Forrest Griffin | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Phil Davis Doesn’t Want to Think about Forrest Griffin Running Away

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has taken a blow to his reputation for leaving the Octagon when he loses a fight (or thinks he’s lost a decision).That’s something Phil Davis doesn’t want to think about.Regardless of Griffin’s ecce…

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has taken a blow to his reputation for leaving the Octagon when he loses a fight (or thinks he’s lost a decision).

That’s something Phil Davis doesn’t want to think about.

Regardless of Griffin’s eccentric behavior, Davis still considers his UFC 155 opponent one of his favorite fighters, as he explained to UFC.com during a short pre-fight interview:

I’m talking to my buddies and I’m like, “man, I gotta fight Forrest Griffin.” They [said], “dude, are you gonna make him run out of the cage?” Man, don’t do that to me. Don’t make me think about that. He’s one of my favorite fighters.

I’m ready for everything that goes along with fighting Forrest Griffin. I’m more or less ready to write my own story, this is one of those fights. Everything he has, he will try to hit you with. [Griffin’s] almost better when he’s down a round-and-a-half. That’s when he’s most dangerous.

Davis also noted Griffin’s previous statements about his trademark pink shorts, citing that his choice of attire was indeed partly meant to gain a psychological edge against his opponents.

“It’s true, nobody wants to lose to a guy in pink shorts,” Davis admitted. “It’s a little emasculating, it’s part of the deal, you know, it’s part of the handshake.”

Pink shorts or not, Davis will test his advanced wrestling and evolving striking game against Griffin in just a little over a month at UFC 155 in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Arena.

Davis recently snapped a two-fight winless streak with a dominant submission victory over Brazilian prospect Wagner Prado at UFC 153 last October. Griffin enters the match at 3-1 in his last four fights, winning a rubber match against Tito Ortiz at UFC 148.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Star Forrest Griffin Doesn’t Like Phil Davis’ Trademark Pink Shorts

Forrest Griffin doesn’t want to lose to a man who wears pink shorts into the Octagon.Sure, Phil Davis has a lot of other attributes that the former UFC lightweight champion should arguably be more worried about, but the original The Ultimate Fighter&nb…

Forrest Griffin doesn’t want to lose to a man who wears pink shorts into the Octagon.

Sure, Phil Davis has a lot of other attributes that the former UFC lightweight champion should arguably be more worried about, but the original The Ultimate Fighter winner has jokingly stated that’s why a loss to “Mr. Wonderful” would be rather embarrassing.

During a pre-fight interview with the UFC, Griffin poked fun at Davis and his unique attire choice:

Y’know, the thing about Phil Davis is [that] I really don’t want to get beat up by a guy in pink tights…”Mr. Wonderful” is a very unique nickname. I don’t know the origin story behind it. Maybe there’s a comic book that explains why he’s really powerful. I don’t know, I don’t want to judge him.

Maybe there’s nuclear materials that turned his shorts pink. I don’t know that. He’s probably got superpowers.

However, the story behind Davis’ nickname is actually far simpler. In a 2011 interview with the UFC, Davis revealed that his moniker actually came from his pet cat.

According to Davis, his cat was stolen from him in 2007 during his college wrestling days at Penn State. Sadly, “Mr. Wonderful” never reappeared and has been missing ever since.

Griffin also took a moment to analyze Davis’ elite ground game, citing the anaconda choke as one of the young star’s greatest weapons. Aside from a “great shot” and “great wrestling,” Griffin noted that Davis has a knack for grinding an opponent into the ground until his form slips, presenting Davis the opportunity to lock in the submission.

Griffin and Davis will face off on the UFC’s last 2012 card this year at UFC 155, which is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Davis comes into the match off an impressive submission win (by anaconda choke) over Brazilian prospect Wagner Prado.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC News: Stephan Bonnar Suspended One Year After Second Failed Drug Test

Despite recently announcing his retirement, the UFC did not show any leniency towards Stephan Bonnar for testing positive for steroids for the second time in his career. MMA Fighting broke the news this afternoon, receiving confirmation from Marc …

Despite recently announcing his retirement, the UFC did not show any leniency towards Stephan Bonnar for testing positive for steroids for the second time in his career.

MMA Fighting broke the news this afternoon, receiving confirmation from Marc Ratner, the UFC’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, that “The American Psycho” will be suspended until Oct. 13, 2013.

“We feel very strongly that there’s a big difference between PED’s [performance-enhancing drugs] and marijuana,” Ratner said. “We think the commissions do a good job with PEDs, but we think with marijuana there should be some form of rehab involved, going through that kind of process and learning about it … Other sports have a difference between PEDs and recreational drugs.”

Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone in a drug test administered after UFC 153, where Bonnar suffered a first round TKO at the hands of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

The bout, which took place in Silva’s homeland of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was contested at light heavyweight.

Dave “Pee Wee” Herman also failed his UFC 153 post-fight drug test. This was also his second time failing a drug test under the UFC banner, however, in both instances Herman tested positive for marijuana.

Since the event took place outside of the United States and Canada, the UFC acts as their own athletic commission.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Bonnar for nine months, also issuing a $5,000 fine, shortly after UFC 62 when he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone. Bonnar lost a rematch to Forrest Griffin at the event.

Bonnar owned up to the positive test, stating he used the drug in order to rehabilitate an elbow injury leading up to the fight.

In Herman’s case, he failed his first drug test prior to UFC 136, where a bout with Mike Russow was planned. Despite being pulled from the card, the Team Quest fighter insisted he had not used marijuana leading up to the bout.

