Forrest Griffin: 6 Reasons He Should Consider Retirement

From his epic war with Stephan Bonnar to winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship from Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin has had an amazing career in mixed martial arts.During his time with the UFC, Griffin has put on many memorable performances a…

From his epic war with Stephan Bonnar to winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship from Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin has had an amazing career in mixed martial arts.

During his time with the UFC, Griffin has put on many memorable performances and accumulated a larger fan following than most fighters could even dream of.

He has been such a consistent presence in the UFC for so long now, that picturing the promotion without him seems strange.

But, all good things must come to an end.

At UFC 134, Griffin was knocked out by Mauricio Rua in under two minutes, putting him at 2-3 in his past five fights.

Indeed, it’s been while since we’ve seen Griffin put on a performance like he gave against Jackson to win the light heavyweight strap and it seems like the former champ is on the decline.

Here’s six reasons Forrest Griffin should be considering retirement right now…

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Yoshihiro Akiyama to Drop to Welterweight, Wants to Be GSP’s ‘Apprentice’

Filed under: UFC, JapanAfter three consecutive losses as a middleweight, Japanese UFC judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama is finally moving to welterweight.

Akiyama, who is 1-3 in the UFC and 14-4 with two no contests overall, considered retirement after gettin…

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After three consecutive losses as a middleweight, Japanese UFC judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama is finally moving to welterweight.

Akiyama, who is 1-3 in the UFC and 14-4 with two no contests overall, considered retirement after getting knocked out by Vitor Belfort last month, but now instead intends to drop down 15 lbs and ideally seek the guidance of divisional king Georges St. Pierre.

Speaking to Japanese outlet Sponichi, the 2006 K-1 Heros Light Heavyweight GP champ also stated he would like to debut as a welterweight at the UFC’s return to Japan in February 2012. Before his move to the UFC, Akiyama was the biggest draw in Japan and he would certainly be an asset to any event in the East.

Due to financial problems surrounding a former manager, Akiyama was forced to close his highly regarded Cloud Dojo prior to his meeting with Belfort at UFC 133 and with his move to welterweight, Akiyama stated that he would like to make the move to the champion’s gym to become St. Pierre’s “apprentice”.

The move to welterweight was a long time coming for Akiyama – although he has put on three “fight of the night” performances and was successful in his UFC debut against Alan Belcher, the Japanese fighter was widely considered to be too small to compete in the upper echelons at middleweight in Western promotions.

 

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UFC on Fox: 5 Reasons Why They Should Have Chosen Another Main Event

The historic deal between the Fox television network and the UFC is already paying off in spades.  Not only will fans be able to watch a heavyweight title bout on free T.V., but it will pit two of the sports most dynamic fighters against one anoth…

The historic deal between the Fox television network and the UFC is already paying off in spades.  Not only will fans be able to watch a heavyweight title bout on free T.V., but it will pit two of the sports most dynamic fighters against one another—as the heavy handed Brazilian, Junior dos Santos, takes on […]

UFC Betting

UFC on Fox: 5 Reasons Why They Should Have Chosen Another Main Event

UFC 139: 5 Fights That Could Replace Velasquez vs. Dos Santos As Main Event

UFC 139 was originally rumored to serve as the pay-per-view event to house the heavyweight title bout between challenger Junior dos Santos and champion Cain Velasquez. However, as we have all learned earlier today, such is not the case and both men wil…

UFC 139 was originally rumored to serve as the pay-per-view event to house the heavyweight title bout between challenger Junior dos Santos and champion Cain Velasquez. However, as we have all learned earlier today, such is not the case and both men will instead take part in the organization’s first venture onto Fox.  UFC 139 […]

UFC Betting

UFC 139: 5 Fights That Could Replace Velasquez vs. Dos Santos As Main Event

B.J. Penn, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch on Diego Sanchez Welterweight Belt Hit List

Diego Sanchez may have awoken from his confessed nightmare, but there are still plenty of ghosts for him to bust before a title shot is more than just a dream.  Following his victory by unanimous decision over Martin Kampmann in UFC Live: Sanchez …

Diego Sanchez may have awoken from his confessed nightmare, but there are still plenty of ghosts for him to bust before a title shot is more than just a dream.  Following his victory by unanimous decision over Martin Kampmann in UFC Live: Sanchez vs Kampmann, Sanchez is set to face UFC Hall of Famer and […]

UFC Betting

B.J. Penn, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch on Diego Sanchez Welterweight Belt Hit List

UFC on Fox: 5 Reasons Why They Should Have Chosen Another Main Event

The historic deal between the Fox television network and the UFC is already paying off in spades. Not only will fans be able to watch a heavyweight title bout on free TV, but it will pit two of the sport’s most dynamic fighters against one another…

The historic deal between the Fox television network and the UFC is already paying off in spades. 

Not only will fans be able to watch a heavyweight title bout on free TV, but it will pit two of the sport’s most dynamic fighters against one another—as the heavy-handed Brazilian Junior dos Santos takes on the man Dana White dubbed “Terminator,” champion Cain Velasquez. 

However, this bout isn’t without its fair share of criticisms. Will the bout be strong enough to carry over to a bigger audience? Will it deliver? Was there perhaps a main event more worthy of headlining duties?

All of these questions and more are now up for debate. 

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