhagen may have been special, Madsen says he’s just as excited to make his Vegas bow.

“It’s my second UFC fight, right? I get to fight in the fight capital No. 1, Las Vegas,” he enthused. “It’s on the big stage, it’s on a numbered show, I’m excited. It doesn’t matter who steps up there in front of me, I’m there to put on a show. I know Austin Hubbard, he’s a good guy. It’s a guy that went three rounds with Davi Ramos. It’s an exciting fight, and I can’t wait to get in there.”

The fight may only be Madsen’s second under the UFC banner, but it marks the milestone of his 10th professional bout. The 35-year-old has a lifetime of competitive experience as an elite wrestler, but now he’s excited to be developing his skills in a new sport, and he says he’s improving at a rapid rate.

“I have a long career in wrestling, and I decided three years ago to do MMA 100 percent,” Madsen said. “I’m evolving at a rapid pace, and I’ve been putting work in every single day since my debut. Honestly, I feel I am in the best shape of my MMA career.”

Madsen looks in great shape and ready for the matchup, and he says he’s going to follow the formula that has taken him to victory in each of his nine bouts so far.

“I usually do what my coach Martin Kampmann tells me,” he smiled. “Close the distance, take them down, beat them up. That’s pretty much the gameplan up until now, so it’s been on point. This is all about performing, sticking with a gameplan, then going in there and putting a show on that you want to put on.”

If he continues to put on the sort of show we saw on his debut, it might not be long until “The Olympian” finds himself lining up opposite big-name opposition inside the octagon.

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For Felice Herrig, mental side of injury recovery just as challenging as physical

UFC women’s strawweight Felice Herrig has been working her way back from an ACL injury. But there are two sides to her rehab.

LAS VEGAS – This past fall, [autotag]Felice Herrig[/autotag] sailed past the one-year anniversary of the most recent time she stepped in the cage.

Now she’s fast approaching a year since the torn ACL injury that has put her on the shelf. To say she’s itching to get back to work in the UFC’s strawweight division probably is an understatement.

But knee injuries and their subsequent rehab are no joke.

“The mental and physical recovery are both very difficult,” Herrig told MMA Junkie earlier this week in Las Vegas, where she’s been rehabbing at the UFC Performance Institute. “I’ve broken my arm three times. That’s like eight, maybe 12 weeks (recovery), tops. … (With the knee), just trying to relearn things – that’s the hard part. Physically, you’re training every day. But you’re just training to get back to where you were.”

For Herrig, though, it’s been just as much about the mental side of things as it has been getting her knee back in order.

For the first time in her eight-fight UFC career, she’ll have to work off back-to-back losses when she returns. In 2018, she lost decisions to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 223 and Michelle Waterson at UFC 229. The Kowalkiewicz snapped a four-fight winning streak that had her in title contention.

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Herrig said she’s pushing eight months of rehab, and thinks she’s nearing the end. If she returns later this year, it could be close to two years since her loss to Waterson. Meanwhile, the division keeps soldiering on.

“Mentally, you feel like, ‘This sport’s passing me by. I’m irrelevant,’ because people forget about you,” Herrig said. “There are so many UFC fights constantly going on that it’s like, ‘Am I irrelevant? Am I doing enough?’ Recovering from an injury isn’t glamorous. Literally, no one gives a (expletive).”

Being gun shy after her particular injury is a common sports tale. That’s when the mental recovery meshes with the physical, and it’s not always a great mix.

But the good news for Herrig’s recovery is that even when she questions herself, physically, she has people working with her to give reassurances that she’s ready to get back to doing certain things.

“It’s kind of hard to say (how close I am), because some things you don’t know,” she said. “Like, ‘Oh, is it in my head? Can I do more than I think that I can?’ It’s also listening to your body, listening to your (physical) therapist. For me, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m still injured. I’m still recovering. I can’t do this. I can’t kick the bag.’

“So I’m really listening to my therapist tell me, ‘No, you can kick the bag. We want you to kick the bag. We want you to start working at taking shots. We want you to do this.’ I’m one of those people who if you give me the green light, I’ll run with it.”

