It was announced at UFC 236 that Rich Franklin would enter the company’s pioneer wing of the Hall of fame.
Franklin made his debut for the promotion back at UFC 42, where he defeated MMA veteran Evan Tanner. He would win the middleweight title a short time later in a rematch against Tanner at UFC 53; Franklin retired from active competition back in 2015, but during the Cincinnati native's time in the light heavyweight and middleweight division, he secured strong victories over the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Ken Shamrock.
The former middleweight champion retired with a professional record of 29 wins, 7 losses, and 1 no contest. Franklin joins fellow former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping as a part of the UFC Hall of Fame 2019 class. They'll be inducted on July 5 as a part of UFC's International Fight Week in Las Vegas, Nevada.