Forrest Griffin has had his fair share of the spotlight and big moments. He’s been UFC light heavyweight champion, and faced some of the heaviest hitters in MMA, including Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva. But for his upcoming UFC 126 fight with Rich Franklin, Griffin admits his nerves are likely to be a little bit more on edge than normal. That’s because Griffin will be putting his body to the test for the first time since Nov. 2009.
Returning from long-needed shoulder surgery, Griffin will come back against an opponent who is coming off an injury timeout of his own. Franklin will be making his first start back from a broken arm.
“For me, being off for a year, that’s huge,” Griffin said in a Thursday teleconference. “It’s a weird feeling, I’m a little more nervous than usual. During this year I’ve had spurts of really good training when I thought I was going to fight. The big thing is going to be that first minute, and making that adjustment, getting back in there. This is the longest break I’ve had in fighting since 2000, so it’s weird.”