MMA fans have been spoiled in recent years with the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva. In the good ole days, we were satisfied when two guys stepped into the cage and just swung for the fences.Now we’re seeing…
MMA fans have been spoiled in recent years with the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Brock Lesnar and Anderson Silva. In the good ole days, we were satisfied when two guys stepped into the cage and just swung for the fences.
Now we’re seeing front-kick knockouts, flying triangles and athletes springing themselves off the cage, throwing cinema-like spinning kicks that actually connect on their opponent’s chin.
These athletes have incredible, natural physical gifts and have begun to take over the sport. Not only that, but they have truly changed the direction that it will head in years to come.
No longer is technique alone good enough to be the best. To be the best, fighters will need that rare combination of technique and natural ability.
But it hasn’t always been that way and for many fighters, it wasn’t anywhere near this easy. These five fighters had to make use of what they were given, and in some cases it wasn’t all that much when compared to some of their opponents.
Tito Ortiz is getting his wish for one more UFC fight. He’s even getting his own hand-selected opponent, as the UFC confirmed this morning that the long-rumored third bout between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will take place at UFC 148 in July.I stay fair…
Tito Ortiz is getting his wish for one more UFC fight. He’s even getting his own hand-selected opponent, as the UFC confirmed this morning that the long-rumored third bout between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will take place at UFC 148 in July.
I stay fairly tuned into Twitter throughout the day, and I was shocked to see the immediate backlash on the fight from fans and journalists alike.
We’ve known this fight was coming down the pipeline for months, so it can’t be a surprise.
And what’s the big deal, anyway? Ortiz wants one last fight, and they’re giving it to him. Would you really rather see Ortiz—a legend of the sport and a guy who helped build the UFC into the global powerhouse it is today—be sent packing from the Octagon by someone like Jason Brilz or Rich Franklin?
Of course not. That’s a silly notion.
Griffin is the perfect final opponent for Ortiz. Forrest has zero desire to get anywhere near a title shot at this point in his career. He’s just waiting for his own opportunity to ride off into the hills. There aren’t any heavy expectations on either of these guys, and that’s just fine.
Need I point out that they’ve already faced each other twice, with each man taking a close split decision? In this day of immediate rematches that hold up the title pictures of entire divisions, doesn’t it make sense to let these two veterans square their issues, whether real or imagined?
(“How ’bout this, bro: If neither one of us are married in ten years, *we* get married.”)
According to a tweet sent out last night by Tito Ortiz, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy will return to the Octagon at UFC 148 (July 7th, Las Vegas), where he’ll face Forrest Griffin for the third time. Ortiz and Griffin’s first two fights both ended in split-decisions, with Ortiz winning their first meeting at UFC 59 in 2006, and Griffin taking the rematch at UFC 106 in 2009.
(“How ’bout this, bro: If neither one of us are married in ten years, *we* get married.”)
According to a tweet sent out last night by Tito Ortiz, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy will return to the Octagon at UFC 148 (July 7th, Las Vegas), where he’ll face Forrest Griffin for the third time. Ortiz and Griffin’s first two fights both ended in split-decisions, with Ortiz winning their first meeting at UFC 59 in 2006, and Griffin taking the rematch at UFC 106 in 2009.
Though multiplesources are referring to this fight as Ortiz’s swan song, we just don’t see Tito quietly walking away from the sport if he manages to pull off an impressive victory here. So what do you think: Who’s getting their hand raised, and does the Ortiz/Griffin trilogy fight interest you to begin with?
The UFC has had significant moments throughout its history that have been milestones for growth and development. Purchasing the likes of Strikeforce and Pride, merging with the WEC and so on are all ways the UFC has built itself up. With a new FOX deal…
The UFC has had significant moments throughout its history that have been milestones for growth and development. Purchasing the likes of Strikeforce and Pride, merging with the WEC and so on are all ways the UFC has built itself up. With a new FOX deal fresh and already successfully underway, this sport continues to grow exponentially each year.
But one moment seems to stick out more than the others. It was not purchasing another company, or signing some deal. Rather, it was a single fight, and that was Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar.
Of course, the whole first season of The Ultimate Fighter was significant in its own right, but it was the war that was waged between these two men that made a huge difference in the success of the sport. Often called one of the best fights in UFC history, Griffin vs. Bonnar took place in April of 2005, just under seven years ago. Now we are in a new age of UFC and MMA, and both men have had different career paths in the UFC.
What doesn’t necessarily need to happen, but what would be a fantastic business move, would be to have the two pitted against each other for a third time. Both fighters have had their ups and down in their careers since fighting in 2005, and then again in 2006, but both are at a point where fighting each other would be significant and a good matchup. While Forrest has won the first two meetings by decision, it is a fight that Bonnar wants nonetheless.
Bonnar sat down recently with UFC Fight Club members for a Q&A video chat, during which he described how he wants to fight “guys who are popular.” He suggested Griffin as one of those people, saying, “I want to fight a guy with lots of Twitter followers…100,000 followers, I want to fight you…if a guy has 200,000 followers, I’ll fight him for free!”
