Tag: Forrest Griffin

Two Sheds Review: Triumphant Homecoming for Silva and Company at UFC 134

It was a big night for Brazilian fighters as the Ultimate Fighting Championship went to Rio as Yushin Okami challenged Anderson Silva for the Middleweight title in the main event of UFC 134, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on …

It was a big night for Brazilian fighters as the Ultimate Fighting Championship went to Rio as Yushin Okami challenged Anderson Silva for the Middleweight title in the main event of UFC 134, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The broadcast began in the light heavyweight division as Luiz Cane faced Stanislav Nedkov.

A lot of feeling out at the beginning of this one as Nedkov threw a lot of overhand rights, with Cane responding with some sound combinations.

Although we saw some good shots it was only as the first round neared it’s final minute that the fight sprang to life. An overhand right followed by a left hook rocked the Brazilian, and as he staggered around like a baby learning to walk Nedkov went in for the kill, with the referee stopping the fight as Nedkov unloaded with the ground and pound.

It was up to heavyweight for the next fight as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira went up against Brendan Schaub.

We saw some more great striking in this one. Schaub connected with a couple of sweet looking uppercuts that rocked big Nog, but it wasn’t long before a left/right combination rocked the former Ultimate Fighter finalist. Nog followed up with several piston-like lefts and rights as Schaub slumped to the ground, the referee stepping in to give the hometown boy the knockout win.

Filler material followed as Erick Silva faced Luis Ramos in the welterweight division.

This all Brazilian battle was the blink and you’ll miss it affair. After a brief feeling out period Silva connected with a big right that sent Ramos down like the proverbial sack of spuds. Silva followed him down for a brief moment of ground and pound before the referee stopped the action, giving Silva the impressive TKO win.

The regular action resumed in the lightweight division as my fellow Brit Ross Pearson took on Edson Barboza.

The first fight of the broadcast to go the distance was an intriguing striking battle. Pearson had some success early on, but after Barboza connected with a spinning back kick to the body the fight got a whole lot more interesting.

The Brazilian seemed to get better as the fight went on, scoring with a succession of combinations and kicks. It wasn’t all one way traffic though as Pearson got in some good shots, although as the fight ended the Brit’s face was swelling badly.

So with the fight going the distance it was down to the judges, with Barboza taking the split decision.

The battle of former Light Heavyweight Champions followed as Mauricio Rua faced Forrest Griffin for the second time.

Very little happened in the first 60 seconds, but when we got past the one minute mark Shogun went to work, unleashing with the combinations as Griffin went down after a big right. The Brazilian followed him for some ground and pound, with the referee stepping in as Griffin went limp, giving Rua the knockout win.

The main event saw Yushin Okami challenge Anderson Silva for the Middleweight title.

Once again Silva proved he is the best there is at what he does. Beginning the fight in his usual way it wasn’t long before he got the better of a clinch against the cage, ending the first round by connecting with a left kick to the back of Okami’s head and neck.

The arrogance and cockiness was on display at the beginning of the second when a simple jab knocked Okami down. The champion didn’t follow him down though, and invited Okami back to his feet. It was another jab that sent Okami down again, and this time Silva went in for the kill with the ground and pound, with the referee stepping in to give the Spider the title retaining TKO win.

So with nearly an hour left to kill it was on to more filler material as Paulo Thiago faced David Mitchell (no, not that one) in the welterweight division.

This fight featured something we hadn’t seen all evening, some ground work. Thiago put on a great display whenever the fight went down to the ground, while Mitchell always seemed to look like a fish out of water.

Thiago also controlled the striking game, mainly because Mitchell seemed content to throw out his one punch combinations.

The Brazilian went back to the ground towards the end of the third, taking Mitchell’s back and going for a rear naked choke and then the ground and pound as the fight came to an end.

So once again the judges came into play as all three gave everything to Thiago.

Then it was down to the bantamweight division as Yves Jabouin took on Ian Loveland.

The first fight of the broadcast that didn’t feature a Brazilian was a great back and forth encounter. Loveland began the fight by coming forward quickly before taking the fight to the ground and going for a kimura.

Jabouin, for his part, put in some good striking, especially with the kicks, mixing it up with some nice spin kicks.

That was basically how the rest of the played out, with Loveland looking good on the ground and holding his own against Jabouin in the striking department, particularly in the third round.

So with neither man able to finish it was down to the judges, with Jabouin taking the split decision.

In conclusion – with only Luiz Cane failing to get the win it certainly proved to be a great night for the home country fighters in the UFC’s first Brazilian show for over a decade.

All the fights shown certainly delivered here, with the performances of big Nog and the Spider particularly impressing as once again I’m left to wonder if there is anyone left in the middleweight division anywhere in the world who could actually defeat Anderson Silva.

