“He’s feeling great, and as soon as the doctor gives him the go-ahead, he’s ready to start training again,” said J.T. Stewart, Franklin’s manager. “If everything goes as expected, UFC fans could see Rich Franklin back in the octagon in late summer.”
But will he want or need to?
At 37, Franklin (28-6) likely is in the twilight of his career. And though he’s proven he can still hang with the light heavyweight division’s best fighters following his move up from middleweight, he has plenty of outside-the-cage ventures.
The latest is a movie project about his life that Eric Eisner’s Double E Pictures is producing. Like his clothing company, Franklin’s film will be called “American Fighter.”
“The Hammer” headed to theaters: Speaking of films, the critically acclaimed “The Hammer” — a movie about champion wrestler turned MMA fighter Matt Hamill — is hitting select theaters nationwide for a special two-day run in early November.
Theaters in Columbus, Milford, Pickering, Toledo, West Carrollton and West Chester Twp. all have picked Nov. 2 for the debut of the film, which won awards from eight major film festivals, including the AFI Film Festival. A trailer and a full list of theaters can be found at www.thehammerpremiere.com.
Hamill (10-4), who was born deaf, is a Loveland native and notable UFC fighter who recently retired from MMA.
The film, though, focuses largely on his early years, the close relationship he had with his grandfather, his struggles at Purdue University and ultimately his three national wrestling titles at the Rochester Institute of Technology and his first marriage.
Hamill, though, often has been an outsider among the deaf community. That was even evident in the casting of the film. When deaf actors weren’t initially cast for the movie, the deaf community waged a campaign against the project. It ultimately led to recasting, and deaf actors Russell Harvard and Shoshannah Stern, as well as Raymond J. Barry, now star in it.
Hamill’s friend and occasional training partner, UFC fighter and aspiring actor Rich Franklin, also has a small part in the film and plays Hamill’s Purdue coach.
Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 World MMA Awards.
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