Rich Franklin explains why knees to a grounded fighter actually “pulls pressure off your opponent”

Mixed martial arts legend and ONE Championship vice president Rich Franklin loves what the promotion is doing with the sport of MMA, revolutionizing it into a more exciting spectacle through several key developments.

One of those developments is offering fans the Global MMA Rule Set, which, among other things, scores bouts as a whole instead of using the 10-point must system. Another is allowing knees to a grounded fighter.

The latter is arguably the most talked about, as it’s banned in the UFC. However, Franklin believes it actually helps action.

In a guest appearance on the WEIGHING IN podcast with 'Big' John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, Rich Franklin explained why allowing grounded knees is beneficial:

“Anybody that has any experience, grappling, knows that you have to be quite careful when you are throwing these kinds of strikes [so you won’t lose dominant position].”

Check out the interview below:

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Rich Franklin explains how knees to a grounded opponent ‘pulls pressure off’

MMA legend Rich Franklin is a veteran of the sport and a former UFC middleweight champion. So, he’s kind of an expert and a voice of authority when it comes to these things.

'Ace' went on to further explain knees to a grounded opponent:

“I think I've kind of made the argument that I believe wholeheartedly that I can land a knee with greater force when standing or plum clinched, than having someone bent over in the optimal position, pulling their things into my knee, then I could wish I was like in half guard or side mounted on someone try riding in the north-south position. Because the moment you veer up with a knee or an elbow or anything from a striking position on the ground, you're pulling pressure off of your opponent.”