Sean McManus – MMACanada.net was on hand when former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin hosted a meet and greet with fans at the Boston Pizza in Woodstock, Ontario for the viewing UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote". Although the main event did not end the way most Canadians had hoped, the crowd had a great time as Rich mingled with them, signed autographs and answered questions. Rich was genuinely generous with his time, especially when the younger children came up to speak with him. At one point, Rich stopped signing autographs to take in a round of the Gray Maynard vs. Rich Clementi fight with a young fan. The experience of getting to chat with Rich while watching the UFC will more than likely stick in that young guy’s memory for some time.
MMACanada.net managed to acquire one of the new Round5 series II Rich Franklin MMA collectibles, which aren’t set to hit stores until late November. Rich had only seen his immortalized composite figurine the day before. Rich signed the package and MMACanada.net had a free draw to give it away. At the end of the night a lucky fan received the collectible. MMACanada.net also gave away the complete Series I figurines in the same raffle.
Rich definitely lived up to his adage as being a role model for the sport. A big thank you goes out to Court Stratton who put the evening’s festivities together – a job well done. The fans have more to look forward to as Michael Bisping will be at the Boston Pizza in Woodstock hosting UFC 91 on November 15th.
