Zelim Imadaev allegedly tried to pick a fight with the wrong Griffin ahead of UFC 236.
Someone might want to remind Zelim Imadaev he is fighting Max Griffin and not Forrest Griffin at UFC 236.
Max Griffin has absolutely zero love for his UFC 236 opponent Zelim Imadaev, something he was happy to express when speaking to Bloody Elbow.
“I remember I was at Xtreme Couture on a Wednesday. We wear little gloves, shin pads, no head gear. It’s more touch sparring and grappling mixed in. I’m sparring and everyone says, don’t spar with that guy over there,” Griffin reflects on first meeting Imadaev.
That did not deter him from sparring with the Russian. “It was two weeks before I fought Thiago Alves. First thing he throws is a spinning elbow and a flying knee. I’m like ‘woah, hold on. I’m fighting in two weeks. I’m not trying to get cut…’ So I hit him with a couple of shots and he did a little head nod and toned things down.”
“I don’t like the guy. He got out-wrestled by this guy out there and followed him out to the parking lot after,” Griffin revealed. “He’s had run-ins with a bunch of guys. He actually got kicked out of [Xtreme Couture] for having no regard for his training partners. He was at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu about a month ago and threw a flying knee during jiu-jitsu class.”Griffin asserted that his UFC 236 opponent “is bad news.”
Imadaev’s reported aggression allegedly led him to an encounter with UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin.
“Word on the street is he tried to fight Forrest Griffin at the PI,” Max said. “I’m not going to say too much more but I heard about it recently.”
Looking ahead to their fight Griffin assured, “I’m gonna finish this guy. I’m going to break him down. I’m going to frustrate him.”
UFC 236 takes place at the State Farm Arena on Saturday, April 13. Keep up with Bloody Elbow for live highlights, updates, and results on all of the night’s action.