Forrest Griffin once was the king of the mountain in the UFC light heavyweight division. He was once the light heavyweight champion and was part of the most memorable and most important fight in UFC history.Then Rashad Evans happened and Griffin lost h…
Forrest Griffin once was the king of the mountain in the UFC light heavyweight division. He was once the light heavyweight champion and was part of the most memorable and most important fight in UFC history.
Then Rashad Evans happened and Griffin lost his belt—and seemingly lost his mojo.
Since his title fight loss Griffin is 2-3, with all three losses coming against title holders or former title holders.
Griffin was getting so close this time. He was only a couple of more wins away from earning a shot to get back his belt. But Griffin couldn’t quite pull off a victory over a man he already beat, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Now what is next for the first Ultimate Fighter winner?
Maybe a matchup with Alexander Gustafsson. Possibly a matchup with another young up-and-comer, Phil Davis. How about a fight with Ryan Bader after his loss to Tito Ortiz?
Griffin needs to get back on track and he needs to do it soon. Griffin is one of the funniest guys in MMA and at age 32, his entire career could be coming to a close soon.
It has been a rough fall from grace for Forrest. A decline that was happening even before his title victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Griffin is, after all, only 6-5 since beating Elvis Sinosic at UFC 55. But again, that is all against top competition.
Griffin is a great guy and his next best shot to get back into the top echelon of the UFC light heavyweight division should be a fight with Gustafsson or Bader, one of the young guys who is starting to fly up the ranks.
In both fights I think Griffin has the edge and should be able to pull out a win. Hopefully he does, because he is one of the most entertaining personas in the sport, and it needs someone with a persona like his.
For unfunny jokes, MMA news and reaction from events, you can follow me on Twitter: @SalDeRoseMMA.
I get what he’s trying to say, but it’s a stretch to call his tilt with Okami a “date”
Perhaps it’s pointless to write an aftermath article for an Anderson Silva fight anymore. Not necessarily because he hasn’t lost since 2006, but rather, because Anderson Silva summed up his dominance of the middleweight division perfectly himself. After his victory over Yushin Okami last night, Kenny Florian asked Anderson Silva if there’s anyone out there he would like to fight next. His response? “My clone”.
If the idea of multiple Anderson Silvas wasn’t somehow reminiscent of the plot of Terminator, I’d agree with him. Other than a rematch with Dan Henderson (if the money is right) or a rematch with Chael Sonnen (if he can get past Brian Stann), who else is out there for him? Or rather, who else atmiddleweight?
This doesn’t mean that Yushin Okami doesn’t deserve credit for his performance. If Yushin Okami had any chance of beating Anderson Silva, it was going to involve getting Silva on his back and avoiding submissions. Okami started out well enough, pushing Silva into the cage and clinching with the far superior striker. The only problem was that Okami was completely unable to take Silva down. After eating a head kick at the end of the first round, it was only a matter of time before the gun-shy challenger got caught again.
I get what he’s trying to say, but it’s a stretch to call his tilt with Okami a “date”
Perhaps it’s pointless to write an aftermath article for an Anderson Silva fight anymore. Not necessarily because he hasn’t lost since 2006, but rather, because Anderson Silva summed up his dominance of the middleweight division perfectly himself. After his victory over Yushin Okami last night, Kenny Florian asked Anderson Silva if there’s anyone out there he would like to fight next. His response? “My clone”.
If the idea of multiple Anderson Silvas wasn’t somehow reminiscent of the plot of Terminator, I’d agree with him. Other than a rematch with Dan Henderson (if the money is right) or a rematch with Chael Sonnen (if he can get past Brian Stann), who else is out there for him? Or rather, who else atmiddleweight?
This doesn’t mean that Yushin Okami doesn’t deserve credit for his performance. If Yushin Okami had any chance of beating Anderson Silva, it was going to involve getting Silva on his back and avoiding submissions. Okami started out well enough, pushing Silva into the cage and clinching with the far superior striker. The only problem was that Okami was completely unable to take Silva down. After eating a head kick at the end of the first round, it was only a matter of time before the gun-shy challenger got caught again.