So taking all of that into account UFC 134 gets the big thumbs up from this particular writer as another example of why, like their Middleweight Champion, Dana White and his crew are the best they are at what they do.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA Stock Market — “UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami” Edition

By Jason Moles

After a spectacular night of fights at UFC 134 in Rio, we’re going to try to make sense of it with a little game called ‘Buy, Sell, or Hold’. I’ll take a fighter and either buy, sell, or hold him like a stockbroker would. (It’s kind of like the real stock market, except you won’t want to throw yourself off a building afterwards.) Take my advice and you’ll end up with a nice MMA portfolio. Without further ado…

Anderson Silva: Buy! Buy! Buy!

‘The Spider‘ has everything you’d want from a blue chip stock: an x-factor that makes people want to see him fight, major corporate sponsors, and hilarious commercials. Oh yeah, and his fighting isn’t that bad either. Silva’s complete and utter domination of Yushin Okami at UFC 134 just reinforces what we already knew — we are witnessing the greatest fighter of all time every time he steps inside the Octagon™.

Yushin Okami: Dump it like your autographed picture of Carrot Top.

He is currently ranked as the #3 best Middleweight and yet it seems all for naught. Okami showed up to a gunfight with a pair of flip-flops and a bag of Skittles against Silva. Despite working with the only man to dominate the champion, he never once came close to showing a spark in Brazil. I have a feeling he’ll face the same fate as Jon Fitch while his stock becomes more cursed than Monster.

By Jason Moles

After a spectacular night of fights at UFC 134 in Rio, we’re going to try to make sense of it with a little game called ‘Buy, Sell, or Hold’. I’ll take a fighter and either buy, sell, or hold him like a stockbroker would. (It’s kind of like the real stock market, except you won’t want to throw yourself off a building afterwards.) Take my advice and you’ll end up with a nice MMA portfolio. Without further ado…

Anderson Silva: Buy! Buy! Buy!

‘The Spider‘ has everything you’d want from a blue chip stock: an x-factor that makes people want to see him fight, major corporate sponsors, and hilarious commercials. Oh yeah, and his fighting isn’t that bad either. Silva’s complete and utter domination of Yushin Okami at UFC 134 just reinforces what we already knew — we are witnessing the greatest fighter of all time every time he steps inside the Octagon™.

Yushin Okami: Dump it like your autographed picture of Carrot Top.

He is currently ranked as the #3 best Middleweight and yet it seems all for naught. Okami showed up to a gunfight with a pair of flip-flops and a bag of Skittles against Silva. Despite working with the only man to dominate the champion, he never once came close to showing a spark in Brazil. I have a feeling he’ll face the same fate as Jon Fitch while his stock becomes more cursed than Monster.

Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua: Buy it like they’re giving it away for free.

The ‘Shogun’ Rua that showed up Saturday night is not the same man who fought and lost to Jon Jones earlier this year. He proved that he has completely recovered from his past knee surgeries, and destroyed a Top 10 light-heavyweight fighter without breaking a sweat. Rua will once again rise to the top — you can bank on that.

Forrest Griffin: Sell

The two-time New York Times bestselling author and former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion is an open book when it comes to his feelings about fighting overseas, training, and why he continues to fight. Likewise, I too shall be an open book about where to put your money in the MMA stock market, and it’s not here. In his last five fights, Griffin has won only twice against guys who peaked five to seven years prior. Liquidate whatever stock you have in the TUF 1 winner.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Sell*

At the ripe old age of 35, Big Nog did the unthinkable in knocking out a rising star in 28-year-old Brendan Schuab. Modern medicine, or maybe witchcraft, has given Nogueira an unforgettable night in front of his compatriots and you’ve gotta know he deserves it. Nevertheless, that in no way means you should buy Big Nog stock considering the likelihood that he’ll retire in the next few years and won’t be getting a crack at the title anytime soon.

*Note: If the UFC returns to Brazil in 2012, you’d be best served to make a Bed and Breakfast deal on this stock. Just be sure to dump once you think you’ve hit the tipping point.

Brendan Schaub: Hold

People have been a little high on the Hybrid. Sure, he’s promising, but his seemingly glass chin gives me pause. You won’t get rich on him, but you could definitely go broke on him. Let’s slow down on Schaub and watch it play out.

Edson Barboza: Buy

Buy this stock now and sell it early next year, right before the bubble pops. Like we mentioned here yesterday, Barboza barely got by a hand-picked opponent. Not convinced? Consider his fight against Anthony Njokuani at UFC 128 where he struggled to take home a decision win. Listen, you’re only as good as your last night and there will be a sucker that only remembers he beat a guy who won The Ultimate Fighter and will line your pockets with hundies.

