Where in the world is Rich Franklin?<\/p>\n
Depending on when you ask that question, the answer might be Singapore, Mongolia, Australia, Myanmar, Pakistan \u2014 any far-flung corner of the planet you can imagine. As the President and host of ONE Warrior Series<\/a>, the former UFC middleweight champion is almost always on the move.<\/p>\n It’s a life he never would have imagined for himself when he was still living in the US, at the height of his career with the UFC.<\/p>\n “I went to university to be a high school teacher,” the UFC Hall of Famer told BJPENN.com with a laugh. “When you look at the path of my life \u2014 where I’ve been and what I’ve done \u2014 I never would have dreamed my life would play out this way.<\/p>\n “It’s a really cool position to be in.”<\/p>\n ONE Warrior Series, for those unfamiliar, is equal parts travel show and ONE Championship talent-scouting program. It’s a bit like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations<\/em>\u00a0with the added goal of finding martial arts talent.<\/p>\n “The concept of this whole thing was kind of modeled after Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations,” Franklin said.<\/p>\n “Part of my job is to unearth the culture,” he continued. “That can be anything from different customs to different types of food, different sports… Then of course you have the athletes. On that side of things, you tell the story of the athletes, whatever their story may be: what life is like for them, struggles they’ve had in the past, and how those things relate the martial arts game.<\/p>\n “You get people from all walks of life. It’s really amazing.”<\/p>\n