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Rich Franklin Latest UFC Champ In Film
Beyond all shadow of a doubt, the single fastest growing sport in North America is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) most commonly known by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand. Sports networks are now carrying dedicated segments to the sport, more networks are carrying various promotions… and probably the biggest cultural sign of the sports growth is that superstars from UFC are popping up more and more in movies.
Chuck Liddell appears in The Death and Life of Bobby Z with Paul Walker and Lawrence “What the hell happened to my career since The Matrix” Fishburne. Former Heavyweight champion Randy Couture has a lead role in the upcoming Scorpion King flick “The Scorpion King - The Rise of the Akkadian”, and now word is out that former champ Rich Franklin has scored a lead role. Our friends over at Moviesonline give us this:
Rich Franklin is going to play a super soldier in an upcoming movie called WEAPON that sounds similar in concept to Universal Soldier. Rich Franklin is a former UFC champion who knocked out many a foe before recently being dethroned by Anderson Silva. According to Variety In the pic, a U.S. border patrol agent (Tiffani Thiessen) apprehends a genetically engineered super-soldier (Rich Franklin) but runs into trouble when the soldier’s creator (Bruce Greenwood) starts hunting them down.
Anyone wanna take bets that Franklin ends up bedding Thiessen in the movie? Anyway, this isn’t really a surprise. Franklin is a good looking dude on top of being famous and in great shape. It was only a matter of time before someone threw him in front of a camera. but still… I have no problems with giving a famous MMA fighter a cameo in a movie where he beats people up… but I HATE HATE HATE it when non-actors get leading type roles in films. That’s something I think the Screen Actors Guild should strike over.
Is it just me or does this guy look like Jim Carrey?
Just letting you know about some of the MMA world’s other appearances. Current UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has appeared in two episodes of “The Unit” and Chuck Liddell wasn’t alone in “Bobby Z”, as Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, IFL Fighters Ben Rothwell, and Rory Markham, IFL Coach Pat Miletich, and Icon Sport and EliteXC Middlweight Champion Robbie Lawler were also in the movie. Tim Sylvia, and Ben Rothwell play some of Chuck Liddell’s Prison Buddies, while Miletich, Markham, and Lawler play ranch hands at the crime boss’ Mexico Ranch. In the scene where Paul Walker is fighting out in the desert, in the middle of the rocks, that’s Markham, Lawler, and Miletich that he’s fighting.
Most of the UFC guys started their Cameos in Cradle to the Graves fighting scene :) Just lettin you guys know :P
AND How could you HATEHATEHATE it? I mean everyone’s gotta start somewhere john, some people just get better breaks than others? Yeah sometimes the movies bomb horribly, but hell least he can say he tried right?
I just hope Anderson silva isnt in the movie… i’v seen rich get beat up enough.