Tag: Forrest Griffin

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin: Why Both Need to Retire After Their Third Fight

Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz are two fighters who are so faded that they should only be facing each other. They are still exciting to watch, but as for being competitive in the UFC, their time has passed.They have put on great scraps before…

Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz are two fighters who are so faded that they should only be facing each other. They are still exciting to watch, but as for being competitive in the UFC, their time has passed.

They have put on great scraps before, and according to an article by MMATorch they are headed for a third showdown in mid-2012.

It is the perfect opportunity for both men to find whatever passion they have left for the sport and put it on the line for their third fight. After that they need to walk off into the sunset.

Griffin and Ortiz are fighters that fans remember from another era in MMA. Ortiz was a star back when the sport was just getting out of its “anything goes” days, and Griffin is best known for winning The Ultimate Fighter’s inaugural season and winning the UFC light heavyweight title from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Both of the things mentioned are several years old, if not closing in on a decade. Each man is at the end of his competitive rope for very different reasons.

For Ortiz, it is time to exit the sport. He is 37, and while he can upset fighters like Ryan Bader, who he choked out at UFC 142, he is badly faded and prone to injury. He just doesn’t have the youth to keep beating back the younger men he faces consistently.

Griffin faces a different obstacle. His problem is that his heart isn’t in it anymore. At 32 years old he is burnt out.

In an interview with heavy.com, Griffin stated that he wanted to fight until 33 and then retire. You can’t be a fighter and have an exit strategy. Not when the essence of fighting is finding out who the best in the world is.

Fans can’t fault Griffin for wanting to quit or Ortiz for wanting to continue.

In Griffin’s case, he has fought in so many grueling battles that it has to have taken a mental toll. One that as he has gotten older and wealthier seems foolish.

Ortiz’s affliction is one that is seen more often in fighting. His career is ending, but his life is not even half over. At 37 he is ancient for sports, but in terms of human life he is young. Fighting is all he has done and all he knows. To move on means leaving it and doing something else with less passion and understanding.

It means retiring when most people are just starting to hit their stride. At 37 it is the ultimate mid-life crisis.

Griffin and Ortiz have given immensely to the sport of MMA and both face uncertain futures after their time in the cage. The fight between the two isn’t just the end of a trilogy, it’s the end of two brilliant careers and the fighters who made them.

There just isn’t anything left for them to give after a third match with each other. The only things they could offer fans by continuing to fight is diminished skills and slower reflexes.

They deserve better than that.

That is why whenever they do meet once again, fans should tune in and watch.

Not just to see a great fight, but to say goodbye to two fighters who deserve it.

 

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report.  He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Cage Potato’s Comprehensive 2012 MMA App Buyer’s Guide

By Mark Dorsey

(Yeah, yeah, yeah…WE KNOW you guys want a CP app. We’re working on it. And your t-shirts are in the mail.)

Anybody who has searched MMA apps knows that there are dozens of products on the market. This may be a stretch for some of our readers, but let’s assume we all have interests outside of  the MMA world. In a scenario like this, where we don’t all have the time to spend our days and nights trolling the comment section here like Xenophon, it is necessary to sort through the clutter and find the essential apps.

Not to worry, Potato Nation; we have you covered.

Cage Potato and Boost Mobile have teamed up to save you money, time and memory space by providing you with this Comprehensive 2012 MMA App Buyer’s Guide. While the odd gem may have slipped through the cracks, most of the best apps for your hard earned money are listed and reviewed after the jump.

By Mark Dorsey

(Yeah, yeah, yeah…WE KNOW you guys want a CP app. We’re working on it. And your t-shirts are in the mail.)

Anybody who has searched MMA apps knows that there are dozens of products on the market. This may be a stretch for some of our readers, but let’s assume we all have interests outside of  the MMA world. In a scenario like this, where we don’t all have the time to spend our days and nights trolling the comment section here like Xenophon, it is necessary to sort through the clutter and find the essential apps.

Not to worry, Potato Nation; we have you covered.

