"I'm not ready to retire yet, but I can definitely tell that I'm closer to the end of the road than I was when I was 29 years old, or 30 years old, making those statements. Fortunately, my body is in pretty good shape. Everybody has their bumps and bruises and stuff like that, but overall I feel good, especially for a 36-year-old athlete, and I feel I'm capable of performing at the top level. So retirement isn't something that's at the forefront of my mind, but it's something I think about from time to time, and I know that it's in the future. I will not be one of those people that fight until I'm 40, I know that much."-- Former UFC Middleweight Champion and promotion darling Rich Franklin tells SI.com he has no plans on fighting until he reaches the big 4-0. And at the ripe old age of 36 (he turns 37 on Oct. 5), retirement is damn near knocking on the door. "Ace" was once considered the very best the UFC had to offer but that was more than five years and a couple of weight classes ago. Franklin is a mediocre 4-4 in his eight trips to the cage since then and with his most recent loss to Forrest Griffin, he knows his chances at winning another title before he calls it quits are slim to none. Still, he plans on pushing forward for a couple more years before leaving the game as one of the biggest stars of the sport during its boom period.
by Geno Mrosko
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