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

Countdown to TUF Brazil

This Sunday, here in America, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil will be debuting on Fuel TV; just two weeks shy of when coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort were scheduled to face off. But instead, for yet the fourth time out of the past six seasons, that fight’s not going to happen (but that’s another article for another day). Now the UFC 147 main event will be Wanderlei Silva versus Rich Franklin. Two future Hall of Famers going to war in a five round Fight of the Night rematch from three years past, sounds pretty great doesn’t it? Until you look at the facts and how this is just the latest in a long line of disappointments and changes made to the upcoming UFC: Brazil show.

In one corner we have TUF: Brazil coach ‘the Axe Murderer’ Wanderlei Silva. Who following his UFC 99 loss to Rich Franklin, announced he would be out of action for a while to undergo facial surgery. A scar tissue removal surgery which he desperately needed to repair an oft-broken nose and avoid being easily cut open for future fights, which in the end resulted in a 30% increase in his oxygen intake for his February 2010 middleweight debut against Michael Bisping. A matchup Silva was the Vegas favorite in, (despite only winning one of his last six fights). And after three well contested rounds, Silva wound up getting the win by unanimous decision (his first victory in nearly two years). Yet soon after he would be break three ribs training for a fight against Yoshiro Akiyama, follow that with knee surgery, and in the end wouldn’t be seen in the octagon again until UFC 132 against Chris Leben. An embarrassing 27 second TKO loss that would leave Dana White stating in his opinion, Wanderlei should hang it up. Yet just four months later Silva was given another chance to prove himself, with a thrilling second round TKO victory over Cung Le earning him his third Fight of the Night honor.

And in the blue corner, ever the company man, Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin has again answered the call and will be returning earlier than expected from shoulder surgery to fill in for yet another injured TUF coach. Ironically Franklin followed his UFC 99 victory with a loss to Vitor Belfort. Before stepping in to coach the last two weeks of The Ultimate Fighter for a released Tito Ortiz and knocking out Chuck Liddell with a broken arm. Before going on to lose by unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin, and being out of action ever since.

All leading Sportsbook to open the odds at
Wanderlei Silva -145
And Rich Franklin + 115

While it is always fun to see two legends slug it out in the octagon, with both fighters past their prime and out of title contention, in the end this bout is pointless.

Which is probably the reason the coaches’ battle was originally scheduled to be the co-main event, underneath the Anderson Silva Middleweight title defense. Call it simple fight hype, or Chael Sonnen’s brilliant marketing, either way his death threats were able to get their fight relocated to Las Vegas at UFC 148. So how do the more than 12 million weekly Brazilians who tuned in to The Ultimate Fighter get rewarded? After that, and moving the show to Belo Horizonte, the UFC further dissed the Brazilian faithful by refusing to bump up Jose Aldo’s title defense two shows, leaving them with only one other top-name fighter Fabricio Werdum to cheer for. Bottom line: no Jose Aldo, no Anderson Silva, no Junior Dos Santos, and neither Nogueira, Brazil deserves better.

By: J A Keenan

UFC: Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar as TUF Coaches Would Help the Brand

Dana White has been talking a lot about The Ultimate Fighter “brand” recently. Some of that is likely channeling of his buddies at Fox, who undeniably have more experience in television than the Baldfather and are probably a lot better at m…

Dana White has been talking a lot about The Ultimate Fighter “brand” recently. Some of that is likely channeling of his buddies at Fox, who undeniably have more experience in television than the Baldfather and are probably a lot better at making simple things sound complicated, too.

The last time White was talking about brands, he was discussing the Rashad Evans brand. To those who don’t recall, he didn’t seem too keen on the concept.

This new approach, though, is part of the new age of the UFC, where MMA and network appeal have clumsily melded together in the early stages of a television deal that has basically nowhere to go but up. Denying that things haven’t been good is irresponsible and a little silly, but acting like they’re not going to improve over the next seven years and that the sky is falling is equally so.

The UFC has to live in this present, though, doing so with an eye to the future. They need to do things to bring new eyes to TUF and also get longtime fans fired up as well. Simply saying “this is a fight show” and suggesting you don’t watch if you don’t like fights is not helping anyone.

One idea floating around out there that could work? Making the first stars of the TUF era, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, the coaches for the next go-round on FX.

White has already said he’s out on the idea. Out hard, too. Surely, he’s got some grand scheme where some rising star in some underpublicized division will match up with someone more marketable and create the greatest thing television has ever seen.

Except that was the plan this time, and it didn’t work. Like, it really didn’t work.

A Griffin-Bonnar season, while lacking any particular divisional significance and featuring two guys who are basically done, would prove a new dynamic.

Both guys are thoughtful, insightful, funny and quirky. That covers your reality TV angle.