Ross Pearson: Hold

There are too many talented fighters in the Lightweight division to buy more stock of the TUF 9 winner. Although he lost, he did look much better than he has in the past, so there’s no reason to sell what stock you already have. If the Brits didn’t have such a bad reputation for having a non-existent wrestling game, I may have bought some of this stock myself.

Luiz Cane: Sell

Winning just one of his last four fights — and that was against a guy who is no longer employed by Zuffa — Luiz Cane is a sinking ship. He is the only Brazilian to lose at UFC Rio, which will stick with him for years to come. He is now the answer to a trivia question. Get out while you still can and cut your losses.

Spencer Fisher: Sell, Sell, Sell

Jordan Breen said it best on Twitter last night: As much action as he’s given us over the years, Spencer Fisher is a spent force as an enterprising UFC lightweight.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 134

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UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro was a memorable night for several reasons, not the least of which was the complete dominance of the Brazilian contingent on the card.

You could look at the match-ups beforehand and tell they were perhaps slightly titled in Brazil’s favor, but who among us really thought Stanislav Nedkov would be the only foreigner to defeat a Brazilian?

But now that the action’s over and the post-fight interviews are done, it’s time to sort through the aftermath to find UFC 134’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between. Won’t you join me?


Biggest Winner: Anderson Silva
It’s clear to me now that this man has something different in his brain. The same way an owl can triangulate the exact location of a squeaking field mouse in the dark, Silva can perform a minute’s worth of feints and look at where you reflexively move your head and hands and feet, and from there decide exactly how to separate you from your conciousness. To put it another way, he’s on some next level stuff out there. Normal human beings, no matter how much they practice, can’t do that. It seems to come so naturally to Silva that he appears at times incapable of appreciating how rare his violent gifts are. Fortunately, he has the rest of us to tell him, and accomplished, though helpless opponents like Okami to show him.

Biggest Loser: Brendan Schaub
Not only was he the biggest betting favorite who ended up on the losing end in Rio, he was also the USA’s best hope for a win on the night. We expected David Mitchell and even Dan Miller to get beat, but Schaub? He was supposed to be the next big heavyweight prospect, and maybe even the lone American to come back to the Northen Hemisphere with a victory stowed in his carry-on. He couldn’t get his head out of the way of Nogueira’s punches, however, so he ended up face down on the mat instead of hands raised on top of the cage. He’s still young and still growing as a fighter, so it’s not a major catastrophe, career-wise. At the same time, getting knocked out by an aging legend who seemed one or two defeats away from forced retirement is the kind of thing that’ll hit the pause button on your superstar plans with a quickness. The hype train hasn’t derailed, but it is always harder to get it started up again once it’s come to such a sudden stop.

Most Impressive in Defeat: Ross Pearson
That was a painfully close fight, and if it’s anywhere but Brazil, where even a glancing blow by a Brazilian brings the crowd to its feet, maybe he gets the decision. Even without it, he did better than many (myself included) expected him to, and proved his toughness beyond a reasonable doubt. Pearson may not be the best pure athlete in the lightweight class, but the man will keep walking you down and forcing you to fight him. Does that style have its limitations? Sure it does. Is it a whole lot of fun to watch, especially when the practitioner of such a style can take a shot as well as Pearson can? Definitely. I don’t see the hard-headed Brit becoming champion any time soon, but every division needs role-players as well as greats. If Pearson’s role is to put on exciting, gritty fights, at least it’s steady work.

Least Impressive in Victory: Thiago Tavares
His plan seemed to be to control Spencer Fisher on the mat and grind the pace down to such a yawn-worthy crawl that his opponent would eventually do something dumb just to try and force some action. Somewhat disappointingly, it worked. It’s not that Tavares didn’t deserve to win — he effectively dictated where and how the fight was contested, so that’s something — but he has to know that he won’t win many fans with takedowns and short, ineffectual punches on the mat. In a night of memorable Brazilian triumphs, his win was among the most forgettable. At least it’s better than losing.

Most Strangely Sympathetic: Forrest Griffin
Yes, he’s a grumpy young man. And no, he does not travel well. But honestly, once you see that sadsack look on his face and consider the fact that he’ll probably never be able to think about his daughter’s birth without also thinking about the night he got knocked out by “Shogun” Rua in Rio, you have to feel for the guy. What I wonder is whether the pursuit of cold hard cash alone is enough to sustain him in this business. He used to be a workhorse in the gym, the guy who told the new crop of TUF hopefuls that “the juice is worth is the squeeze.” These days he doesn’t act like he really believes it. It’s one thing to hate your job and do it anyway if you work at a kiosk in the mall selling cell phone accessories. When you fight for money, however, there are too many hungry young mercenaries out there for you to be going through the motions just for a paycheck. Griffin needs to decide whether he’s all the way in this sport. If not, he ought to get out.

Most Surprising: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
The walk to the cage was the most many of us had seen Big Nog move all week, so it was hard not to analyze every step for what it might tell us about his post-surgery mobility. He wasn’t exactly fleet of foot once the fight started, but then he was never known for his foot speed even in his prime. It seemed as though Nogueira’s plan A was to take Schaub down, but when that went nowhere he quickly resported to plan B: punch the guy in the face until he falls down. Before the fight, I would have said this was a terrible idea. Then he tried it and found Schaub was not all that difficult to hit. I might tap the brakes on the whole ‘Nogueira is back!’ meme that instantly sprouted up after the win, but at least this proves he’s not done. Not just yet, anyway.

Most Baffling: Rousimar Palhares
That’s two bizarre mental lapses in three tries for “Toquinho.” At least this one didn’t cost him the fight. I loved how Herb Dean reacted to Palhares’ premature celebration by looking at Dan Miller like he was a loose ball in a football game, just waiting to be noticed and scooped up. I admit I was a little curious to see what Miller would have done to Palhares had he been allowed to attack as Palhares straddled the top of the cage, flexing for the crowd, but I guess that was the rational point for Dean to pause the action and sort out the confusion. Palhares is obviously talented and has a lot of physical tools at his disposal, but somebody needs to teach this guy to fight until the referee tells him it’s over. There are too many ways to lose in MMA without creating new ones for yourself.

Most Unhelpfully Brief Cage Appearance: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
I’m sure he doesn’t mind winning inside of two minutes, but I sure would have liked to have seen a little more of him. It’s hard to know where his overall game is at when all his fight lasts about as long as it takes to microwave a Hot Pocket. Rua has always had that explosive power, particularly early in the fight. What people rightfully wonder about is his conditioning over the long haul. Saturday night’s fight didn’t give us a chance to find out anything about that, but hey, you can’t really complain about a first-round knockout. You also can’t say that you learned all that much about a fighter’s overall game that way.

Least Potent Offense: Yushin Okami
Aside from a clinch and a couple pawing right hands, Okami didn’t manage too many attempts at hurting Silva, which I thought was kind of supposed to be the goal. Then again, when you consider what happened on the few occasions when he did try to go on the attack, it’s hard to blame him. It seems like no matter what you do to Silva, whether it’s tossing out a jab or shooting for a takedown, you’re only giving him more information about how best to defeat you. Still, if you’re going to step in the cage and fight him, you have to fight him. The more time you spend standing around and letting him figure you out, the worse it’s going to be. As for Okami, he seemed defeated by the time he got off the stool for the second round. Again, hard to blame him. Just because he failed to figure out a fighting genius in the span of a few minutes, that doesn’t mean he’s not still a gifted fighter in his own right. It’s just that, especially in this business, the space between very good and great is so painfully vast.

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Filed under:

UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro was a memorable night for several reasons, not the least of which was the complete dominance of the Brazilian contingent on the card.

You could look at the match-ups beforehand and tell they were perhaps slightly titled in Brazil’s favor, but who among us really thought Stanislav Nedkov would be the only foreigner to defeat a Brazilian?

But now that the action’s over and the post-fight interviews are done, it’s time to sort through the aftermath to find UFC 134’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between. Won’t you join me?


Biggest Winner: Anderson Silva
It’s clear to me now that this man has something different in his brain. The same way an owl can triangulate the exact location of a squeaking field mouse in the dark, Silva can perform a minute’s worth of feints and look at where you reflexively move your head and hands and feet, and from there decide exactly how to separate you from your conciousness. To put it another way, he’s on some next level stuff out there. Normal human beings, no matter how much they practice, can’t do that. It seems to come so naturally to Silva that he appears at times incapable of appreciating how rare his violent gifts are. Fortunately, he has the rest of us to tell him, and accomplished, though helpless opponents like Okami to show him.

Biggest Loser: Brendan Schaub
Not only was he the biggest betting favorite who ended up on the losing end in Rio, he was also the USA’s best hope for a win on the night. We expected David Mitchell and even Dan Miller to get beat, but Schaub? He was supposed to be the next big heavyweight prospect, and maybe even the lone American to come back to the Northen Hemisphere with a victory stowed in his carry-on. He couldn’t get his head out of the way of Nogueira’s punches, however, so he ended up face down on the mat instead of hands raised on top of the cage. He’s still young and still growing as a fighter, so it’s not a major catastrophe, career-wise. At the same time, getting knocked out by an aging legend who seemed one or two defeats away from forced retirement is the kind of thing that’ll hit the pause button on your superstar plans with a quickness. The hype train hasn’t derailed, but it is always harder to get it started up again once it’s come to such a sudden stop.

Most Impressive in Defeat: Ross Pearson
That was a painfully close fight, and if it’s anywhere but Brazil, where even a glancing blow by a Brazilian brings the crowd to its feet, maybe he gets the decision. Even without it, he did better than many (myself included) expected him to, and proved his toughness beyond a reasonable doubt. Pearson may not be the best pure athlete in the lightweight class, but the man will keep walking you down and forcing you to fight him. Does that style have its limitations? Sure it does. Is it a whole lot of fun to watch, especially when the practitioner of such a style can take a shot as well as Pearson can? Definitely. I don’t see the hard-headed Brit becoming champion any time soon, but every division needs role-players as well as greats. If Pearson’s role is to put on exciting, gritty fights, at least it’s steady work.

Least Impressive in Victory: Thiago Tavares
His plan seemed to be to control Spencer Fisher on the mat and grind the pace down to such a yawn-worthy crawl that his opponent would eventually do something dumb just to try and force some action. Somewhat disappointingly, it worked. It’s not that Tavares didn’t deserve to win — he effectively dictated where and how the fight was contested, so that’s something — but he has to know that he won’t win many fans with takedowns and short, ineffectual punches on the mat. In a night of memorable Brazilian triumphs, his win was among the most forgettable. At least it’s better than losing.

Most Strangely Sympathetic: Forrest Griffin
Yes, he’s a grumpy young man. And no, he does not travel well. But honestly, once you see that sadsack look on his face and consider the fact that he’ll probably never be able to think about his daughter’s birth without also thinking about the night he got knocked out by “Shogun” Rua in Rio, you have to feel for the guy. What I wonder is whether the pursuit of cold hard cash alone is enough to sustain him in this business. He used to be a workhorse in the gym, the guy who told the new crop of TUF hopefuls that “the juice is worth is the squeeze.” These days he doesn’t act like he really believes it. It’s one thing to hate your job and do it anyway if you work at a kiosk in the mall selling cell phone accessories. When you fight for money, however, there are too many hungry young mercenaries out there for you to be going through the motions just for a paycheck. Griffin needs to decide whether he’s all the way in this sport. If not, he ought to get out.

Most Surprising: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
The walk to the cage was the most many of us had seen Big Nog move all week, so it was hard not to analyze every step for what it might tell us about his post-surgery mobility. He wasn’t exactly fleet of foot once the fight started, but then he was never known for his foot speed even in his prime. It seemed as though Nogueira’s plan A was to take Schaub down, but when that went nowhere he quickly resported to plan B: punch the guy in the face until he falls down. Before the fight, I would have said this was a terrible idea. Then he tried it and found Schaub was not all that difficult to hit. I might tap the brakes on the whole ‘Nogueira is back!’ meme that instantly sprouted up after the win, but at least this proves he’s not done. Not just yet, anyway.

Most Baffling: Rousimar Palhares
That’s two bizarre mental lapses in three tries for “Toquinho.” At least this one didn’t cost him the fight. I loved how Herb Dean reacted to Palhares’ premature celebration by looking at Dan Miller like he was a loose ball in a football game, just waiting to be noticed and scooped up. I admit I was a little curious to see what Miller would have done to Palhares had he been allowed to attack as Palhares straddled the top of the cage, flexing for the crowd, but I guess that was the rational point for Dean to pause the action and sort out the confusion. Palhares is obviously talented and has a lot of physical tools at his disposal, but somebody needs to teach this guy to fight until the referee tells him it’s over. There are too many ways to lose in MMA without creating new ones for yourself.

Most Unhelpfully Brief Cage Appearance: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
I’m sure he doesn’t mind winning inside of two minutes, but I sure would have liked to have seen a little more of him. It’s hard to know where his overall game is at when all his fight lasts about as long as it takes to microwave a Hot Pocket. Rua has always had that explosive power, particularly early in the fight. What people rightfully wonder about is his conditioning over the long haul. Saturday night’s fight didn’t give us a chance to find out anything about that, but hey, you can’t really complain about a first-round knockout. You also can’t say that you learned all that much about a fighter’s overall game that way.

Least Potent Offense: Yushin Okami
Aside from a clinch and a couple pawing right hands, Okami didn’t manage too many attempts at hurting Silva, which I thought was kind of supposed to be the goal. Then again, when you consider what happened on the few occasions when he did try to go on the attack, it’s hard to blame him. It seems like no matter what you do to Silva, whether it’s tossing out a jab or shooting for a takedown, you’re only giving him more information about how best to defeat you. Still, if you’re going to step in the cage and fight him, you have to fight him. The more time you spend standing around and letting him figure you out, the worse it’s going to be. As for Okami, he seemed defeated by the time he got off the stool for the second round. Again, hard to blame him. Just because he failed to figure out a fighting genius in the span of a few minutes, that doesn’t mean he’s not still a gifted fighter in his own right. It’s just that, especially in this business, the space between very good and great is so painfully vast.

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Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Forrest Griffin: Why Retirement May Be a Smart Option

Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira should both consider retiring. Look, I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do—especially guys who could squash me as easily as I hit the snooze button in the morning. I’m not saying that th…

Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira should both consider retiring.

Look, I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do—especially guys who could squash me as easily as I hit the snooze button in the morning. I’m not saying that these two legends should retire, but only that they should both consider it, for different but equally compelling reasons.

Fight careers end in one of two ways: Either a fighter chooses to retire or retirement chooses the fighter. In the UFC, retirement often comes in the reaper-like form of a feisty bald guy with lots of T-shirts. He either cuts you like excess baggage, or if he really likes you he makes you an offer you can’t refuse.

I’m speaking of course about UFC president Dana White. When Chuck Liddell’s time came, White wrangled the former champ into accepting an ambassadorial position with the company (vice president of mumbles, I think) in exchange for turning in his four-ounce gloves.

When Mark Coleman’s time came, by contrast, the legendary fighter hadn’t wiggled close enough to the corporate bosom to receive a company post, and he was unceremoniously dropped from the roster following his UFC 109 main event loss to Randy Couture.

Both Griffin and Nogueira are of a stature in the UFC such that they’re assured work with the company as long as they want it—just not necessary in the cage. Nogueira is one of the most decorated and legendary heavyweights in MMA history and has been an irreplaceable ambassador for the UFC and MMA for years. If it wasn’t for Griffin, meanwhile, and his historic fight with Stephan Bonnar in the Ultimate Fighter Season 1 Finale, the UFC might still be $60 million in the hole, or a distant memory.

When it comes to retirement, as with cage fighting, its better if you don’t leave your fate in the hands of others. Chris Lytle may not have won a championship belt, but he set a high water mark of his own in the life priorities department when he walked away from the game, still healthy, on his own terms, while still at the top of his game.

Couture’s farewell party wasn’t quite so perfect, having been spoiled by Lyoto Machida’s impromptu dental work. Still, Couture’s decision to retire was the right one, at an appropriate time and on his own terms.

Today, Nogueira now has a chance to go out as gloriously as Lytle did. With a dramatic finish of a young punk who had the audacity to call him out, Nogueira would have a career—and a retirement—to be proud of.

Griffin, meanwhile, has the less glamorous opportunity to go out more like Couture: for the right reasons, on his own terms and after getting the tar beaten out of him by some Brazilian striker. While the Lytle-style ending would clearly be preferable to Couture-style, Griffin would still be able to hold his head higher than he would, say, after a few more KO losses when White nudges him into a Liddell-style retirement.

After “Minotauro” outgunned a trigger-happy Brendan Schuab in Rio, few are currently arguing he can’t hang in the UFC heavyweight pack. Nogueira, at 35, is not even as old as teammate Anderson Silva, who you may have noticed is still at the top of his game. But in “Nog” years, Minotauro is a lot older. Since the time he was run over by a truck as a kid, Nog’s life choices have brought him an uninterrupted stream of bodily punishment.

And despite his resilience, Nogueira has little chance of scaling today’s heavyweight food chain. Certainly his brutal KO at the hands of Cain Velasquez seems more forgivable now that we’ve seen what Velasquez has done since. But the fighters at the top of the division are pushing hard to evolve their skill sets while Big Nog has been stuck in rehab for his dual hip replacement, a trend that seems like it could continue.

If I were Nogueira (a comically big “if”), I’d give my body a much deserved vacation, enjoy my new hips (Brazilians reportedly know how to do this) and phase gracefully into being a trainer. Or a politician. Or an actor. Or a UFC ambassador. Or just hang out on the beach and play soccer. He has all the money and glory a prizefighter could want.

Griffin, at only 32 years old, is atypically young for retirement talk, but when you’re talking about a fighter who’s strongest asset may be his ability to take punishment, you can assume his body has near Nogueira level of mileage on it. During the week before the fight, when he wasn’t complaining about being in Rio, Griffin had an almost Zen-like aura to him that nearly made me second-guess my pick of Mauricio Shogun. Looking back, that peaceful quality of Griffin’s may have been an expression of his grim determination that “this shall soon pass.” He also could have been thinking about home.

During the fight, while he was getting beaten senseless by Shogun, Griffin’s wife entered the early stages of labor with their first child back home in Las Vegas. That kind of impending life change can wreak havoc on your entire camp, but even without this new distraction, the odds are long that a questionably motivated Griffin re-conquers the light heavyweight division. Since losing his belt to Rashad Evans in late 2008 at UFC 92, Griffin’s only wins have been senior circuit members Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin.

By Griffin’s own admission his game hasn’t progressed, and few would argue that. He seems to have lost the fire to evolve, as the top echelons of the sport demand. He’s financially secure, with a job waiting for him at the UFC if he wants it. What does he have to gain by getting fed to the young lions or beating up more old men?

While Griffin’s second fight with Shogun might not be the most desirable way to end a career, from a future job security perspective today could be a wise time to leave. In a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, Dana White made it clear he’s well aware of Griffin’s impending fatherhood, as well the fact that Griffin really didn’t want to be in Rio at all. If Griffin were to go out on such a note of service to the UFC, after playing an integral part of the momentous and successful UFC 134, and after helping save the company’s ass in 2006, Griffin would easily have college tuition paid for as many children as he cares to have.

Is either one of these warriors ready to hang ’em up? Probably not. But I’d bet more on Griffin than Noguiera pulling the plug at this point.

However, if neither one will accept my suggestion to hang ’em up, I do have an alternative: Have them fight each other, and the loser goes home. 

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UFC 134 Results: Why Forrest Griffin Will Never Be the Same

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 …

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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UFC 134 Results: Anderson Silva’s Dominance and Analysis of the Entire Card

UFC 134, Silva vs. Okami, is over and done with and the UFC could not have planned a better return trip to Brazil. The fans in Rio de Janeiro went crazy for their Brazilian fighters, particularly because Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro…

UFC 134, Silva vs. Okami, is over and done with and the UFC could not have planned a better return trip to Brazil. The fans in Rio de Janeiro went crazy for their Brazilian fighters, particularly because Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira and Anderson Silva all had huge knockout victories.

Having watched every fight on the card, I can say this is probably the best mixed martial arts event that was put on this year. There wasn’t a single boring fight and it was filled with spectacular finishes.

Yves Jabouin and Ian Loveland put on a really fun bantamweight bout to start off the card. I played the “How many different ways is ‘Jabouin’ pronounced?” game and ended with four. This was the only card on the fight to not feature a Brazilian, but it was a great back-and-forth battle that resulted in a split decision victory for Jabouin.

Next up, Yuri Alcantara overwhelmed an inexperienced Felipe Arantes to easily take a unanimous decision victory in their featherweight bout.

Alcantara and Arantes were similarly matched on the feet, but Alcantara easily controlled the 23-year-old Arantes when the fight hit the ground. Arantes’ purple-belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu was no match for the black belt of Alcantara, who consistently managed to pass his guard and do damage.

Still, Arantes is young and could learn a lot from the loss.

Erik Silva and Luis Ramos had the most memorable fight on the Facebook prelims, as it lasted just 40 seconds.

Silva and Ramos are both welterweight champions of their respective leagues in Brazil, therefore this was something of a super fight for the fans. Silva, however, made this one pretty decisive, landing a huge overhand-right that dropped Ramos. He then threw his opponent’s legs aside and finished the fight with punches on the ground. 

Silva looked great and he definitely deserves another shot in the UFC if only because his back flip off the cage post-fight was perfect.

Although Raphael Assuncao took a 30-27 decision from Johnny Eduardo, the fight was much closer than that. Eduardo, who fittingly has “Muay Thai” tattooed across his abdomen, pretty clearly held the advantage on the feet.

Still, Assuncao, having been in there with the likes of Urijah Faber and Diego Nunes, kept his composure and displayed his clear advantage on the ground, even taking Eduardo’s back. It was Assuncao’s bantamweight debut and his frame seems perfect for this weight class.

Paulo Thiago, despite being just 3-3 in the UFC coming into his bout with David Mitchell, is one of the top welterweights in the division, having faced the likes of Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez. His experience showed at UFC 134, easily winning the stand-up exchanges and threatening with submissions on the ground. Thiago showed just how well-rounded he is, dominating Mitchell and taking a unanimous 30-27 decision.

On the first bout of the Spike TV portion of the prelims, Rousimar Palhares and Dan Miller put on one of the craziest bouts I’ve ever witnessed in the UFC.

Palhares had Miller badly hurt with a head kick in the first round and subsequently swarmed him with punches. For some reason, “Toquinho” thought the fight was stopped when it clearly wasn’t, and walked away, began celebrating and actually jumped on top of the cage. Herb Dean took a second, probably to confirm that Miller hadn’t tapped, and informed Palhares that the fight hadn’t been stopped. As soon as the fight began again, Miller dropped Palhares and nearly finished the fight himself.

