Forrest Griffin UFC 126 Preview

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For many mixed martial arts fans, Forrest Griffin was the spark that got their fire for MMA started. Griffin was a cast member on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, and fought his way to the title bout, where he was to meet Stephan Bonnar. Though the title fight was expected to be exciting, few could have predicted the slugfest that would follow and cement the legacies of Bonnar and Griffin in the hearts of the fans.

In the nearly 6 years since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, Forrest has only continued to pick up fans based on his laid-back personality and his toughness inside the Octagon. Forrest began his professional MMA career against legend Dan “The Beast” Severn, and has been rattling the cages of top-tier fighters ever since. Griffin has fought against guys like Jeremy Horn, Jeff Monson (one of my personal favorite fighters), Chael Sonnen, and Tito Ortiz in order to sharpen his skills. Griffin is one of those fighters that seems to rise to the occasion and do his best fighting against the best opponents. Shocking the world at UFC 76, Forrest welcomed current Light Heavyweight Champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to the UFC by controlling the fight for most of 3 rounds before sinking in a rear naked choke and causing Rua to tap out. In my mind, this was Forrest’s most-telling fight, as he truly stepped up his game to face a world-class opponent and came out the victor. The win over Rua caused for Griffin to be awarded a shot at UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86. Again, Forrest rose to the challenge and utilized an onslaught of leg kicks to chop down Jackson and earn the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Forrest’s reign at the top of the division only lasted 6 months as the belt was captured by Rashad Evans by way of vicious knockout.

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No longer UFC champion, Forrest’s next fight came against long-time UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Silva bumped up to 205 lbs. to take on Griffin, and the results were disastrous for Griffin. Forrest seemed unable to catch up to the fleet-footed Brazilian, and Silva dropped Griffin in the first round. After losing the belt to Evans and following it up with a devastating knockout from Silva, Griffin appeared to have hit rock bottom as he lay sprawled on the canvas in Philadelphia. While it would have been easy to give up, Griffin shortly returned to the cage to earn a grudge match victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 106. Griffin was then slated to take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, but was injured in training, and was forced to stay out of fighting for the entirety of 2010.

In his triumphant return to the Octagon, Forrest will square off with long-time Middleweight Champ Rich Franklin, who coincidentally enough, has also been knocked out by Anderson Silva. In this battle of fan favorites and former champions, Griffin will need to keep his hands up to avoid the dangerous boxing of Rich Franklin. Though it may seem unusual, Forrest is a fighter that tends to start out slowly in fights, but pick up the pace once he’s been drilled with some shots. This may be a bad strategy as Franklin has serious knockout power in his hands and is looking to make a title run in the Light Heavyweight division.

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Viewers should be prepared for an all-out battle between Griffin and Franklin, with a possibility of a thunderous knockout or dramatic submission by Forrest. This is, after all, Forrest Griffin we’re talking about: the man that once claimed to have broken an arm defending a submission in Brazil and managed to knock the opponent out by using only his non-broken arm. Forrest is the same man that came out the victor in the bloody TUF finale that put MMA in the mainstream. He’s also the same guy that has written two hilarious books (I highly recommend Got Fight? To anyone with a good sense of humor) and gives some of the most candid interviews I’ve ever seen. Though I won’t venture to make a prediction, I can tell you that Forrest Griffin will be giving his best effort from beginning to end.

By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer