Rich Franklin explains why fully hydrated athletes perform ‘100 percent better’ under ONE’s hydration protocols

Mixed martial arts royalty Rich Franklin is indeed one of the sport's pioneering athletes, who paved the way for MMA to become globally accepted as it is today.

‘Ace’ knows all too well about the issues of weight-cutting that have plagued MMA for years. Now, he is extremely proud of ONE Championship’s unique protocols when it comes to abolishing the antiquated methods of traditional weight cutting.

Franklin, who now serves as the Vice President of the largest martial arts organization in the world, ONE Championship, recently spoke with his old UFC pals ‘Big’ Jon McCarthy and Josh Thomson on their podcast, Weighing In.

The now-49-year-old MMA great-turned-executive said ONE’s athletes perform at their best every single time since they don’t deplete themselves come fight time:

“I think that combined with the hydration protocols makes for athletes that can perform at 100 percent rather than I mean I've done this my whole fight right it's like there's an event in cutting weight and then getting back to weight in this psychology of, ‘Oh well if I can outweigh my opponent by a few pounds. You know, I weighed in three pounds heavier than him after fight day that I have this advantage type of thing.”

Apart from making the contracted weight, ONE fighters must also pass a hydration test. This ensures athletes do not dehydrate themselves and fight closer to their natural weight class.

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Rich Franklin says hydrated athletes equal to more exciting events

Franklin’s words were received well by McCarthy and Thomson, who both agreed that ONE’s revolutionary method is the future of sport.

Moreover, the ONE VP credited the promotion's high finishing rate and exciting blend of martial arts to athletes’ fighting at 100 percent. He added:

“You know, when you're fighting in the gym on a Tuesday night training, you don't think of a two or three times advantage as really an advantage necessarily. And so the idea is that these athletes are competing at their full hydrated potential. So I think it's a combination of all these things that make for more exciting events.”

Watch the full podcast episode here: