Forrest Griffin
From Mixed Martial Arts Wiki
| |
| Born | July 21, 1979 Columbus, Ohio |
| Height | 6 ft 3 |
| Weight | 205 lbs |
| Reach | 77 inches |
| Style | Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Fighting Out of | Los Vegas, Nevada |
| Team | Xtreme Couture |
| MMA Record | |
|---|---|
| Wins | 16 |
| Loses | 6 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Championship and Awards | |
| Ultimate Fighter 1 winner 1x UFC Lightweight Champion (7/8/2008-12/27/2008) | |
| MMA stats at Sherdog.com | |
Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion, where he is the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Griffin is currently ranked as the #1 light heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog, and #1 by MMAWeekly.
Forrest was recently one of the coaches on the popular TV series The Ultimate Fighter, airing on Spike TV. The other coach was then-UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, whom he went on to defeat for the title at UFC 86.
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Biography
Griffin graduated from Evans High School in Evans, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta. He then graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Georgia. While attending school, Griffin served as a law enforcement officer. He trained at the HardCore Gym in Athens for five years under Adam and Rory Singer. He later left law enforcement to pursue a career in professional mixed martial arts.
MMA career
The Ultimate Fighter
Griffin first became well-known by taking part in the first-season of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter, a mixed martial arts reality show. At the time, he was ready to give up mixed martial arts and rejoin the Athens Police Department, but he was begged by Dana White to take part in the show.
On the show, he reached the finals where he defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision. The fight was credited by Dana White as the "most important fight in UFC history" and the fight that brought the UFC into the mainstream. For winning the competition he was given a six-figure professional contract to fight with the UFC.
After The Ultimate Fighter
On April 15, 2006, Griffin took on his toughest opponent yet when he fought former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 59, in which he lost a controversial split decision. Despite his loss on the judges scorecards he won over the fans with his ability to withstand everything that Tito could throw at him.
At UFC 62, Griffin fought Stephan Bonnar in a rematch. Griffin won by unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds.
Griffin was then defeated by The Ultimate Fighter 2 semifinalist Keith Jardine at UFC 66 by way of TKO at 4:41 of the first round. After the fight, a visibly distraught Griffin sat in his corner crying. Moments later, he walked away from Joe Rogan's attempt to interview him, saying "I don't ev...Keith came in, and he did exactly what I wanted to do, and he knocked me the fuck out. Let's go home." Griffin then walked off camera, leaving Joe Rogan to speak to the camera by himself. Moments later, Griffin reappeared heading the opposite direction saying, "I'll be back," as he headed out of the Octagon.
Griffin's next fight was supposed to be at UFC 70 against Lyoto Machida on April 21, 2007 but he was unable to fight due to a staph infection.
On June 16, 2007 Griffin defeated Hector Ramirez at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland via unanimous decision.
At UFC 76, Griffin fought against PRIDE's 2005 Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. At the time, Shogun was ranked the #1 fighter in the world by several MMA publications. Griffin won by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three after dominating Shogun for the majority of the fight. It has since been reported that Griffin required surgery after the fight due to a shoulder injury that was sustained before the bout. It has also been reported that this shoulder has been a recurring problem for Griffin.
The Ultimate Fighter 7
On The Ultimate Fighter 6 finale, Dana White announced that Griffin was not only the number one contender for the Light Heavyweight title but also one of the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 7 and would fight the other coach at the end of the series. The other coach, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was announced by Dana White on December 9 at Spike TV's Video Game Awards show.
On June 20, 2008, Griffin co-hosted the 25 Tuffest Moments in The Ultimate Fighter with Stephan Bonnar and Dana White.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
On July 5, 2008, Griffin fought the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Viewed as a heavy underdog by many going into the fight, Griffin faced Jackson in a hard fought battle that was given "Fight of the Night" honors by UFC president Dana White. Griffin won a unanimous decision victory and became the new undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Griffin looked to be in trouble in the first round after being dropped by an uppercut, but he rallied in the second round, and landed a damaging leg kick early that wobbled Jackson. Griffin followed up with ground strikes and control, preventing Jackson from mounting any significant offense for the rest of the round. Griffin's documented pay for the fight was $310,000. $100,000 to fight, win bonus of $150,000, and $60,000 for the Fight of the Night award.
Championship controversy
When the Griffin vs Jackson fight at UFC 86 was over, some viewers expressed that they thought the decision was controversial. After the fight, Jackson's trainer Juanito Ibarra, unhappy with the judges scoring, expressed plans to protest the unanimous decision with the Nevada State Athletic Commission but never filed as it would not have changed the decision.
Awards and honors
- Inaugural winner of The Ultimate Fighter
- Fight of the Year 2005: vs Stephan Bonnar (TUF 1 Finals)
- FIGHTING SPIRIT magazine
- Fight of The Year 2006: vs Tito Ortiz (UFC 59)
Championships
- The Ultimate Fighter: Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion
- UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
MMA record
| 16 Wins - 4 Losses | ||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time |
| Win | Quinton Jackson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin | 7/5/2008 | 5 | 5:00 |
| Win | Mauricio Rua | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 76: Knockout | 9/22/2007 | 3 | 4:45 |
| Win | Hector Ramirez | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 72: Victory | 6/16/2007 | 3 | 5:00 |
| Loss | Keith Jardine | TKO (strikes) | UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz | 12/30/2006 | 1 | 4:41 |
| Win | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral | 8/26/2006 | 3 | 5:00 |
| Loss | Tito Ortiz | Decision (split) | UFC 59: Reality Check | 4/15/2006 | 3 | 5:00 |
| Win | Elvis Sinosic | TKO (strikes) | UFC 55: Fury | 10/7/2005 | 1 | 3:30 |
| Win | Bill Mahood | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 53: Heavy Hitters | 6/4/2005 | 1 | 2:18 |
| Win | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | 4/9/2005 | 3 | 5:00 |
| Win | Edson Paredao | KO (punch) | Heat FC 2: Evolution | 12/18/2003 | 1 | 1:04 |
| Loss | Jeremy Horn | KO (kick) | IFC: Global Domination | 9/6/2003 | 2 | 3:40 |
| Win | Chael Sonnen | Submission (triangle choke) | IFC: Global Domination | 9/6/2003 | 1 | 2:25 |
| Win | Ebenezer Fontes Braga | Submission (rear naked choke) | Heat FC 1: Genesis | 7/31/2003 | 1 | N/A |
| Win | Steve Sayegh | Submission (strikes) | KOTC 20: Crossroads | 12/15/2002 | 1 | 1:45 |
| Win | Travis Fulton | TKO (cut) | CC 1: Halloween Heat | 10/26/2002 | 1 | 5:00 |
| Win | Jeff Monson | Decision (unanimous) | WEFC 1: Bring It On | 6/29/2002 | 4 | 4:00 |
| Win | Kent Hensley | Submission (triangle choke) | ISCF: Battle at the Brewery | 4/12/2002 | 1 | 2:26 |
| Win | Jason Braswell | Decision (split) | RSF 7: Animal Instinct | 1/26/2002 | 3 | 4:00 |
| Win | Wiehan Lesh | Submission (rear naked choke) | Pride and Honor | 11/24/2001 | 1 | N/A |
| Loss | Dan Severn | Decision (unanimous) | RSF 5: New Blood Conflict | 10/27/2001 | 3 | 4:00 |
