There is a lot to be said for being a former champion like Rich Franklin. Retirement has to do something to you, especially if fighting was such a huge part of your life. For Rich Franklin it was something that became a part of him and now that he’s not fighting anymore he’s finding it increasingly difficult to watch fights without finding himself over-invested in them, so he usually won’t watch them live anymore. [source]
“It’s different for me. Like I don’t sit down on a Saturday night and watch the fights like a casual fan. I’m analyzing fighters. The worst part about watching fights for me, it puts me in the mental mindset as if I’m there fighting. I’ve really gotten to the point where I don’t necessarily enjoy the fights as a spectator like I used to 15 years ago,” Franklin told The Great MMA Debate podcast.
“I’ll watch the occasional fight with my friends, but even then you’ll see me sitting on the couch kind of bobbing and weaving as if I’m in the cage. It’s a really weird feeling.”
It’s much more likely that the Sunday following a big fight card, Franklin is online watching highlights and reading the news about what happened as opposed to sitting down and witnessing everything unfold live.
“I’ll catch the highlights and read the headlines the next day,” Franklin said.