The Ultimate Fighter Finale: The Wait is Over
Ken Shamrock vs Rich Franklin
Apr 6, 2005
KEN SHAMROCK vs. RICH FRANKLIN Ken Shamrock: Submission Fighting/The
Lion’s Den • 6’0• 215 lbs. • 26-9-2
Career Against Noteworthy Opponents:
• Masakatsu Funaki (2-1)
• Yoshiki Takahashi (2-0)
• Pat Smith (1-0)
• Royce Gracie (0-1)
• Ryushi Yanagisawa (1-0)
• Matt Hume (1-0)
• Bas Rutten (2-0)
• Christophe Leninger (0-1)
• Alex Cook (1-0)
• Maurice Smith (1-0)
• Leon Djik (1-0)
• Dan Severn (1-1)
• Oleg Taktarov (0-0-1)
• Kimo Leopoldo (2-0)
• Brian Johnston (1-0)
• Alexander Otsuka (1-0)
• Kazuyuki Fujita (0-1)
• Don Frye (0-1)
• Tito Ortiz (0-1)
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Rich Franklin: Boxing/Wrestling/Meat Truck Inc. • 6’0 • 205 lbs. • 17-2-0-1
Career Against Noteworthy Opponents:
• Gary Meyers (1-0)
• Dennis Reed (2-0)
• Aaron Brink (0-0-0-1)
• Travis Fulton (1-0)
• Marvin Eastman (1-0)
• Evan Tanner (1-0)
• Edwin Dewees (1-0)
• Ryoto Machida (0-1)
• Jorge Rivera (1-0)
• Curtis Stout (1-0)
The Better Striker: Franklin. Eleven of his 17 wins are by strikes and he has done some boxing as well. Ken showed some Muay Thai skills against Kimo at UFC 48. But after some long, brutal stand-up battles with Frye and Ortiz, I don’t think he’ll want to stand with Franklin if he can avoid it.
The Better Grappler: Probably Franklin. With Jorge Gurgel at New Generation Martial Arts working his jiu-jitsu on a regular basis and occasional training with Team Extreme at Miletich Fighting Systems, Rich has a superior ground game. Ken has recently been training with Erik Paulson and WWE wrestler Steve Blackman so his submission is likely better than it has been in the past.
Motivating Factors/Intangibles: Shamrock is at the end of his career, again. He could go out on top defeating a top-rated contender and put the UFC in a difficult spot where they need to seriously consider signing the Ortiz rematch.
Franklin makes his stock rise, even if only a little bit, by defeating a UFC legend. It will also take him a step closer to facing the winner of Couture-Liddell II for the title.
And The Winner Is: Franklin. With just one true loss (he was injured against McCormick) and a 3-0 record in the UFC, Rich is a legitimate contender for the winner of Couture-Liddell II. Rich is 30 and Ken is 40 years old. Shamrock is also 3-3 dating back to his return to fighting in 2000. He may be healthy now but he’s on the proverbial clock and facing a stud. Ken seems like a genuinely nice guy and as much as I respect him for his impact on the sport, it may be time to hang it up. For his own good he should concentrate on training fighters full-time, commentate for events or go into promoting them himself. Franklin has never gone the distance in a bout and he won’t start here. Franklin wins with strikes late in the second round.
Career Against Noteworthy Opponents:
• Masakatsu Funaki (2-1)
• Yoshiki Takahashi (2-0)
• Pat Smith (1-0)
• Royce Gracie (0-1)
• Ryushi Yanagisawa (1-0)
• Matt Hume (1-0)
• Bas Rutten (2-0)
• Christophe Leninger (0-1)
• Alex Cook (1-0)
• Maurice Smith (1-0)
• Leon Djik (1-0)
• Dan Severn (1-1)
• Oleg Taktarov (0-0-1)
• Kimo Leopoldo (2-0)
• Brian Johnston (1-0)
• Alexander Otsuka (1-0)
• Kazuyuki Fujita (0-1)
• Don Frye (0-1)
• Tito Ortiz (0-1)
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Rich Franklin: Boxing/Wrestling/Meat Truck Inc. • 6’0 • 205 lbs. • 17-2-0-1
Career Against Noteworthy Opponents:
• Gary Meyers (1-0)
• Dennis Reed (2-0)
• Aaron Brink (0-0-0-1)
• Travis Fulton (1-0)
• Marvin Eastman (1-0)
• Evan Tanner (1-0)
• Edwin Dewees (1-0)
• Ryoto Machida (0-1)
• Jorge Rivera (1-0)
• Curtis Stout (1-0)
The Better Striker: Franklin. Eleven of his 17 wins are by strikes and he has done some boxing as well. Ken showed some Muay Thai skills against Kimo at UFC 48. But after some long, brutal stand-up battles with Frye and Ortiz, I don’t think he’ll want to stand with Franklin if he can avoid it.
The Better Grappler: Probably Franklin. With Jorge Gurgel at New Generation Martial Arts working his jiu-jitsu on a regular basis and occasional training with Team Extreme at Miletich Fighting Systems, Rich has a superior ground game. Ken has recently been training with Erik Paulson and WWE wrestler Steve Blackman so his submission is likely better than it has been in the past.
Motivating Factors/Intangibles: Shamrock is at the end of his career, again. He could go out on top defeating a top-rated contender and put the UFC in a difficult spot where they need to seriously consider signing the Ortiz rematch.
Franklin makes his stock rise, even if only a little bit, by defeating a UFC legend. It will also take him a step closer to facing the winner of Couture-Liddell II for the title.
And The Winner Is: Franklin. With just one true loss (he was injured against McCormick) and a 3-0 record in the UFC, Rich is a legitimate contender for the winner of Couture-Liddell II. Rich is 30 and Ken is 40 years old. Shamrock is also 3-3 dating back to his return to fighting in 2000. He may be healthy now but he’s on the proverbial clock and facing a stud. Ken seems like a genuinely nice guy and as much as I respect him for his impact on the sport, it may be time to hang it up. For his own good he should concentrate on training fighters full-time, commentate for events or go into promoting them himself. Franklin has never gone the distance in a bout and he won’t start here. Franklin wins with strikes late in the second round.
