On Wednesday, news surfaced that heavyweight ‘The Grave Digger’ Chad Griggs (11-1) had signed with the UFC, becoming the latest fighter to move from Strikeforce to the Octagon.
Griggs doesn’t have an opponent yet, but told MMAFighting.com that he could make his Octagon debut at an upcoming event in March.
Many critics felt he had been brought into Strikeforce as an “easy” opponent for former WWE star Bobby Lashley in August 2010, but ‘The Grave Digger’ showed he was a very capable fighter by retiring Lashley after the second round. Griggs would then go on to win two more times, defeating Gianpiero Villante and then Valentijn Overeem in Reserve bouts for the promotions Heavyweight Grand Prix.
In the interview, Griggs discusses the negotiations between him and the UFC, saying that he feels “respected” by the Zuffa owned promotion for his abilities as a fighter.
“We’ve been talking for a while,” said Griggs. “We’ve been throwing numbers back and forth for a little while because my contract was coming close to an end, so we were trying to figure out where I was going from here. I knew they were interested, and it was just a matter of if we could get the numbers right. I think we’re both going to be happy. …I’m excited about it, but now I’ve got to get in there and prove that I deserve to be there. It’s time to put the work in and hopefully it pays off here in a few months.”
“I’m not going to try and fix anything that’s not broke. If I don’t do well we may try something else…but for now I’ll stay with what I know, and that’s fighting the big boys.”
“But it’s a plus and a minus. I’m going to a new league, so you’ve got to reestablish yourself and prove that you deserve to be there. It’s like going to a new school, I guess. You want to fit in and do well, but at the same time I think they want to see me do well and they know I put on some good shows, so they’re not sending me into the slaughter. They’re giving me some respect.”
‘The Grave Digger’ is currently on a six fight win streak, which includes the three wins in Strikeforce.