After Forrest Griffin’s impromptu retirement announcement during the UFC 160 post-fight presser, Dana White announced that Griffin, along with Stephan Bonnar, would be headed for the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.Yes, Griffin and Bonnar took part …
After Forrest Griffin’s impromptu retirement announcement during the UFC 160 post-fight presser, Dana White announced that Griffin, along with Stephan Bonnar, would be headed for the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.
Yes, Griffin and Bonnar took part in that epic battle to decide the winner of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. Yes, they helped put the UFC on the map with their amazing effort that night at The Cox Pavillion, and on SPIKE TV. Griffin won by unanimous decision; both fighters would earn six-figure contracts. It was the UFC’s first big step in crossing over into mainstream status and acceptance.
The memories and the nostalgia from the night of April 9, 2005, would stay attached to those two—as they would stay attached to each other—for the rest of their respected careers.
The sole reason and most important criteria for these two fighter’s impending induction is on this merit, and this merit alone.
What they’ve done in their careers simply pales in comparison to the crop of existing Hall of Famers.
Before we can look at if either one of the TUF Season one finalist’s has any argument in their favor, let’s look at who is already in the Hall of Fame and some of their achievements.
Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes were all UFC champions. Couture was a multi-time champion in two different weight classes. Hughes, Liddell and Ortiz each defended their belt at least four consecutive times.
Royce Gracie won three out of the first UFC events—which were all one-night tournaments.
Ken Shamrock was the first to win the super-fight championship (open-weight title before weight classes were introduced), and a semi-finalist and finalist in the early tournament style UFC cards.
Mark Coleman is the first-ever UFC heavyweight champion—who also won both the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournaments.
Forrest Griffin’s crowning achievements were his upset victory over Maruicio “Shogun” Rua, and his upset win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to win the UFC light heavyweight championship. He lost the title his very next fight to Rashad Evans, went 3-3 the rest of his career and was bitten many times by the injury bug. He finished with a 10-5 record in the UFC.
Griffin was a fan favorite and best-selling author, with sometimes quirky behavior, who always gave his best in the Octagon. He just wasn’t good enough and shouldn’t be considered for the Hall of Fame.
Aside from being held in high esteem for his famous battle with Griffin, Bonnar has tested positive for steroids more than he’s had impressive victories. His most impressive win was over Keith Jardine. After that he went 5-6 overall, finishing his career with an 8-7 record in the UFC. Case closed.
Griffin, to his credit, is the only man other than Jon Jones to defeat both “Shogun” and “Rampage,” and he did it three years prior. He also won a title, so you can argue a case for him. Bonnar you cannot.
Which brings up the question: What is the necessary criteria needed to become a member of the UFC Hall of Fame?
Is it based on what you’ve done in the Octagon, and if you’ve won a title? Or, is it simply the president and owners having a soft spot for you?
If the latter is the case, are they championing mediocrity? The fans always get behind a fight that is more “Rock‘em, Sock’em Robots,” than it is skill and precision. Those fights are always up for “Fight of the Night,” and are held in high regard by the bosses.
That was the type of fight that Griffin and Bonnar put on that night.
Make no mistake, they deserve all the credit in the world for that magical night. They will always be talked of in reverent tones for the courage and valor that they put on display that fateful evening. They can be honored in so many other ways, and should be. But the Hall of Fame should be reserved for the greats of their time and era, which those two were not.
Will the induction of these two fighters set an example to others that you don’t necessarily have to be the best to be a Hall of Famer, you just have to be entertaining? Or perhaps, this is just a special case made for them based on that one special evening, and the future candidates going forward will have to get in the old fashioned way: based on their accomplishments over their career, not one night.
Hopefully this is the exception, not the rule.
Michael Stets is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report
After UFC 160, Dana White announced that Forrest Griffin has retired. The announcement came as a surprise to the MMA world.
Griffin won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and went on to become the first truly unified light heavyweight champion of the world when he won the UFC 205 pound belt. His last fight was a win over Tito Ortiz in July of 2012.
White also announced that Griffin and his fellow TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar will both be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame next month. Griffin spoke with MMA Fighting last night after the announcement and spoke about why he made the decision to retire and what he’ll do next.
After UFC 160, Dana White announced that Forrest Griffin has retired. The announcement came as a surprise to the MMA world.
Griffin won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and went on to become the first truly unified light heavyweight champion of the world when he won the UFC 205 pound belt. His last fight was a win over Tito Ortiz in July of 2012.
White also announced that Griffin and his fellow TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar will both be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame next month. Griffin spoke with MMA Fighting last night after the announcement and spoke about why he made the decision to retire and what he’ll do next.
When The Ultimate Fighter first debuted in 2005, no one was sure if the mixed martial arts reality show would be an instant hit or a ratings bomb. Twelve episodes of fights, in-house hi-jinks and drunken escapades led to the first season finale where …
When The Ultimate Fighter first debuted in 2005, no one was sure if the mixed martial arts reality show would be an instant hit or a ratings bomb.
