Forrest Griffin was on MMA Fight Corner Radio this weekend and when asked whether or not he would entertain a third fight with Tito Ortiz, the former UFC light heavyweight champ didn’t hesitate in answering.
“If people would pay to see that fight, I’ll get paid to fight that fight,” Griffin said. “I care more about where the fight is; I don’t travel well. If that fight [with Tito] happens in the continental United States, I’m down.”
(Video courtesy of UStream/MMAFightCornerRadio)
Forrest Griffin was on MMA Fight Corner Radio this weekend and when asked whether or not he would entertain a third fight with Tito Ortiz, the former UFC light heavyweight champ didn’t hesitate in answering.
“If people would pay to see that fight, I’ll get paid to fight that fight,” Griffin said. “I care more about where the fight is; I don’t travel well. If that fight [with Tito] happens in the continental United States, I’m down.”
“If anything, for me now, I’m realizing that I don’t have much left. This is the end of the road for me. I want a couple of more fight fights, you know, good ones. Fights were I don’t get knocked out in the first round,” he said with a chuckle. “Fights were I get hurt and bleed a little but I kinda rally back. Something of that nature. As far as a fight with Tito, yeah it would be good but do people want to see it.”
Nick Diaz nominated for Stocktonian of the Year: here. Brittney Palmer officially returns as an Octagon Girl with UFC 140: here. Dan Henderson talks about Mauricio “Shogun” Rua‘s serious repercussions at UFC 139: here. Anderson.
Nick Diaz nominated for Stocktonian of the Year: here.
Brittney Palmer officially returns as an Octagon Girl with UFC 140: here.
Dan Henderson talks about Mauricio “Shogun” Rua‘s serious repercussions at UFC 139: here.
Anderson Silva has “nothing” to say about Chael Sonnen: here.
Michael Bisping plans to end Jason Miller‘s career and leave him “to be just another washed-up TV star walking around Hollywood looking like a crackhead begging for a dollar”: here.
Some of your favorite MMA stars may be wanted for heinous crimes: here.
Enjoy all of our favorite MMA ladies all dolled up at this year’s 2011 World MMA Awards below:
Filed under: UFCAt 41 years old, Dan Henderson’s forward march is downright ludicrous. A winner of seven of his last eight fights, Henderson re-entered the UFC paired with one of the most destructive strikers the sport has known and again proved that h…
At 41 years old, Dan Henderson‘s forward march is downright ludicrous. A winner of seven of his last eight fights, Henderson re-entered the UFC paired with one of the most destructive strikers the sport has known and again proved that he was far from ready to being put out to pasture.
In this sport, it’s rare to be madly debating the future prospects of a fighter his age, but Henderson is the rarest of birds. Not only does he continue to excel, he is capable of being relevant at two weight divisions. That will make his future trajectory an adventure, because even if he loses at one weight division, he can always switch back to another and poof, instant contender.
Dan Henderson
It’s so far yet unknown just how much time Henderson or his opponent Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will need, but a lot of Hendo’s future plans depends on a recovery layoff. Over the weekend, we heard rumors that middleweight champion Anderson Silva won’t be ready to defend his belt until June 2012. And of course, Chael Sonnen remains the frontrunner for the spot. Since Silva is the only divisional fight Henderson’s interested in, it seems unlikely that the middleweight class is in his immediate future. Instead, he’s much more likely to stay paired up with the big boys of 205, where he gives up size but no power.
Prediction: Though it’s hard to project the divisional outlook without knowing when Henderson will fight again, there’s only a handful of fighters worth his time. The loser of the Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida title fight sounds like a good matchup against a credible opponent. Aside from that, how about a rematch with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson?
Mauricio Rua
You’ve got to feel for Rua, who is just 3-3 in his last 6 fights but has two somewhat controversial losses included. Most felt like he beat Machida in their first encounter, and against Henderson, his late performance could have easily salvaged at least a draw. Nevertheless, Rua remains one of the division’s elite, and like Henderson, should be matched accordingly.
Also like Henderson, he’s likely going to need a lengthy period of time off to recover. Given the exciting performances he’s taken part in, he deserves every day necessary.
Prediction: Rua faces Thiago Silva after Silva’s suspension is lifted in early 2012.
Wanderlei Silva
It almost never fails that a once-great fighter left for dead manages to have at least one last shining moment before fading away. With Silva, we can’t be quite sure if his win over Cung Le is a middleweight rebirth or that last moment of glory.
Silva looked good in the rematch, rebounding from an early stumble in which he was rocked and knocked down to finish the Bay Area star late in the second round. Now that he’s won, he goes from talk of retirement to a debate of where exactly he fits in the division.
Prediction: A date with Demian Maia would work well here, but given their friendship, it’s an idea not likely to get very far. So I’ll match him up with the winner of UFC 142‘s Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson fight.