While joking, he does signify he wants fights that will build his name and his career in the right direction.
Bonnar also stated that, in the occurrence they do fight again, “…I promise not to go for a takedown!”
Not only would a fight with Griffin again be a good fight to take next by itself, but it would up the ante if the UFC decided to have Griffin and Bonnar as opposing coaches on the next The Ultimate Fighter. To MMA fans, this is a great fight, maybe more so for nostalgic reasons, but an exciting concept nonetheless. Having the two winners (officially Griffin) from the first season come back and be coaches seven years later would be great to see.
As a business move, the UFC could use this as a huge card to market. Having the history of these two and where they have come from since the first fight is a promotional gold mine. Both fighters are not washed up by any means, but both seem to be sort of taking on a very small gatekeeper role in the division.
Bonnar has won his past three, which is notable, but he’s correct in his decision to take on more “popular” guys at this point in time.
Griffin just recently lost to Shogun and is expected to fight Ortiz again in a rubber match possibly sometime this year.
In the count of which weight classes have been covered the most, it is a three-way tie with LW, WW and MW, with five seasons of TUF covering them. LHW has three, HW and FW with two and BW with one. Ostensibly, they would not put Griffin and Bonnar coaching flyweights, but they might make another heavyweight season.
Regardless of the route the UFC chooses to take, a rematch with Griffin vs. Bonnar would be a welcomed fight to have. A couple New York Times bestselling books and a comical clothing line later, these two men are still ready and willing to show the world a great fight.
Forrest Griffin’s self deprecating sense of humor is legendary. Thankfully for MMA fans, it’ll be on display tonight on FUEL TV in a conversation segment featuring Griffin and one-time rival Stephan Bonnar.Griffin and Bonnar are famous not only for the…
Forrest Griffin‘s self deprecating sense of humor is legendary. Thankfully for MMA fans, it’ll be on display tonight on FUEL TV in a conversation segment featuring Griffin and one-time rival Stephan Bonnar.
Griffin and Bonnar are famous not only for their epic scrap on The Ultimate Fighter season one finale, but also for their humorous and unique personalities, which will be conducive to a memorable conversation on FUEL’s UFC program, UFC Ultimate Insider.
On tonight’s episode, the two men will partake in a characteristically comical and off the wall conversation that highlights such topics as their legendary fight, Jon Jones, and actor Mark Hamill.
Concerning the UFC light heavyweight champion, Griffin was optimistic that the pairing of him and Bonnar could beat the champ.
“I think the two of us whoop his ass every time, nine times out of 10 at least,” he said.
Griffin’s wit is sure to be on display during the full segment on FUEL, as it was during the preview when Mark Hamill—who is most famous for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films (although some might say he’s equally famous for playing the Joker in the Batman animated series)—came up in the conversation.
“I am Mark Hamill, and [The Ultimate Fighter] was my Star Wars,” said Griffin.
The talk between the two fighters in one that’s sure to live up to it’s “off the wall” namesake. Both men have quite the sense of humor and are more silver-tongued than most MMA fighters can dream of being.
The MMA world is truly fortunate to have such programming as well as such athletes that can step back and laugh at themselves. Be sure to catch the full conversation on UFC Ultimate Insider at 10:30 pm EST on FUEL.
(Tom couldn’t handle constantly being asked if the guy he was with was the dude that f*cked Kimbo)
As fans and pundits of the sport, sometimes we forget that the fighters we love and hate to watch in the ring and cage are normal human beings like we are. They have bills to pay, mouths to feed and wives and girlfriends that *most* of them go home to every night.
We’ve been introduced to many of the W.A.Gs of fighters by UFC countdown shows, porno movies, arrest reports and through their own contributions to the sport as managers and fighters in their own right. Regardless of what they do, they support their men through the good and the bad and keep the home front running smoothly while their husbands and boyfriends are away for training camps or competing.
They don’t get a lot of mention by us media types, so we figured we would pay them tribute by posting a gallery of some of the lesser-known ladies behind the well-known fighters in the sport.
(Tom couldn’t handle constantly being asked if the guy he was with was the dude that f*cked Kimbo)
As fans and pundits of the sport, sometimes we forget that the fighters we love and hate to watch in the ring and cage are normal human beings like we are. They have bills to pay, mouths to feed and wives and girlfriends that *most* of them go home to every night.
We’ve been introduced to many of the W.A.Gs of fighters by UFC countdown shows, porno movies, arrest reports and through their own contributions to the sport as managers and fighters in their own right. Regardless of what they do, they support their men through the good and the bad and keep the home front running smoothly while their husbands and boyfriends are away for training camps or competing.
They don’t get a lot of mention by us media types, so we figured we would pay them tribute by posting a gallery of some of the lesser-known ladies behind the well-known fighters in the sport.
Tito Ortiz is getting his wish for one more UFC fight. He’s even getting his own hand-selected opponent, as the UFC confirmed this morning that the 