Twelve episodes of fights, in-house hi-jinks and drunken escapades led to the first season finale where Forrest Griffin met Stephan Bonnar in a light heavyweight bout to declare the first ever Ultimate Fighter champion at 205 pounds.
What happened next over a full 15 minutes no one could have predicted.
Griffin and Bonnar engaged in a fight for the ages with both competitors slugging away at each other on the feet and on the ground.Neither one ever seemed to truly get the upper hand in the fight, but that didn’t stop them from blasting away, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at each other over the course of three rounds.
When it was over, UFC President Dana White, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and just about everyone else at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas were on their feet applauding what is now considered the greatest single moment in UFC history.
Following that fight, both Griffin and Bonnar continued on in the UFC, amassing 30 total fights between the two of them.In late 2012, Bonnar retired from mixed martial arts following a loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 153 and a positive steroids test that would have ended in a lengthy suspension from the sport anyway.
On Saturday night, Griffin joined his former rival and now friend in retirement, and in July the two will team up once again for another moment in UFC history.
Speaking to the media following the conclusion of the UFC 160 post-fight press conference, White announced that Griffin and Bonnar will be inducted together into the UFC Hall of Fame during the UFC Fan Expo the weekend of UFC 162 in July.
The UFC posted the news on its official Twitter account:
The event will take place over July 5 and 6 with Griffin and Bonnar going into the UFC Hall of Fame simultaneously.They will become the 10th and 11th members respectively.
During their UFC careers, Griffin went 10-5 and managed to win the UFC light heavyweight title, while Bonnar amassed an 8-7 record overall.What they will most be remembered for, however, is their fight on April 9, 2005, that helped kick-start the UFC to new heights that it is still climbing to this day.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all information was obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
The Thai Clinch or plumm is a term which, in mixed martial arts circles, is used to describe a single position—the double-collar tie. This is the terrifying position with both hands cupped on the base of the opponent’s skull from which brut…
The Thai Clinch or plumm is a term which, in mixed martial arts circles, is used to describe a single position—the double-collar tie. This is the terrifying position with both hands cupped on the base of the opponent’s skull from which brutal knees to the face or body may be delivered. This position in itself requires more subtlety than most realise, but on its own, it is not “The Thai Clinch” or the plumm.
In truth, the plummis just a blanket term for the clinch in Muay Thai and the Muay Thai philosophy in the clinch is a beautiful one. In MMA it is hard to think of anyone who epitomizes this philosophy better than the Spider at the centre of the Middleweight web, Anderson Silva.
In Muay Thai, the clinch is used to throw opponents—as it is in wrestling—but the purpose is not always to score a takedown for its own sake. In Muay Thai, the opponent is either off-balanced and struck as he attempts to stay upright, thrown hard to the mat in hopes of hurting him as well as scoring points, or thrown to the mat and hit on the way down. This is a style of clinch fighting geared toward violence more than toward tripping and opponent and achieving a pinning position.
Here are some clips of SaenchaiSor. Kingstar demonstrating some of Muay Thai’s clinch techniques.
Now the flashy climbing elbows are not that much use in a sport where people can just jump into your guard should you attempt them (though props are due to Demetrious Johnson for pulling it off against John Dodson), but Saenchai’s trips to unbalance opponents into strikes are an excellent example of the type of techniques that Silva uses so well.
Silva does not tend to take fights to the ground—except occasional performances against dangerous bangers with deficiencies on the ground like Lee Murray or Curtis Stout—Anderson prefers to strike. Yet Anderson has used trips to off-balance numerous opponents and make them expose themselves to his strikes.
Anderson’s second bout with Rich Franklin is a fantastic example. Rich Franklin knew that Anderson was going to try to secure the double collar tie, break Rich’s posture and work knee strikes. Franklin did an excellent job of maintaining his posture in this match, but Silva had far more tricks up his sleeve than a Wanderlei Silva or Mauricio Rua. Silva will not simply grab and pull on the head until he gets his way and give up if he can’t.
Anderson used a trip which he likely didn’t even want to complete to force Franklin to step back. Franklin’s posture broke as he stumbled to stay on balance and this brought his head toward Silva’s right hand which Silva threaded behind Franklin’s head to complete the double collar tie.
This is truly the difference between fighters who flail to grab a hold of their opponents head and try to knee, and someone like Silva who will set up his grips scientifically.
Anderson Silva’s fight with the overmatched Stephan Bonnar was a clinic in clinch fighting from a striker’s perspective as Silva dominated the fight with short strikes while his back was to the cage. Any time Bonnar rested his head on Silva’s shoulder, Silva would bob down with a bend of his legs, come up with a sharp shoulder strike to Bonnar‘s nose and use the space to move or get off a good knee strike to the midsection.
Another great example, similar to Saenchai‘s throws into knee strikes, came as Bonnar leaned on Silva, Silva turned and threw Bonnaragaint the fence and landed a glancing right straight on the confused American Psycho.
Silva’s domination of the clinch against Bonnar was so complete that at one point, Silva used a two-on-one grip to deflect a knee strike with Bonnar‘s own arm.