It took Mauricio “Shogun” Rua just under two minutes to prove that he still belongs in the mix at light-heavyweight. Fighting in Brazil for the first time since 2003, Shogun capitalized on Griffin’s attempt to push the pace and avenged his loss to Griffin from 2007. Aside from knocking Griffin out last night, Shogun may have permanently knocked Griffin out of contention for another light-heavyweight title shot. It’s been fun while it lasted, but perhaps it’s time for Griffin to be relegated to the proverbial old guy division.
In other action, Edson Barboza predictably defeated Ross Pearson, though the fight was far closer than most anticipated it being. Barboza may have gotten the victory, but it’s hard to imagine his stock rising after barely getting by a handpicked opponent. Meanwhile, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who essentially made a career out of coming back from early damage to win fights, showed us more of the same in his comeback victory over Brendan Schaub. Perhaps Schuab, who was in trouble early against Cro Cop in his last fight, wasn’t as ready for the step up in competition as we were led to believe. Likewise, Big Nog looked slow and vulnerable for most of the fight. While it’s still an impressive victory for Nogueira, it’s also premature to declare that he is back in the mix at heavyweight.
For the record, Luiz Cane is the only Brazilian on the card to lose to a foreign opponent, getting knocked out by Stanislay Nedkov. Cane has now lost three of his last four. Luis Ramos, who fought fellow Brazilian Erick Silva, was the only other Brazilian to lose last night.
Main Card
Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami via second-round TKO
Mauricio Rua def. Forrest Griffin via first-round KO
Edson Barboza def. Ross Pearson via split decision
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Brendan Schaub via first-round KO
Stanislav Nedkov def. Luiz Cane via first-round TKO
Preliminary Bouts
Thiago Tavares def. Spencer Fisher via second-round TKO
Rousimar Palhares def. Dan Miller via unanimous decision
Paulo Thiago def. David Mitchell via unanimous decision
Raphael Assuncao def. Johnny Eduardo by unanimous decision
Erick Silva def. Luis Ramos via first-round TKO
Yuri Alcantara def. Felipe Arantes via unanimous decision
Yves Jabouin def. Ian Loveland via split decision
RIO DE JANEIRO — Forrest Griffin may have lost on Saturday night, but UFC president Dana White had nothing but praise for the former light heavyweight champion, considering the circumstances surrounding the bout.
“His wife is literally getting ready to deliver their baby in Las Vegas right now,” White said after thanking Griffin for taking the fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on the UFC 134 card. “We’re going to try and get him home as fast as we can.”
All week long Griffin made no secret of the fact that he would rather have rematched Rua at home in Vegas than in Brazil. It wasn’t just the opposition from the Rio crowd, though that was intense. It was all the little things, he explained. The strange food, the exhausting language barrier, the lack of familiar items.
“If I have to do this again, I know I have to bring everything,” Griffin said at the post-fight press conference. “Because you’re not getting Pepto Bismol here.”
But having his wife at home on the verge of giving birth to their daughter only made the situation tougher for Griffin, who was staggered by a hard right hand from Rua in the first round, then finished moments later by a brutal series of hammer fists on the mat.
“The game plan was to get off after he missed, and he missed a couple times and I let him off the hook,” said Griffin, who added that he had just learned that his wife was likely going into labor nine days early.
“I have so much respect for him for coming in and taking this fight, being in this situation,” White said. “He knew he was going to be in this situation. Like he said, she was supposed to be nine days later. He was just texting with her before we came in here and she thinks she’s ready to go. I’m leaving tonight, he’s flying home with me tonight.”
Coming into the rematch with Rua, who Griffin defeated back in 2007, Griffin was riding a two-fight win streak after victories over Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin. But he never quite got started in this one, and less than two minutes in he found himself on his back, flailing away as Rua pounded him with hammer fists.