Cage Potato and Boost Mobile have teamed up to save you money, time and memory space by providing you with this Comprehensive 2012 MMA App Buyer’s Guide. While the odd gem may have slipped through the cracks, most of the best apps for your hard earned money are listed and reviewed below.

News/Analysis

MMA Underground

Developer: Adept Mobile

Price: $1.99

This is by far my favourite MMA app for a number of reasons. I go to the “Forums” section multiple times a day for a combination of behind the scenes information from people like Dana White and Joe Rogan and analysis from 16-year-old  pro-wrestling converts who live in their parents’ basement. It’s that dichotomy that makes the Underground a unique app that is a must-have for the serious fan. There are some negatives. For the casual fan, the cut and paste style “News” page isn’t very comprehensive and the developers are slow to satisfy customer feedback and concerns. I also seem to have the occasional problem loading and refreshing the Forums and News. Quibbles aside, the app has a slick design and is very easy to navigate. With information on local events and an official database of over 250,000 fighters this app is worth the price for all major fight fans.

———-

MMA Junkie

Developer: FreeRange360

Cost: Free

MMA Junkie is like the Associated Press of the MMA world, shying away from editorializing and focusing strictly on news. The MMA Junkie App is a great free addition to your smartphone, giving you access to all of Junkie’s comprehensive “News” content. The app also gives to the ability to save articles to read later and to email articles to friends. The best feature is the up-to-the-minute scoring from the live shows to keep you informed of the prelims and main card if you’re not able to actually watch. The upcoming “Events” section is easy to access, and provides  a decent reminder of fights to look forward to. The app is simple and well-designed just like the website and I give it a solid endorsement for both casual and hard-core fans.

———-

UFC

Developer: MobiTV

Price: Free

This functions that this app possesses have huge potential but at this point in time, there are way too many glitches to make it useful. I suppose the ability to pay $44.99 to watch a PPV event on your phone may appeal to some people who have no other choice, but the quality isn’t good enough and it’s far too small when you have the option to watch a live event on a laptop or television. The most convenient aspect of the UFC app is the alerts for press conferences and weigh-ins and the ability to watch them on your smartphone; however, I wonder how much interest the casual fan would have in these options as opposed to just getting a summary of the highlights after they’re done. The biggest problem with the app is that sections like “News”, “Fight Cards” and “Fighter Bios” have broken links and are not updated as frequently as they should be. Also, many of the “Videos” just don’t seem to load at all. This app is a huge disappointment and I expected more from the preeminent MMA organization because simply put,  they really should be leading the pack like their contemporaries in other sports like the NHL and NBA.

NEXT: FIGHTERS

Why Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin III Is Necessary

The rubber match has a prized place in the heart of most combat sport fans. Normally, it means a third serving of that wonderful meal that left us in love with the cooks in the first place, a sublime indulgence of the vicarious. Some incredible trilogi…

The rubber match has a prized place in the heart of most combat sport fans.

Normally, it means a third serving of that wonderful meal that left us in love with the cooks in the first place, a sublime indulgence of the vicarious.

Some incredible trilogies have taken place in combat sports, both boxing and MMA: Barrera vs. Morales, Couture vs. Liddell, Ali vs. Frazier, Silva vs. Jackson, Marquez vs. Pacquiao, Gatti vs. Ward and so on.

A great trilogy is like being in storm country, with a privileged eye to the exact spot and time that lightning might strike next.

So, you may ask, given all of this, why on earth is the rubber match between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin necessary, especially with no divisional ramifications attached?

Read on and find out.

Begin Slideshow

10 UFC Fighters Who Could Run for President and Their Platform

The UFC has become one of the fastest growing sports organizations in the world.With top-tier talent, promotable champions, unlimited PPV events and the appetite for more, the company’s efforts over the past five years has made mixed martial arts relev…

The UFC has become one of the fastest growing sports organizations in the world.

With top-tier talent, promotable champions, unlimited PPV events and the appetite for more, the company’s efforts over the past five years has made mixed martial arts relevant among American sports.

This popularity has directly trickled down to the fighters themselves. 