The fact that they’re actually friends might be a welcome change of pace too. No mean mugging and lame one-upsmanship just because it feels like something that they should be doing for the camera.

They’ve also been in the game forever, so they have some concrete knowledge to pass on to the teams they select. That covers having the contestants learn something other than how to sleep in urine-soaked sheets over the course of the season.

Plus, and most importantly, they offer up history. With all due respect to Diego Sanchez, they are the original Ultimate Fighters. Their first fight is legendary. They put this entire sport on the map. That’s reality.

It’s a tough sell that coaches really make a difference to ratings or to people caring about TUF. The formula is what it is, and it produces some solid athletes for the UFC. The numbers are the numbers, whether its Brock Lesnar coaching or it’s Dominick Cruz. A big name will land a ratings spike for a week or two, but not over the course of a season.

So, with that in mind, why not throw a final bone to the two guys who laid the foundation for this show to even exist? On account of personality and pedigree alone, there is absolutely no way they can hurt the “brand” more than another vanilla season with coaches no one cares about anyway will.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Tito vs. Forrest or Wandy vs. Franklin: Which Is the More Useless Rematch?

Rematches are put together for a variety of reasons: A super close fight requires a do-over. A bad decision where one fighter clearly gets robbed is also a good reason. Sometimes injuries plague a card and sheer necessity takes over. And sometimes it’s…

The latter two reasons come into play when discussing Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin and Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin.

In the case of Wandy and Franklin, necessity took over. Originally scheduled to be Wandy vs. Vitor Belfort, the bout took a hit when Vitor went down with a hand injury. The two had coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, and were to have a rematch of their 1998 fight, which saw Vitor starch Wandy in only 44 seconds.

Rich Franklin, the consummate company man who was scheduled to face Cung Le, didn’t hesitate when the UFC called him to step up, yet again, to save the day. He’ll now face Silva in a rematch of their 2009 catchweight fight that Franklin won by unanimous decision.

It’s not that it’s a bad fight. The first one was an entertaining affair that won Fight of the Night honors. It’s just that it’s a pointless fight, especially as the main event.

It’s being contested at a catchweight, again, which doesn’t exactly help its lack of validity. It simply has no divisional relevance, which should be the first consideration of any non-title main event.

Tito vs. Forrest is actually a rubber match. Tito took the first one back in 2006, and Forrest took the next one three years later. Both wins were split decisions.

If you weren’t privy to the fine print you might think this makes for a fine narrative for a trilogy.

Not so much.

This is Tito’s retirement fight, or so he’s announced. Declaring a retirement before a fight immediately renders that fight meaningless because it matters nil who wins or loses. It’s a move born out of financial gain—the logic being more people will be compelled to buy knowing it’s Tito’s last fight.

And that’s fine. Tito is a legend of the sport. Certainly he’s earned the right to dictate how he goes out. But that doesn’t make the fight any more meaningful.

Forrest, well, he just doesn’t seem too interested in fighting anymore.

Still though, it’s a decent scrap that’s occupying the number three spot on a very stacked card, so it’s not like this one fight is carrying the event.

Wandy and Franklin are the main show on an extremely lackluster card that is criminally being offered as a pay-per-view.

Granted, the UFC deserves credit for finding a suitable replacement on such short notice. Injuries are common and something they have no control over. But with a co-main event of Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow, this card is severely lacking in attraction.

For that fact alone, the Wandy vs. Franklin fight is hands down the more useless rematch.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Tito Ortiz Reminisces About His Storied UFC Career While Fishing

At UFC 147 in Las Vegas on July 7th, Tito Ortiz will enter the UFC octagon for the last time against longtime rival Forrest Griffin. Ortiz is the longest reigning light heavyweight champion in the promotion’s history, and one of the sport’s first break…

Ortiz has been competing in the UFC for 15 years, and took his first fight for free as he didn’t want to lose his amateur status while in college. In those 15 years, Ortiz faced the best the sport had to offer and walked away victorious against the likes of Evan Tanner, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.

He was a longtime rival of Chuck Liddell, and the two were responsible for some of the biggest pay-per-view buyrates in history. The UFC tried to capture lightning in a bottle a third time when they placed Ortiz and Liddell opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter. The fight fell apart when Ortiz suffered an injury and was replaced with Rich Franklin. Ironically, that would be Liddell’s last time fighting in the octagon.

Ortiz has had a contentious relationship with UFC President Dana White, and at one point, the two were even scheduled to settle their differences in a boxing exhibition. After weeks of build, including a special on Spike TV, the match never came to fruition.

Ortiz is a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer, and one of the first fighters to really show how devastating ground and pound could be. He also showed that a fighter has the ability to build his own brand.

