After back-to-back wins over Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin has been lined up for a rematch with Mauricio Rua at UFC 134. Griffin and Rua last met at UFC 76 in Shogun’s UFC debut, which he would lose by submission with 15 seconds left in the fight.
During a recent media call that Bleacher Report MMA sat in on Griffin spoke about the upcoming rematch.
After two straight wins over former UFC champions, a victory over Rua would put Griffin closer to a chance at reclaiming his title. Despite the title implications of this fight and the common conception that Rua wasn’t at his best when the two last met, Griffin doesn’t feel any extra burden heading into this rematch.
“There’s no pressure to prove anything in the rematch,” Griffin said.
Griffin’s original fight with Rua produced one of the most important moments of his career, as his submission victory earned him a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson. However, in what has been an outstanding career, Griffin’s win over Rua was not his greatest achievement.
“It’s below winning TUF, which is the biggest thing I’ve ever done, and winning the belt, which is the second-biggest thing I’ve ever done. But it’s probably number three in my career,” Griffin said. “It allowed me to get my title shot. You can’t get any easy fights here at the top of the light heavyweight division.”
Since losing to Griffin in his UFC debut, Rua has been through a lot in his career. Four fights later, Rua became UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with a knockout against Lyoto Machida. In his last fight, Rua lost the light heavyweight title to Jon Jones. Four years after their first meeting, Griffin expects to face a different Rua.
“Guys maybe at their core don’t change, but he looks a lot different,” Griffin said. “That was his first fight in the UFC, his first fight in the cage and his first fight without kicks on the ground. It’s different.”
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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