Former UFC Champ Rich Franklin Announces Retirement :::: #UFC

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin announced his retirement Monday (Sept. 28).

The 40-year-old hadn't fought since suffering a knockout loss to Cung Le in November 2012, but hadn't officially announced his retirement ... until now, via a piece written for The Players' Tribune.

Franklin said he had one fight remaining on his UFC contract, but decided to forgo that last fight following a recent conversation with his mother.

"I decided I didn't want to announce 'retirement,' rather, I am announcing that I have closed one chapter of my life and begun another," Franklin wrote. "I am blessed to continue working in an industry I helped build. I will continue to do great things with ONE Championship."

He is currently the vice president of Asia-based promotion ONE Championship.

Franklin (29-7) made 20 appearances in UFC, starting in 2003. He fought the majority of his career at middleweight and won the UFC title in June 2005 with a knockout victory against Evan Tanner. He would go on to defend the title twice before surrendering losing to Anderson Silva in October 2006.