• UFC

Franklin fancies a shot at Jones

ESPN staff
March 28, 2011
Jon Jones overwhelmed Mauricio Shogun Rua © Getty Images
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Rich Franklin has trained his sights on a shot at the hottest property in UFC: Jon Jones.

Jones took the UFC light-heavyweight title on March 19, but he was on the radar of Franklin long before his demolition of Mauricio Shogun Rua.

Franklin, a former middleweight champ who is now operating at light-heavyweight, is aware of the tools Jones possesses. And despite admitting Jones is bigger and stronger than him, his instincts as a fighter encourage him to seek out a clash.

"The very first time I saw Jon Jones fight, I remember coming home and talking to my business partner at American Fighter and saying, 'This guy is going to be a stud,'" Franklin told the Springfield News-Sun. "I knew it right away. He's got an 84-inch reach, and he's 6ft 4in. It's just crazy.

"You see guys like that, and you're like, 'They're bigger than me, and they're stronger than me,' but I'm a fighter, and there's a part of me that still wants to fight them and see how I'd do."

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