Tag: Forrest Griffin

Randy Couture: Is There Anyone Who Could Possibly Replace the MMA Legend?

With the retirement of Randy Couture following his loss to Lyoto Machida this past Saturday at UFC 129 coupled with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell hanging up his gloves recently, is there anyone on the UFC roster who could be viewed as the elde…

With the retirement of Randy Couture following his loss to Lyoto Machida this past Saturday at UFC 129 coupled with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell hanging up his gloves recently, is there anyone on the UFC roster who could be viewed as the elder statesman. Is there a fighter who the UFC can bank on to help them out of a desperate situation whether or not it benefits them personally the way Liddell and Couture did on so many occasions?

It’s very rare that an organization has a fighter who is willing to put the needs of their employer before their very own the way Couture has. When they needed a main event for UFC 105 they called on Couture to take on the much younger Brandon Vera. When Tito Ortiz bailed out of his bout with Mark Coleman, Couture stepped in despite having nothing to gain personally. When James Toney ran his mouth and belittled the sport who came through to shut the boxers mouth and prove just how different the two sports truly are?

There aren’t many fighters around today who could ever dream of becoming the icon Couture is. What is most important though is whether or not there is somebody who can be a true ambassador for the sport and follow the example “The Natural” has set during his illustrious career.

Begin Slideshow

Lyoto Machida Believes Different “Shogun” Rua Fought Jon Jones

It wasn’t long ago that everyone and their favorite keyboard (yes, including us), were falling over themselves to toss a heaping ton of praise on Jon Jones, after he demolished “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 in March. After all, the 23 year-old-phenomenon hardly broke a sweat while dismantling the man that had beaten the man. […]

rua machida

It wasn’t long ago that everyone and their favorite keyboard (yes, including us), were falling over themselves to toss a heaping ton of praise on Jon Jones, after he demolished “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 in March. After all, the 23 year-old-phenomenon hardly broke a sweat while dismantling the man that had beaten the man. Remember the heralded Machida Era? And how Rua ended it with a series of ‘nighty-nighty’ right hands?

While there’s no questioning the fact that Jones is quickly approaching ‘baddest dude on the planet’ status, you don’t have to be a member of the “Shogun” Boosters Club to concede that Rua didn’t exactly look like his old self in the fight. The guy did spend almost a year on the DL with yet another knee injury. Well, Lyoto Machida recently offered his opinion to Sherdog.com on how Rua looked against Jones, and not surprisingly, he didn’t see the same dude that beat him down last May.

“Shogun is a tough guy…I know Shogun has more to show than that. Maybe he failed to bring his game or maybe he felt the pressure of defending the belt for the first time. As I’ve said before, there are other factors we don’t know about, other factors that may have interfered. They changed opponents on him. That can interfere with a fight. I have no doubt he could have fought better. I’m sure if Shogun was the same fighter he was when we fought in Los Angeles the fight would have been much more difficult for Jones…”

Guess we’ll get a better idea on this when Rua rematches Griffin this August.

UFC 134 Fight Card: Silva vs. Okami

Filed under: UFCThe UFC 134 fight card will feature Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami during the UFC’s return to Brazil on Aug. 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Silva (28-4), who will be aiming for his ninth consecutive middleweight title defense…

Filed under:

The UFC 134 fight card will feature Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami during the UFC’s return to Brazil on Aug. 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Silva (28-4), who will be aiming for his ninth consecutive middleweight title defense, is facing the last opponent to have defeated him. Back in January 2006, Silva suffered a loss by disqualification for knocking out Okami with an illegal upkick. Okami (26-5) will enter his first UFC title bout coming off a victory over Nate Marquardt.

UFC: Rio marks the first time the promotion has held an event in Brazil since 1998. Check out the current lineup below.

Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua Rematch to Take Place at UFC Rio Event

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsA rematch of the epic September 2007 matchup between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take place at the UFC’s upcoming event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, MMA Fighting has learned from sources with k…

Filed under: , ,

A rematch of the epic September 2007 matchup between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take place at the UFC’s upcoming event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, MMA Fighting has learned from sources with knowledge of the situation.

Early Friday morning, UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMA Fighting that the two former light-heavyweight champions would clash again.

The original scrap between the two took place at UFC 76, with Griffin winning via third-round submission, pulling off the finish with just 15 seconds left in the bout. Griffin used the momentum of that win to propel him into a championship victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in July 2008.

MMA Top 10 Light Heavyweights: Any Stopping Jon Jones?

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, Light HeavyweightsThe Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long ti…

Filed under: , , ,

The Jon Jones Era, as you’ve surely heard, has begun: Jones is the new UFC light heavyweight champion, and everyone who follows MMA agrees that he’s going to be the champion for a long, long time.

However, the light heavyweight division is so talented that it’s been nearly impossible for anyone to hold the belt for long: Chuck Liddell lost it to Rampage Jackson, who lost it to Forrest Griffin, who lost it to Rashad Evans, who lost it to Lyoto Machida, who lost it to Shogun Rua, who lost it to Jones. We’ve had seven different champions in the last four years, so why is everyone so sure that Jones is going to hold onto the belt for so long?

The biggest reason, I think, is Jones’ age. With the exception of Evans losing to Machida, every champion I mentioned above lost the belt to someone younger than him. But there aren’t any contenders on the horizon younger than the 23-year-old Jones. Not only is Jones already the best, but he’s going to keep getting better as the rest of the Top 10 light heavyweights in mixed martial arts get older.

So as I list the Top 10 light heavyweights below, I’ll talk about how I’d like their chances against Jones — even though I expect Jones to reign over all of them for a long time.

Healing from Broken Foot, Forrest Griffin Prepares for Title Climb

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsStill self-deprecating despite a resume that boasts a UFC championship reign and New York Times bestseller status, Forrest Griffin readily admits that his recent win over Rich Franklin was no thing of beauty.

…

Filed under: , ,

Still self-deprecating despite a resume that boasts a UFC championship reign and New York Times bestseller status, Forrest Griffin readily admits that his recent win over Rich Franklin was no thing of beauty.

Griffin outpointed Franklin during the UFC 126 co-main event, using his size advantage to put Franklin on his back and work him over from the top position. For a guy who first gained his fame as a heart-on-his-sleeve brawler, it showed his continued maturity as a fighter, if not his willingness to risk losing for being a crowd-pleaser.

“It’s a win, and at that point I was thinking, ‘I’ll take anything I can get,'” Griffin told MMA Fighting in an exclusive interview.

The physical nature of MMA is such that despite a conservative game plan, Griffin did not emerge unscathed. The popular light-heavyweight broke his right foot during the bout, the second time he’s broken it in the last two years. He previously injured it in training for his Nov. 2009 bout with Tito Ortiz, but fought anyway and won.