“It’s just setting in,” he said of the loss. “I think that’s a fight where I definitely could have done a lot better. It sucks when you do poorly at your job.”
At least he pleased his boss just by stepping up and taking the fight, even if he ended up on the wrong side of it in the end. White insisted Griffin was still a top ten light heavyweight in his opinion, and couldn’t praise him enough after the bout.
Then again, if he’d known he was going to get knocked out the same night that his daughter was likely arriving into the world, Griffin said, he might have made a different choice.
“If I had known it was going to work out like this, I would not have taken the fight,” Griffin joked, adding that he was “supposed to have nine more days” until the baby’s birth.
But then, in birth as in prizefighting, plans can change in a hurry. All anyone can do is try to change with them.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Forrest Griffin may have lost on Saturday night, but UFC president Dana White had nothing but praise for the former light heavyweight champion, considering the circumstances surrounding the bout.
“His wife is literally getting ready to deliver their baby in Las Vegas right now,” White said after thanking Griffin for taking the fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on the UFC 134 card. “We’re going to try and get him home as fast as we can.”
All week long Griffin made no secret of the fact that he would rather have rematched Rua at home in Vegas than in Brazil. It wasn’t just the opposition from the Rio crowd, though that was intense. It was all the little things, he explained. The strange food, the exhausting language barrier, the lack of familiar items.
“If I have to do this again, I know I have to bring everything,” Griffin said at the post-fight press conference. “Because you’re not getting Pepto Bismol here.”
But having his wife at home on the verge of giving birth to their daughter only made the situation tougher for Griffin, who was staggered by a hard right hand from Rua in the first round, then finished moments later by a brutal series of hammer fists on the mat.
“The game plan was to get off after he missed, and he missed a couple times and I let him off the hook,” said Griffin, who added that he had just learned that his wife was likely going into labor nine days early.
“I have so much respect for him for coming in and taking this fight, being in this situation,” White said. “He knew he was going to be in this situation. Like he said, she was supposed to be nine days later. He was just texting with her before we came in here and she thinks she’s ready to go. I’m leaving tonight, he’s flying home with me tonight.”
Coming into the rematch with Rua, who Griffin defeated back in 2007, Griffin was riding a two-fight win streak after victories over Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin. But he never quite got started in this one, and less than two minutes in he found himself on his back, flailing away as Rua pounded him with hammer fists.
“It’s just setting in,” he said of the loss. “I think that’s a fight where I definitely could have done a lot better. It sucks when you do poorly at your job.”
At least he pleased his boss just by stepping up and taking the fight, even if he ended up on the wrong side of it in the end. White insisted Griffin was still a top ten light heavyweight in his opinion, and couldn’t praise him enough after the bout.
Then again, if he’d known he was going to get knocked out the same night that his daughter was likely arriving into the world, Griffin said, he might have made a different choice.
“If I had known it was going to work out like this, I would not have taken the fight,” Griffin joked, adding that he was “supposed to have nine more days” until the baby’s birth.
But then, in birth as in prizefighting, plans can change in a hurry. All anyone can do is try to change with them.
RIO DE JANEIRO — As far as UFC president Dana White is concerned, there hasn’t been any doubt about where Anderson Silva stands for some time now. But after Saturday night’s destruction of Yushin Okami at UFC 134, White said, it should no longer even be a question.
“One thing I want to make clear, and I’ve been saying this for a long time, this guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world,” White said of Silva. “There’s no debate. You’re out of your mind if you don’t think this guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. People will say, ‘Oh, he needs to be challenged.’ The [185-pound] division has a ton of great fighters. The reality is, this guy is so good, he makes it look like it’s not.”
Former foe Forrest Griffin had a more succinct way of putting it when discussing who Silva should face next: “I say he fights two guys.”