Cung Le
It had been over a year since Le fought, and while his bout with Silva was a crowd-pleaser, it’s certainly not the result he wanted in his UFC debut, and in front of his hometown fans. The big question now is whether or not he will retire.
Even though he’s 39 years old and has a blooming film career, Le like many other fighters likely can’t stomach the thought of retiring on a knockout loss. He feels he was competitive in the fight and can still perform at a high level. Because of that, I doubt he will seriously consider calling it quits. He may sit out for a while, but he will fight again.
Prediction: Le spends a few months on the sidelines, then comes back to the octagon in mid-2012. Urijah Faber
There’s no prediction to make here as we already know that by virtue of his submission win over Brian Bowles, Faber will have his third date with Dominick Cruz in a UFC bantamweight title fight to be held sometime next year. It is worth mentioning though that Faber is 0-4 in his last four title fights. After three of those losses, he needed to win only one fight to get his next championship opportunity. One other time, he needed two wins. So all told, he’s 5-4 in his last nine fights; 5-0 in non-title fights and 0-4 for the gold. Bottom line: I don’t think Faber deserved this quick elevation. As impressive as his win was, he should have fought Renan Barao for it. In this case, business interests were moved ahead of fairness.
Brian Bowles
For the first time, Bowles looked outclassed in the cage, as he never really got started in his loss to Faber. There are a couple possibilities for him, including a rematch with Miguel Torres, who won on the undercard of the event. But I think another track is more likely.
Prediction: He faces Demetrious Johnson
Martin Kampmann
After heartbreaking back-to-back decision losses to Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields, Kampmann finally got the judges to see a fight his way in the end. Kampmann remains an intriguing talent in the division, because he has excellent skills in every department, yet he rarely turns up his aggression level and has never truly flashed fight-changing one-punch power. On any given day, he’s capable of beating anyone, but has to prove he’s capable of beating elite talents.
Prediction: He faces Rory MacDonald Michael McDonald
Among the many storylines that flew under the radar on Saturday night was the excellent performances from two prospects: bantamweight McDonald and middleweight Chris Weidman. It’s important for both divisions, as bantamweight champ Cruz has beaten most of the division’s top five already, while the middleweight class has little talent under the age of 30. McDonald’s standup skills have proven fantastic, and the 20-year-old is rapidly making waves.
Chris Weidman
Given Weidman’s displayed wrestling and grappling excellence (he tapped out Tom Lawlor with a D’arce choke), it seems time to match him up with someone who can cancel that out and see if he passes the test.
Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsSeemingly on the verge of being finished twice before storming back and nearly forcing a draw in the UFC 139 main event, former UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua showed a survivor’s menta…
Seemingly on the verge of being finished twice before storming back and nearly forcing a draw in the UFC 139 main event, former UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua showed a survivor’s mentality on Saturday night. But by the time he left the octagon, Rua’s face was marked up with cuts and disfigured by swelling.
Despite his appearance, the Brazilian fighter seems to have escaped serious injury in the war of attrition, passing a post-fight CT scan, his manager Eduardo Alonso told MMA Fighting on Monday.
“All was fine,” Eduardo said in an email. “Only bruises and a cut on the eyebrow.”
Facing heavy-handed slugger Dan Henderson, Rua fell behind early, trailing after dropping the first three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. But the proud fighter staged a frantic rally in the final two rounds, out-landing Henderson by a 112-17 count over the final 10 minutes to capture the final two frames. Rua spent the entire final round in the mount position, trying desperately to finish Henderson and close out what would have been an epic comeback. In the last round, he out-struck Henderson 79-8, but was not awarded a single 10-8 round despite the dominant stretch.
After the fight, neither Rua nor Henderson was able to attend the post-fight press conference, instead taking trips to a nearby hospital for precautionary tests.
Despite the loss which dropped him to 20-6, Rua can at least recover while consoling himself with the knowledge that most of the MMA world considers him one-half of the greatest fight the sport has ever witnessed.
“He will take a vacation and be back strong,” Alonso said.
*Photo props to Clinch Gear on Facebook. A good friend once told me, “where there is no beauty, create it yourself.” Many folks who have yet to subscribe to our Mixed Martial Arts sport may.
A good friend once told me, “where there is no beauty, create it yourself.”
Many folks who have yet to subscribe to our Mixed Martial Arts sport may tell you MMA is violent and ugly. And if they saw this picture above, they might use it as evidence to back up their claim. But all I see when I look at this candid shot is the beauty of the sport. These are two great warriors who pridefully created each other’s battle wounds and humbly give each other respect. Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were not even fighting for a belt last night. They were fighting for honor. And in that regard, they both won.
Fans and media have repeatedly rejoiced that this UFC 139 five round headlining bout was “epic” but I call it, defining. It’s the fight we should expect to see every time two fighters enter a cage. It’s the fight we MMA fans will talk about to recruit new fans. It’s the fight we needed to prove that UFC is ready for its spotlight broadcast role.