The finish to the Bonnar fight came off a successful trip, which Bonnar rushed to get back up. As he did so, Silva followed him and shoved him into the fence, switching feet and hitting Bonnar with a hard knee to the midsection as Bonnar rebounded off the cage.
In MMA, it is not just possible to catch the opponent with a hard strike while they are off balance on the way down, but also when they are regaining their balance on the way up.
Silva genius extends to the fact that once he has the truly dominant double-collar tie grip, he does not go wild and head hunt with knee strikes—he will instead use the control to steer the opponent into elbows, punches and will even throw crisp, low kicks while still holding his opponent’s head.
A final factor that can really be pointed to as a reason for all of Silva’s success in MMA is his ability to aim. Silva does not just throw strikes—he aims and picks his strikes. Where many fighters are completely stifled if their opponent has strong posture when they have the double-collar tie, Silva is not at all stifled and lands effective knees to the midsection.
The reason that Silva’s knee strikes are so effective and other fighters seem less so is that Silva does not just throw knees to the abdomen (which is well-conditioned in most fighters and naturally clenched as the head is pulled upon) but aims knees at the unprotected rib cage. If Silva does throw a knee straight up-the-middle to the body, it will connect right on the solar plexus rather than against the opponent’s abdominal muscles.
This care in aiming pays massive dividends and is why Silva can throw half-effort strikes with frightening effectiveness while other fighters strain and expend themselves with ineffective blows.
The clinch from a striker’s perspective is massively underused in MMA to this day, but Silva has shown how effective the clinch can be as a platform for striking in direct conflict with a wrestler’s approach to the clinch. Hopefully in years to come we will see much more effective striking from the clinch in MMA.
Jack Slack breaks down over 70 striking tactics employed by 20 elite strikers in his first ebook, Advanced Striking, and discusses the fundamentals of strategy in his new ebook, Elementary Striking.
And as for Bonnar? Well, the normally outspoken light heavyweight has been similarly silent — likely due in part to the birth of his son — since exiting the UFC on such terrible terms. Until now, that is.
For the first time since the fight itself, Bonnar addressed the factors that led him to get popped for Drostanolone following UFC 153 during an interview on The MMA Hour(Author’s note: WHAT ABOUT US, STEPHAN?). Although Stephan took full responsibility for his actions, his reasoning for why he fell back on the juice yet again didn’t exactly absolve him of all guilt (via MMAFighting):
…after being shelved for months and being advised to retire by UFC president Dana White, he had given up hope of closing out his career with a major fight…But then, out of the blue, the semi-retired fighter got the phone call he never thought was coming. After about 10 months without a fight, he was being asked to compete against the the sport’s pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.
Believe it or not, there are some therapeutic uses to some of the banned substances,” he said. “Bottom line, I wanted to get my strength back. I was very weak. My body didn’t feel good, my joints didn’t feel good. That was my goal.
And as for Bonnar? Well, the normally outspoken light heavyweight has been similarly silent — likely due in part to the birth of his son — since exiting the UFC on such terrible terms. Until now, that is.
For the first time since the fight itself, Bonnar addressed the factors that led him to get popped for Drostanolone following UFC 153 during an interview on The MMA Hour(Author’s note: WHAT ABOUT US, STEPHAN?). Although Stephan took full responsibility for his actions, his reasoning for why he fell back on the juice yet again didn’t exactly absolve him of all guilt (via MMAFighting):
…after being shelved for months and being advised to retire by UFC president Dana White, he had given up hope of closing out his career with a major fight…But then, out of the blue, the semi-retired fighter got the phone call he never thought was coming. After about 10 months without a fight, he was being asked to compete against the the sport’s pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.
Believe it or not, there are some therapeutic uses to some of the banned substances,” he said. “Bottom line, I wanted to get my strength back. I was very weak. My body didn’t feel good, my joints didn’t feel good. That was my goal.
According to Bonnar, the hardest thing he has had to deal with since leaving the UFC in disgrace hasn’t been the dirty looks or vehemently-worded tweets from fans, but the distance that has grown between himself and the organization he called home for the majority of his MMA career:
You know, there’s no way if I thought there was any possibility of it showing up, that I would have taken the fight. I finally get the opportunity I’ve been begging for in vain for so long. I thought I’d go out there and put on a better fight, but then stuff like this happens. It’s like I came to his house and took a s— on his carpet. It just kills me. I’m like, ‘Come on, Dana, give me this opportunity,’ and then I make him look like that. I’m really sorry.
The only question that remains is: Where does Bonnar go from here? Well, he’s come up with a simple solution for that:
I feel the best thing for me to do is to respectfully piss off. It’s not to sit there and go, ‘Oh, come on Dana, give me another chance.’ I f—– up and I’ll put my tail between my legs and leave you guys alone for a while.
Farewell for now, dearest Stephan. At least we’ll always have these memories…
When The Ultimate Fighter first debuted in 2005, no one was sure if the mixed martial arts reality show would be an instant hit or a ratings bomb.