Fighting in front of his countrymen for the first time in his UFC career, the middleweight champion easily dispatched Okami in the second round, and seemed as if he might have even been drawing the fight out to get it to last that long. From the opening minutes of the bout, Okami wasn’t much more than target practice for Silva, who eventually dropped him with a punch combo and then finished the woozy challenger with a barrage of strikes on the ground.
For Silva, who had watched the first UFC event in Brazil in 1998, it was a dream come true, he said, and one that would have seemed improbable at best back in the days of the UFC’s first foray into South America.
“At that time I practiced other martial arts,” Silva said via an interpreter. “I didn’t even consider doing mixed martial arts. It was awesome to be able to fight here in Brazil, in front of Brazilian people.”
Of course, at this point every Silva fight concludes the same way, and that’s with questions about when he might face UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre.
As is typical, Silva didn’t do much more than make silly faces as potential opponents were mentioned at the post-fight press conference, saying once again that, ideally, he’d like to face his clone in his next fight.
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Until the scientific community can make that dream a reality, however, it sounds like White has some other ideas.
“I think there’s a couple other fights out there for him at 185 [pounds],” the UFC president said of Silva before admitting that both GSP and the middleweight champ are “getting into a position here where that fight’s going to make sense.”
If it does materialize soon, the biggest problem, according to White, might be finding the right venue to host the dream fight.
“I honestly believe, there’s a couple more fights for Anderson and Georges, and if they both win, I honestly don’t know if there’s a stadium big enough for that fight.”
As for Okami, his future is less certain. The loss against Silva tosses him back into the middle of the UFC’s middleweight pack, but that doesn’t mean White is ready to take back any of the praise he lavished on him in the lead-up to this bout.
“Yushin Okami — I said it before the fight and I’ll say it again after the fight — he’s one of the best 185-pound fighters in the world and he’s the best fighter to come out of Japan,” White said in response to a question about whether the UFC would keep Okami on the roster.
But once again, it was Griffin who put things in terms everyone could understand.
“There’s a long list of guys who get beat up by Anderson,” he said. “If you fire them all, you’re not going to have anybody left.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — As far as UFC president Dana White is concerned, there hasn’t been any doubt about where Anderson Silva stands for some time now. But after Saturday night’s destruction of Yushin Okami at UFC 134, White said, it should no longer even be a question.
“One thing I want to make clear, and I’ve been saying this for a long time, this guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world,” White said of Silva. “There’s no debate. You’re out of your mind if you don’t think this guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. People will say, ‘Oh, he needs to be challenged.’ The [185-pound] division has a ton of great fighters. The reality is, this guy is so good, he makes it look like it’s not.”
Former foe Forrest Griffin had a more succinct way of putting it when discussing who Silva should face next: “I say he fights two guys.”
Fighting in front of his countrymen for the first time in his UFC career, the middleweight champion easily dispatched Okami in the second round, and seemed as if he might have even been drawing the fight out to get it to last that long. From the opening minutes of the bout, Okami wasn’t much more than target practice for Silva, who eventually dropped him with a punch combo and then finished the woozy challenger with a barrage of strikes on the ground.
For Silva, who had watched the first UFC event in Brazil in 1998, it was a dream come true, he said, and one that would have seemed improbable at best back in the days of the UFC’s first foray into South America.
“At that time I practiced other martial arts,” Silva said via an interpreter. “I didn’t even consider doing mixed martial arts. It was awesome to be able to fight here in Brazil, in front of Brazilian people.”
Of course, at this point every Silva fight concludes the same way, and that’s with questions about when he might face UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre.
As is typical, Silva didn’t do much more than make silly faces as potential opponents were mentioned at the post-fight press conference, saying once again that, ideally, he’d like to face his clone in his next fight.
%VIRTUAL-Gallery-131871%
Until the scientific community can make that dream a reality, however, it sounds like White has some other ideas.