Given this breaking news, have MMA fans officially seen the last of Bonnar inside the Octagon?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Rampage Jackson: Anyone Who’s Not a Bigot Knows I Beat Forrest Griffin

If you think that Forrest Griffin really beat Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, you might be a racist.At least, that’s what “Rampage” says, claiming real mixed martial arts fans know that he won his UFC 86 title fight against …

If you think that Forrest Griffin really beat Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, you might be a racist.

At least, that’s what “Rampage” says, claiming real mixed martial arts fans know that he won his UFC 86 title fight against the original Ultimate Fighter winner.

During an interview with MiddleEasy, the former UFC light heavyweight champion and PRIDE middleweight champion didn’t mince words about his feelings on the Griffin fight. As Jackson puts it, anyone who thinks he lost the bout is a “bigot” at heart:

I got hurt. I couldn’t fight Glover. I didn’t want to wait that long. Forrest’s opponent [Chael Sonnen] pulled out. Why not just go fight Forrest? I don’t care. I’ll fight Forrest and I’ll still fight Glover later. Everyone knows I’ve been gunning for Forrest, because anyone who knows MMA—anyone who’s got a true heart, a real heart, and [is] not a bigot—they know I won that fight. That’s real talk.

Jackson’s statement was in response to his current situation with the UFC, as he’s currently campaigning for “exciting fighters” while he’s still under contract. That list doesn’t include wrestlers like Phil Davis, Ryan Bader or Chael Sonnen, who Jackson derided as “boring” options.

Rampage also stated that leaving the UFC was the only thing that would really make him happy, although he still claimed that world’s largest MMA promotion was ultimately a good force in the combat sports world at the end of the day:

I’m not upset with them. The UFC is a great organization. They’ve done a lot of good, positive things for the sport. It’s mainstream now. I can’t walk anywhere without people wanting a picture or attention or talking. That’s good, that’s what people like.

Honestly, I wish I could’ve been compensated a little more for the privacy that I gave up. People don’t understand that. I traded my privacy and my kids’ privacy and everything for the living I’m making now, which is—I could say I’m probably as popular as football players or basketball players these days. [And they’re] making millions.

At 34 years old, Jackson is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in 13 years and 42 fights. He dropped a decision to Bader at UFC 144 in Japan (later claiming an injury), preceded by a hard-fought submission loss to current champion Jon Jones at UFC 135.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Vitor Belfort Says Forrest Griffin Turned Down Fight with Him at UFC 155

Forrest Griffin was the man left behind in the wake of Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen. He was left without an opponent for UFC 155 but has since signed on to face Phil Davis. But it appears Griffin passed over Vitor Belfort in the process of choosing Davis. Bl…

Forrest Griffin was the man left behind in the wake of Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen. He was left without an opponent for UFC 155 but has since signed on to face Phil Davis.

But it appears Griffin passed over Vitor Belfort in the process of choosing Davis. Bloody Elbow has the story from Brazilian website UOL.

“I met with Forrest and he told me that he volunteered for a list of six names and mine was the first. He said he would face any of them except me. It’s good to have this kind of recognition. I am here to serve the company.”

I, like Tim Burke of BE, have to believe the reason Griffin refused to face Belfort is due to the time “The Phenom” spent training at Xtreme Couture. The fight against Davis is a far more dangerous one for Griffin, as “Mr. Wonderful” is entering the prime of his career and one of the best pure wrestlers in the division.

Belfort also explained that he’s open to fights at both light heavyweight and middleweight.

“My weight, my category, are the medium. I am adaptable. But I do not have much time left in my career and I want to have great challenges, be in whichever weight it will be. I can make great fights and don’t run from anybody, I’ll be always ready.”

Belfort last fought at 205 pounds, but was a last minute replacement to face the champion Jones at UFC 152. He performed admirably in defeat, and came the closest of any of Jones’ opponents to finishing the champion.

“The Phenom” was rumored to be facing Michael Bisping in his next fight but as of now, that is pure speculation.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Friday Link Dump: Win a Badass Signed Urijah Faber Poster, Forrest Griffin Ducks Vitor Belfort, Bellator Heads to Michigan + More

(Click for full-size image.)

Like and Share this post on our Facebook page for a chance to win the killer Optical Panacea poster shown above, signed by Urijah Faber himself. Five winners will be selected at random by Monday. Thanks to Torque Sports and Performance for the hookup, and stay tuned for more Torque gear giveaways coming soon! Now, onto today’s links…

– Must-See Infographic: UFC History, Facts, and Figures (Havocstore.co.uk)

– Vitor Belfort: Forrest Griffin Declined A Fight With Me (Fightline)

– Bellator Debuts in Michigan on Nov 30, Good-Koreshkov Tournament Final Headlines (BleacherReport)

– UFC 154 Judo Chop: GSP and Smashing Past the Guard (BloodyElbow)

– Dan Henderson Says He’ll Help Chael Sonnen on TUF and Corner Him Against Jones if His Schedule Allows (MMAFighting)

– Kyung Ho Kang out, Motonobu Tezuka meets Alex Caceres at UFC on FUEL TV 6 (MMAJunkie)

– UFC Confirms “Minotauro” Nogueira-Fabricio Werdum as ‘TUF Brazil 2’ Coaches (MMAScraps)

– Top 5 MMA Fights Remaining in 2012 (HeavyMMA)

– 10 Moustache Styles for Movember (MensFitness)

– Honest Trailers: The Amazing Spider-Man (ScreenJunkies)

– Is Jeremy Lin Overrated? The 2012-13 NBA Point Guard Rankings (Complex)

– Hey Nostalgia Buffs – The 1990s Really Weren’t Very Good [20 PICS] (EgoTV)