Let’s go and pour one out for the Huntington Beach Bad Boy.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Stephan Bonnar Wants to Coach the Ultimate Fighter Opposite Forrest Griffin

UFC veteran and long-time fan favorite Stephan Bonnar has an interesting proposal for UFC President Dana White. The Ultimate Fighter Season One finalist hopes to return to the show as a coach in its 16th season.Who would he want as the other …

Who would he want as the other coach? None other than the man who defeated him in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 1, Forrest Griffin.

Their first fight is regarded by many as the greatest fight in mixed martial arts history and White regards it as the most important fight in UFC history. According to MMAjunkie.com, Bonnar wants to make the magic happen again.

“I won’t go for any takedowns, Bonnar said. “I won’t block any punches. I’ll just be moving forward. I’m serious I would just go and slug it out and try to top our first one. What the hell do I have to lose? I want to give the fans a good one.”

Bonnar is currently riding a three-fight winning streak in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, but his past two victories have been uncharacteristically technical performances from the once-brawler.

“I’ve had a couple nice technical wins now without much damage,” Bonnar told MMAjunkie.com. “But now I’m actually missing the damage.”

After his most recent win over Kyle Kingsbury in San Jose, Calif., fans went so far as to boo Bonnar’s performance.

“It’s kind of flattering to have such high expectations,” he said. “People expect a barn-burning-type of back-and-forth bloody fight. This time I found some holes in his game and fought a real smart technical fight and showed superiors skills on the ground.

“I was proud of myself. Then I get up and everyone is booing. They expected me to bleed all over the place. Sorry I didn’t give you the paint-the-canvas-in-my-blood kind of fight.”

At 35-years-old, Bonnar is likely nearing the end of his MMA career and it seems he would really appreciate this coaching position to bring things full-circle.

“That’s what I want more than anything,” he said. “I probably won’t get what I want, but I’ll ask for it anyway.”

Dana White has yet to weigh in on the possibility of the Bonnar and Griffin coaching the Ultimate Fighter’s next season.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as more on this story develops.

Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a stand-up comedian. Check him out on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Stephan Bonnar Wants to Coach ‘TUF 16? Against Forrest Griffin, Promises Not to Block Any Punches in Trilogy Fight

(Best frenemies forever.)

Through the majority of their parallel UFC careers, Stephan Bonnar has played second-banana to Forrest Griffin. The relationship started with Griffin’s career-launching win over Bonnar in their classic brawl at the first Ultimate Fighter finale in 2005; a rematch the following year resulted in the American Psycho going home with another decision loss and a steroid suspension. While Griffin was winning the UFC light-heavyweight title in 2008, Bonnar was on the sidelines due to injuries, and though Griffin occasionally ate a humiliating loss, Bonnar’s losses were even more embarrassing.

But lately, the two men have begun to shift trajectories. A not-quite-motivated Griffin suffered an ugly knockout against Mauricio Rua in Brazil last year, and is now booked in a relatively needless trilogy fight against Tito Ortiz in July. With Forrest in a holding pattern, Bonnar is now riding a three-fight win streak, with W’s over Krzysztof Soszynski, Igor Pokrajac, and Kyle Kingsbury. In other words, Griffin might be heading down the mountain, while Bonnar is somehow reaching another peak in his career — which makes it an ideal time for the two rivals to meet one last time, perhaps at the end of an Ultimate Fighter gig that would bring their lives full circle. At least, that’s how Bonnar sees it. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie Radio:

(Best frenemies forever.)

“Everyone out there please harass Dana White on Twitter to let me and Forrest coach the next season (of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’). If he does that, I can guarantee a barn-burning slugfest…I won’t go for any takedowns. I won’t block any punches. I’ll just be moving forward. I’m serious I would just go and slug it out and try to top our first one. What the hell do I have to lose? I want to give the fans a good one…I’ve had a couple nice technical wins now without much damage. But now I’m actually missing the damage…When you get into a couple of wars in a row, you’re like, ‘Screw this,’ but if we got to be coaches, I would be so thankful. I’d get hit a ton. I’ve ate plenty of his punches over the years.”

Promising to get hit in the face a lot is one of the most bizarre matchmaking pitches we’ve ever heard, and is perhaps evidence that Bonnar has already gotten hit in the face too many times as it is. But you can’t argue with the compelling symmetry of having the two light-heavyweight warriors coach against each other on the show that made them (and the UFC) famous seven years ago — and it seems like a perfect recipe to revive the interest in TUF.

Plus, let’s call a spade a spade, here: Griffin may be losing his edge in the cage, and Bonnar probably feels like he should pounce while he has some momentum, so he can balance out their rivalry. As Quinton Jackson demonstrated against Wanderlei Silva, the first two fights in a trilogy are just battles; the last fight truly decides the war.