“I think there’s a couple other fights out there for him at 185 [pounds],” the UFC president said of Silva before admitting that both GSP and the middleweight champ are “getting into a position here where that fight’s going to make sense.”
If it does materialize soon, the biggest problem, according to White, might be finding the right venue to host the dream fight.
“I honestly believe, there’s a couple more fights for Anderson and Georges, and if they both win, I honestly don’t know if there’s a stadium big enough for that fight.”
As for Okami, his future is less certain. The loss against Silva tosses him back into the middle of the UFC’s middleweight pack, but that doesn’t mean White is ready to take back any of the praise he lavished on him in the lead-up to this bout.
“Yushin Okami — I said it before the fight and I’ll say it again after the fight — he’s one of the best 185-pound fighters in the world and he’s the best fighter to come out of Japan,” White said in response to a question about whether the UFC would keep Okami on the roster.
But once again, it was Griffin who put things in terms everyone could understand.
“There’s a long list of guys who get beat up by Anderson,” he said. “If you fire them all, you’re not going to have anybody left.”
Unfortunately for Forrest, he got wrecked pretty badly.Forrest Griffin was knocked out by Shogun Rua at the 1:53 mark of round No. 1.That killed Griffin’s two fight win streak, and puts him out of the title picture for the time being.If Forrest does st…
Unfortunately for Forrest, he got wrecked pretty badly.
Forrest Griffin was knocked out by Shogun Rua at the 1:53 mark of round No. 1.
That killed Griffin’s two fight win streak, and puts him out of the title picture for the time being.
If Forrest does stick around to fight another day, there’s a few interesting matchups out there for him to take.
Here’s four potential fights for Forrest Griffin to rebound.
In the third bout of the pay-per-view portion of UFC 134, Ross Pearson went up against the undefeated Edson Barboza in a lightweight matchup.The fight started off with Barboza swinging his legs , but Pearson pushed forward and landed a couple of good p…
In the third bout of the pay-per-view portion of UFC 134, Ross Pearson went up against the undefeated Edson Barboza in a lightweight matchup.
The fight started off with Barboza swinging his legs , but Pearson pushed forward and landed a couple of good punches. Pearson then landed a left hand that stunned Barboza for just a moment.
Pearson continued to press forward and landed a left hand. Barboza found himself against the cage, but quickly circled away from it. Pearson then ripped away at Barboza’s body, and Barboza answered with a front kick. Barboza then nailed Pearson with a very hard spinning back kick to the body.
Pearson then put four punches together, and anchored it with a left hand that pushed Barboza backwards. They continued to trade, but the accuracy of Pearson beating out the speed of Barboza. Pearson went for a takedown as the round came to an end, but was unable to finish it off.
On Saturday, August 27, the Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return to Brazil for the first time since 1998.
In the main event of the evening, reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will be making yet another defense of his title when he takes on Yushin Okami. Silva will be entering this fight at nearly a 6-1 favorite. Will “The Spider” make another successful title defense, or will Okami be able to overcome the odds and dethrone Silva?
The evening’s co-main event will feature a rematch between “Shogun” Rua and Forrest Griffin. In their first outing, Griffin surprised many people when he was able to submit Rua in the third round of his UFC debut.
In other pay-per-view action, Brendan Schaub will be looking to move his way further up the heavyweight ranks when he takes on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Edson Barboza will be looking to further his unbeaten streak against Ross Pearson, and Luiz Cane will welcome Stanislav Nedkov in to the UFC.
Be sure to check out Bleacher Report for UFC 134 results, reaction, and analysis. And follow me on Twitter @JasonSchielke. All the cool kids do it.
Forrest Griffin once was the king of the mountain in the UFC light heavyweight division. He was once the light heavyweight champion and was part of the most memorable and most important fight in UFC history.
RIO DE JANEIRO — 
RIO DE JANEIRO — As far as UFC president Dana White is concerned, there hasn’t been any doubt about where