A funny little thing came tucked into the news conference that followed UFC 160. To the surprise of the assembled media, former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, who hadn’t fought in nearly a year and had no apparent connection to the event (beyond the fact that it was promoted by a promotion that also once promoted him), announced his retirement.
Maybe it’s just me and my feeble mind, but it seemed a little anticlimactic. Then again, it provided some nice symmetry after a fashion, as it brought to mind the manner in which Griffin diluted the retirement announcement of another famous fighter, Mr. Tito Ortiz, who Griffin oddly interviewed in the cage after Ortiz’s final fight.
So it was all a little strange, is what I’m saying. At least to me. But I don’t know, really. I’m not a fight promoter.
In any event, it’s been a long journey since The Ultimate Fighter 1, when Griffin first arrived in the national consciousness. But did you know there were other people in the cast? And I don’t mean Stephan Bonnar. No, I looked it up. There were 16 guys on that show, with half coached by Chuck Liddell and the other half coached by Randy Couture.
What became of those guys, anyway? Here’s a full rundown. Ready to feel old? Great, let’s go.