Thank you, Hendo and Shogun for setting the standard and taking us to a whole new level of awe.
Filed under: UFCThe UFC’s Fight of the Year might not have even been MMA’s Fight of the Night. That’s how good last night was in the MMA world. Separated by a few hours and a few thousand miles, Bellator’s Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez and the UFC…
The UFC‘s Fight of the Year might not have even been MMA‘s Fight of the Night. That’s how good last night was in the MMA world. Separated by a few hours and a few thousand miles, Bellator‘s Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez and the UFC’s Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua staged two of the sport’s all-time epic fights.
In the former, Chandler upset Alvarez in a rollicking, explosive fourth-round submission win; in the latter Henderson outlasted Rua in an ferocious war of attrition.
“That’s the best fight I’ve ever seen,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said of his lightweight title clash.
“It was the greatest fight I’ve ever seen” UFC president Dana White said of his veteran battle.
Somehow, they were both right.
Let’s start with Henderson-Rua, since there’s no doubt it was watched by more viewers.
If last weekend’s UFC on FOX was about spreading the MMA gospel, UFC 139 was about the sport in its purest form of competition. The event itself was always in the shadows of its network cousin, with promotion minimized due to the UFC’s expiring contract with Spike. But when it came time to fight, Henderson and Rua conducted a symphony of violence that surpassed any fight to take place in the UFC’s octagon this year.
“Without a doubt, it was one of the top three fights ever in MMA,” White said afterward.
By the time it was over, both competitors were a mess. Rua was bleeding from near his puffy left eye, his bottom lip was swollen, his once-white shorts were stained pink with drying blood. Aside from a knot on the left side of his head, Henderson’s face was not quite as marked up, but in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he draped his arm over Rogan’s shoulders, either unable or unwilling to stand on his own power. Henderson also needed help walking backstage. Both men skipped the post-fight press conference to visit a local hospital for observation.
It was the kind of fight that shortens careers, which granted, sounds a bit ridiculous in regards to Henderson since he’s 41 years old. The hammer-fisted Californian nearly knocked out Rua on at least two occasions.
“That guy can take an f’n punch,” Henderson said. It was certainly true, and it also applied to him. According to FightMetric, Rua landed an astonishing 161 head shots — and lost.
It was a level of violence that might not have been easily palatable to a network audience. While Velasquez-dos Santos ended with a knockout, it was clean, fast and simple. There wasn’t a lot of time to digest what was happening.
On the other hand, Henderson-Rua was a physical grind, a war of attrition that seemed on the verge of a fight-ending explosion at any moment, from either side. If you are the type to squirm or shriek at the moments when a fighter is on the verge of being finished, this wasn’t the fight for you. There was a lot of that, nearly every round, it seemed.
Newcomers to the sport may have been blown away or turn off. There probably would have been no in between. But for those of us who watch regularly, it was a perfect example of why we watch.
It wasn’t that it was a display of perfect technique or MMA fundamentals, but it was a primal battle of wills. Both fighters refused to be put away in situations where lesser fighters would have wilted. Momentum shifted often and unpredictably.
For Rua, it came exactly two fights after his light-heavyweight title loss to Jon Jones, in which he received some criticism for his performance. If there were any questions about his durability or heart, they were answered even in defeat. And for Henderson, he is constantly combating the question of age. It’s only fair to wonder how much longer he can keep doing it, and yet here he is in his early 40s with a four-fight win streak and knocking on the door for a title shot.
The Chandler-Alvarez fight was every bit as exciting. Alvarez was nearly knocked out in the first, only to roar back in a fight that quickly began to take on a see-saw affect with all the momentum changes. By the end of the third, both fighters’ faces were covered in blood.
Chandler appeared to be fading, and the champion seemed to be taking control in the fourth until Chandler landed a fight-changer, a straight right hand that floored Alvarez. Seemingly recharged, Chandler pounced on top of Alvarez, rained blows and sunk in a fight-ending rear naked choke with Alvarez gave his back.
Say what you will about Bellator being a rung below the UFC in talent pool — and many will point that out — but the fight was contested at a high level of technical proficiency and like Rua-Henderson, showcased the gutsy efforts that matter to most fans as much as winning and losing.
Maybe these fights were one week late in coming. Or maybe it’s best that they were left to us, the smaller, more loyal audience that helped the sport get this far, as a sort of “thank you.” There is a certain school of thought out there that once things go mainstream, they are never quite the same. It gets watered down, or played out.
That’s not always true of course. Most of the time, it’s not the same simply because it’s not “yours” anymore. It’s not the same when you don’t have an inside secret. But why would we want to keep this secret? Either fight would have served the sport well in front of a nation’s eyeballs. MMA may be easier served up in 64-second knockouts, but eventually the bandage will have to be ripped off and they’ll have to learn just how beautiful the right kind of violence can be.
At 41 years old, 
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