On April 9th, 2005, Forrest Griffin became a world-wide hit as he defeated Stephan Bonnar to win “The Ultimate Fighter.” It was arguably one of, if not the greatest fight, in UFC history. In fact, as the fight advanced in rounds, the number of viewers nearly doubled.
Griffin went on to win his next two fights, defeating Bill Mahood and Elvis Sinosic and establishing himself as a legitimate contender in the Light Heavyweight division. Then Griffin hit a road block in his career, losing two of his next three fights to Tito Ortiz and Keith Jardine.
On September 22nd, 2007, Griffin has a career-defining moment when he upset Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 76 by submission in the third round. In his very next fight, Griffin was the new Light Heavyweight champion as he defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86 by Unanimous Decision.
It appeared Griffin was on top of the world with no signs of slowing down, until he lost his first title defense to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 by TKO in the third round of action. His next fight was the most disappointing fight of his career, when Anderson Silva toyed around with him and knocked him out in the very first round.
Griffin went on to win his next two bouts, but those were against Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin, fighters who are on the decline of their careers. When Griffin defeated Ortiz, it was Ortiz’s third loss in four fights (with the fourth being a draw), while Franklin has been inconsistent of late, losing three of his last five fights.
Approaching UFC 134, Griffin made some shocking statements questioning his love for the sport.
Griffin said, “It ain’t been exciting, fresh or fun since 2008. It’s a job, it’s money, and I have a great job, I realize that. Just because it works doesn’t mean I’m not gonna do it. You man up and you do your job and I make a lot of money doing this, and I love money and I love the freedom and ability money gives you. It quit being fun when I realized I wasn’t getting better. I’m plateauing or almost getting worse sometimes.”
Griffin admitted his job isn’t fun anymore and that he isn’t getting better. He went on to state that he loved the money and the freedom that comes with it.
Griffin displayed his second-worst performance at UFC 134, where he was knocked out in the first round by Rua in their rematch. Rua outstruck Griffin 16 to three, and redeemed himself after losing to Griffin at UFC 76.
While Griffin is still a good fighter, his love for the sport appears to be fading fast, if it’s not already gone. In order to be above your competition, an individual must possess a love for the sport. It appears as if Griffin’s love for money has far surpassed his love for fighting in the UFC.
It will be interesting to see what’s next for Griffin, but one thing’s for sure: if he doesn’t regain his love for the sport, he may never be the same.
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