September 6th, ONE 168 will be here in Denver at the Ball Arena with a stacked lineup so you can check out the event live yourself.
Tickets are selling fast so don’t miss your chance, get yours by clicking on this link below:
Xposer Magazine sat down with UFC Hall of Famer, and former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin recently asked a few personal questions. Prying a bit more into what he’s been up to since leaving the sport and joining the ranks as VP of One Championship in 2014.
[blockquote author=”Rich Franklin”]THE GOOD LORD HAS YOU HERE FOR A REASON[/blockquote]
He states his success is attributed to his almighty creator. Growing up, Rich says you wouldn’t have thought him to become a professional fighter. In his younger years, at the age of 7; he began training Karate. This eventually led him to playing football in high school, but he didn’t start training in mixed martial arts until years later. A hobby that quickly turned into a passion after noticing he had a natural ability to fight. He decided to leave his position in education as a high school math teacher, to pursue his career in MMA. Being a person who gives himself completely to whatever he gets involved with, he trained diligently to become the fighter you recognize him as today.
“You would have never thought I would become a fighter in high school. I just wasn’t that athletic type.”
A realist at heart, Rich tells you like it is. His visions and words speak to your core. He has done this for many years, while still teaching students in high school their mathematical ways. Becoming a life coach in ways and realizing that his positive mindset enabled his ability to speak and relate to others. He uses his knowledge, understanding and intuition to help motivate people with inspirational words of powerful speech.
“God has written that on my heart, to be that kind of person. You know being raised in an environment like I grew up in, I believe my success is a testament to the fact that there is a God & that he is watching over me”.
Moving forward in our conversation, we talk more about finding out where life has been going since leaving the UFC and what brought him to joining the ranks of ONE Championships as VP of their operations. The difference between these two entities, Rich states, is not only the progression of the sport but most of all the integrity of the fighters found within ONE.
“I’ve been in this industry for a long time now and whatever the company needs done, I’m about that. You have to play all the roles & that’s how I operate as a VP. There’s a couple of hats I wear that are laser-focused but wherever they need me to be, I’m a team player so that’s where I choose to be. If there’s a challenge in front of me, I set these timelines, just letting myself know how difficult this might be…. Mentally preparing yourself for a challenge in life comes into play when facing an opponent or any other adversity in life. Suffering is really what breeds and builds strength in this world… One of my favorite memories was my father coming up to me after I became a professional fighter, saying he was proud of me for pursuing my dreams. He had always thought I was crazy for quitting my career to go after this one. Jordan Peterson said it best; ‘A man that is incapable of violence, this doesn’t make him a peaceful man but a man who’s capable of violence and chooses not to use it; now that makes him a peaceful man’. Which all ties into my love for martial arts, you will also find this across the board with our fighters in ONE. As the bible says, Iron sharpens iron”
Big shout out to Amal Easton, Chris Mierzwiak & Peter Straub at Easton here in Denver. I have trained with this team for years & If you’re looking for a great place to train MMA, Easton is the place to be. Providing a family atmosphere for training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & Muay Thai for all age groups.
Find out more by clicking this link!; EASTON BJJ & MUAY THAI
Hope to see you all there & as always, stay tuned to Xposer Magazine; it’s where you go to be scene!
Ciao,
Bella
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