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Off Guard: Punahele Soriano loves living in Las Vegas next to UFC Performance Institute

Punahele Soriano discusses how living near the UFC Performance Institute has helped transform his body.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Puna Soriano[/autotag] has seen plenty of benefits by kickstarting his UFC career while living in Las Vegas.

The “Dana White’s Contender Series” veteran made good in his UFC debut with a first-round knockout over Oskar Piechota at UFC 245.

And the undefeated Soriano (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) attributes his early success to being based in Vegas, home of the UFC Performance Institute, which he credits for transforming his body.

“Huge difference,” Soriano told MMA Junkie about the UFC PI. “Even just like on my wallet, I’m not buying anything to eat. Everything’s made for me. I can get food sent to me, just like Trifecta meals and all that. Even if you look at my physique from before getting into the UFC to getting into the UFC, I got a lot bigger just from the food, the rehab, everything just right in front of me.

“I do my strength and conditioning in the PI, and every now and then we’ll do mitts and stuff or like a circuit training day over there, but mostly the bulk is done here at Xtreme Couture.”

Soriano saw a slight delay in his promotional debut when he was initially scheduled to take on Adam Yandiev at UFC 242 in September. A knee injury forced Yandiev out of the fight, and the bout was scrapped from the card.

Two months later, Soriano got to make the walk and delivered in spectacular fashion.

“Yeah, there was a little jitters, but almost in a different way like the week and even the warm-up, everything was too good,” Soriano said. “I was a little nervous. I was going to jinx myself. Everything just felt really good and too perfect, but it ended up working out.”

Soriano takes on fellow Las-Vegas based fighter Eric Spicely (12-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 8.

“I’ve seen him a few times here and there,” Soriano said. “We haven’t trained together from what I recall, but he’s always seemed like a cool dude.”

UFC on ESPN 8 takes place March 28 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The card streams on ESPN.

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Off Guard: After UFC 246, coach sees Roxanne Modafferi giving a lot of flyweights problems

John Wood thinks that Roxanne Modafferi, even at 37, is just getting started with how great she can be.

LAS VEGAS – At UFC 246, [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] cashed in as a massive underdog once again when she upset highly-touted and previously undefeated prospect Maycee Barber to earn a lopsided unanimous decision win.

It was the second time Modafferi took the zero from an undefeated fighter’s record following her previous win over Antonina Shevchenko last April in Russia.

But while Modafferi’s wins over more fancied opposition have come as a surprise to some, one person who wasn’t shocked is her head coach. Syndicate MMA’s John Wood knew Modafferi would get the job done and said he thinks the 37-year-old is only just starting to hit her stride.

“She did exactly what she was supposed to do, what we planned to do,” Wood told MMA Junkie. “It was one of those rare occasions where everything you think was going to happen, happened, and the game plan didn’t have to deviate at all. She went out there and performed perfectly. She looked sharp, I think she looked the fastest, most balanced that she’s ever looked, and I think she’s going to continue to keep getting better, better, and better, and this one is going to take her up to the next level,and she’s going to give a lot of girls in the division a problem.”

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Modafferi (24-16 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses in her last seven bouts, but Wood chalks up her recent losses to the circumstances not being in Modafferi’s favor.

“Roxanne’s always the underdog, and every fight she ever has she’s a massive underdog,” Wood said. “The only fights that she’s really lost in the UFC, one was the title fight with Nicco Montano, which was on less than 24-hour notice (against) a lefty. We switched it all up, and she still went all five rounds. And then two opponents, which both missed weight. With bigger opponents she’s had struggles and things with that. But with the people who come in on weight, I really think that Roxanne, she shows up no matter what.”

The win over Barber was a big one for Modafferi, and Wood thinks the veteran flyweight is starting to put things together and still has a long career ahead of her.

“People don’t realize, she looks awkward and goofy and stuff, but when she gets in there, she’s gameday,” Wood said. “Her ground is phenomenal, and now I really think her striking is going to hit that next level.”

He continrued, “I think this fight is going to set the tone for a lot of other fights coming up. I think she has stepped up, figured out how to make her striking work even that much more, the strength and conditioning is great, everything is kind of working together. We have a really good combination, she is learning and getting better all the time, so I think she’s got a long road ahead of her. As far as fighting, I don’t see any end to her career anytime soon.”

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