Heading into his rematch against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 134, Forrest Griffin doesn’t seem to draw a whole lot of interest to himself or the outcome of the bout, but that’s how he is. He isn’t trying to make a spectacle out of it, he is only going to do his job, whether he wins or loses.
And although he scored the upset over Rua at UFC 76, Griffin said a lot has changed since then and Rua is a different fighter.
“Guys maybe at their core don’t change, but he looks a lot different,” Griffin said of Rua during a UFC 134 media call earlier this week.
“That was his first fight in the UFC. That was his first fight in the cage. That was his first fight without kicks on the ground. So, it’s different.”
What makes this second encounter between Griffin and Rua different is the training methods both competitors have, or haven’t, adapted to their fighting styles.
Since his title loss at UFC 128, Rua has reunited with former Chute Boxe alumni and readjusted his camp at Kings MMA. Meanwhile, Griffin has remained at Xtreme Couture.
It is evident both competitors have suffered injuries recently but after openly questioning himself and his training camp, maybe it’s Griffin’s commitment that has caused him to lose more often than he should.
In a guest blog on Yahoo Sports, Griffin pondered switching training camps due to his lack of motivation and “doing everything wrong.” But at this point in his career, is it worth relocating when he is one win away from title contention?
While the grueling demand appears to be taking its toll on the 32-year-old Griffin, he still sees a reason in competing against Rua for a second time.
“Yeah, I think it’s still a reasonably good fight for me,” he said.
“You look around at 205 (pounds)—find me the easy fight. There’s no easy fights in the top-10 guys. It doesn’t really matter.”
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