Rich detained at LAX: mistaken for convicted felon
Former UFC middleweight champion and current ONE Championship VP Rich Franklin was detained at LAX on Tuesday after being mistakenly identified as a convicted felon.
Former UFC champ Rich Franklin had a really, really long layover at LAX, as he was mistaken for a wanted felon.
Make every story count.
Join XP Passport to earn XP as you read and build your martial arts profile.
Franklin, according to his publicist, Daphne Ortiz, was on his way home to Cincinnati, Ohio, following a trip to Singapore, where he works as a vice president for Asian mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship and travels to and from every couple of months. He had a one-hour layover in Los Angeles, where he planned to relax, but was instead handcuffed by immigration officials, led through a an estimated crowd of 500 people, and put into a cell without being told why he was being detained.
Officials eventually cleared Franklin – who shares the same name and state of residence as a convicted felon – and sent him back to the pre-check area where he is registered with the airlines.
