Rich Franklin is definitely not fighting Keith Jardine

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a rumour that Rich Franklin will face Keith Jardine in a light heavyweight battle at UFC 110 in February. Well, when I sat down with Franklin last Saturday at Revolution MMA, my first question was about the proposed fight. “I’m not fighting Jardine or anyone else for awhile,” Franklin says. “I now his name has been mentioned. The UFC has had a lot of trouble lately with fighters getting sick and injured and they called me first ti fight in February and I said, ‘No.’ And then they wanted me for January and then November. But I’m taking a few months off and don’t plan on fighting again until April or May.”

There are two things that can be gleaned from this. The first is that Franklin is one of the UFC’s top go-to guys; the second is that the UFC is definitely hurting from all the injuries and illnesses that have swept through the roster. Oh, and I guess there’s a third thing – Keith Jardine needs an opponent.