Guys like Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar have all become household names in even the most casual combat fan’s home. 

However, based on their backgrounds, will to succeed, sheer knowledge and the universal appeal to make it happen, can the UFC’s top fighters ever translate their Octagon dominance into the harsh world of politics?

Possibly. And even though this is completely hypothetical, here’s how they would stack up.

Begin Slideshow

MMA Video/Gif Tribute: The Flying Mouthpiece

Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at several unique knockouts in the world of mixed martial arts, and as Nick Diaz will tell you, now that we’re hooked, there’s no turning back. So today, we pay tribute to yet another aspect of the fight game, specifically, one that only happens on the rarest of occasions, like Halley’s Comet or Bob Sapp showing up to win. We’re talking, of course, about the moment in combat sports when a fighter delivers a shot with such force that it is able to dislodge the airtight mouthpiece from the opponent’s…mouth. It’s embarrassing, often causes a stop in the action, and doesn’t always end in a knockout, but it’s also hilarious, and that’s what we’re all about anyway. So with that in mind, here are some of the finest instances of the flying mouthpiece in MMA.

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz – UFC 106
Forrest kicks out Tito's mouthpiece [UFC 106]

Rob McCullough vs. Olaf Alfonso – WEC 19

Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at several unique knockouts in the world of mixed martial arts, and as Nick Diaz will tell you, now that we’re hooked, there’s no turning back. So today, we pay tribute to yet another aspect of the fight game, specifically, one that only happens on the rarest of occasions, like Halley’s Comet or Bob Sapp showing up to win. We’re talking, of course, about the moment in combat sports when a fighter delivers a shot with such force that it is able to dislodge the airtight mouthpiece from the opponent’s…mouth. It’s embarrassing, often causes a stop in the action, and doesn’t always end in a knockout, but it’s also hilarious, and that’s what we’re all about anyway. So with that in mind, here are some of the finest instances of the flying mouthpiece in MMA.

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz – UFC 106
Forrest kicks out Tito's mouthpiece [UFC 106]

Rob McCullough vs. Olaf Alfonso – WEC 19

Ricardo Lamas vs. Bendy Casimir – WEC 47 

Scott Jorgensen vs. Brad Pickett – WEC 50

Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir, Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin Confirmed

Lorenzo Fertitta seems to be confirming fights left and right. In a Q&A with fans on Twitter, the Zuffa and UFC CEO confirmed a pair of important summer bouts, including a showdown between former heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, …

Lorenzo Fertitta seems to be confirming fights left and right.

In a Q&A with fans on Twitter, the Zuffa and UFC CEO confirmed a pair of important summer bouts, including a showdown between former heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, and the rubber match between legendary light heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin.

Mir, who is riding a three-fight win streak, has steadily climbed back into title contention. He horrified fans at UFC 140 by breaking the arm of former Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Meanwhile, Velasquez is looking to rebound after getting knocked out in 64 seconds by Junior Dos Santos at UFC on Fox.

Along with losing the heavyweight title, the loss to Dos Santos marked the first time Velasquez had ever been defeated in his professional career.

Rumored for July 4th weekend, the six-year rivalry between Ortiz and Griffin will finally come to an end.

Ortiz, who is coming off back to back losses to Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, has already gone on record in saying this will be the final bout of his MMA career.

Even though he hasn’t made any direct statements, Griffin could be looking to wrap up his career as well.

A little over a week out from his August 2011 bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Griffin wrote an article for Yahoo! Sports explaining his long and winding career.

It quit being fun when I realized I wasn’t getting better. I’m plateauing or almost getting worse sometimes. One of the essential elements to have in this is your perceived expectation of the future, and I’m a painful realist, so I realized that I’m not going to get better; this is it. It’s only gonna get worse from here on and you fight as much as you can, you fight until you don’t have it anymore, and then you fight a couple of more times after that.

Ortiz drew first blood in the rivalry by defeating Griffin at UFC 59. Griffin returned the favor in November 2009 at UFC 106.

Both bouts between the two light heavyweights have gone the distance and ended in a split decision.

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