The second round was an absolutely dominant one for Palhares. He controlled Miller and nearly ended the fight with his vicious ground-and-pound. He did not, however, help his reputation as a dirty fighter by repeatedly grabbing the cage despite multiple warnings. Herb Dean even had to rip his hand off from the fence at one point. He should have been deducted a point, but it also should have been a 10-8 round.

The last round I scored for Dan Miller. Both fighters were clearly exhausted and Miller barely got the edge in the stand-up exchanges. Still, the fight was a dominant victory for Rousimar Palhares, despite his embarrassing error in the first and grabbing of the cage in the second.

Dan Miller has more heart than anyone I’ve ever seen and it’s a pleasure to watch him fight, but he’s just 2-5 in his last seven bouts. Palhares, on the other hand, is 6-2, with his only losses coming to Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt.

In the last preliminary bout, Thiago Tavares came out with something to prove after his devastating knockout loss to Shane Roller in a fight he was easily winning up until that point. He played it safe against Fisher, controlling “The King” on the ground and peppering him with punches.

Fisher was unable to mount any sort of offense and seemed very listless in the fight. Tavares landed enough unanswered blows in the second round for the referee to stop it. Fisher, despite being in the UFC for nearly six years, is now 1-4 in his last five bouts and risks being cut after another lackluster performance.

In the first bout of the main card, Luiz Cane took on UFC newcomer Stanislav Nedkov. Despite controlling the stand-up exchanges throughout most of the first round, Nedkov continuously landed his overhand-right and was able to wobble Cane. Cane lost his footing, stumbled toward the cage and was finished with strikes in the first.

It was the first fight in which a Brazilian lost to a foreigner and the crowd went silent. Cane was quite emotional following the loss. Despite being very talented, Cane’s suspect chin cost him another fight. He’s 1-3 in his last four, with every bout ending by TKO in the first.

In one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the evening, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira put on an unexpected and emotional performance in front of his hometown, knocking out Brendan Schaub.

As much as people wanted to believe Nogueira still had it, his last few bouts didn’t really make that belief possible. His wars caught up to him and his historic career appears to be coming to an end. Someone forgot to mention that to Minotauro; he walked through several huge punches from Schaub that rocked him, using great head movement to stay in the bout, and was able to land a one-two combination of his own that spelled the beginning of the end.

As Kenny Florian put it, “The crowd is going bananas.” One of the greatest fighter to ever come out of Brazil—one of the greatest fighters ever—just shocked everyone. Nogueira’s knockout earned him “Knockout of the Night” and $100,000. It was his first knockout victory in six years.

While it was nearly impossible to follow up such a performance, Ross Pearson and Edson Barboza certainly tried, putting on a “Fight of the Night” performance that earned them each an additional $100,000. This was an extremely close bout that Barboza took by split decision, but I personally felt it deserved to go to Ross Pearson in a 29-28 decision.

While both Pearson and Barboza showcased their amazing striking abilities, it was Pearson’s aggressiveness and “Octagon control” that should have earned him the victory. According to FightMetric, Pearson out landed Barboza, 62-55, in total strikes. Either way, both fighters are very much deserving of their additional paycheck.

In a rematch of their 2007 bout, Shogun Rua took on Forrest Griffin in a battle of former light heavyweight champions. Shogun more than compensated for his disappointing performance against Forrest the first time around by knocking him out at 1:53 into the first round.

Yes, yes, Shogun is back.

I get that.

He looked great and completely outclassed Griffin, but I’m more concerned for Forrest. I used the word “listless” to describe Spencer Fisher, but that’s even more fitting for Griffin. He didn’t even appear to care at all. He couldn’t be bothered to put his hands up at the weigh-ins and has completely lost all the spirit and heart that made him one of the most popular fighters in the sport.

Forrest has been successful. He’s been light heavyweight champion and that’s ruined his career. He doesn’t appear hungry any more and it’s not nearly as fun to watch him fight these days.

Shogun didn’t necessarily answer all the questions regarding his knee and stamina issues, but he finished a very worthy opponent quickly. It’s not clear if he’s capable of competing with Jon Jones, despite his history of doing well in rematches, but it was a huge victory in front of the Brazilian crowd.

In the main event of the evening, Anderson Silva successfully defended his title for the ninth-consecutive time. He made Yushin Okami look scared and helpless, despite being one of the best middleweights in the world.

Similar to the Forrest Griffin fight, “The Spider” kept his hands at his sides and showed just show dominant he is. After a round of gauging Okami’s abilities, he finished him effortlessly in the second. Click here for a more in-depth analysis on this fight.

Overall, it was an extremely entertaining card, top to bottom, in Rio de Janeiro.

Anderson Silva proved he is the greatest fighter in the history of mixed martial arts, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira proved that he still has some fight left in him and Shogun Rua proved that he is still one of the top light heavyweights in the world. 

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