Forrest Griffin looks to capitalize on golden opportunity at UFC 101

[rajuB4U]

Best known for being the 205 lb winner of the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Forrest Griffin’s stature as an elite fighter has long been a polarizing topic amongst MMA fans. When he steps into the cage on August 8 to fight Anderson Silva at UFC 101, Griffin will have the rare opportunity to make the leap into the top 10-12 light-heavyweight fighters of all time.

With a 16-5 career record, Griffin’s biggest wins have come against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The latter fight resulted in Griffin winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship. Though Griffin’s submission victory over “Shogun” came at a time when many people believed Rua was the best fighter in the world at 205, critics of Griffin will point to the fact that Rua was injured during his training camp and not able to do what he needed to do to get himself ready to fight. As a result, many have dismissed Griffin’s victory over Rua citing that it was only because Griffin faced a weakened “Shogun” and not the killer that everybody knew in PRIDE.

Griffin followed his victory over Rua with a stint as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite “Rampage” Jackson leading up to a July 2008 title fight in which Griffin defeated Jackson via controversial decision. It was a close fight and many people (including myself) actually had the fight scored as a draw. However, Griffin got the victory and became the UFC light-heavyweight champion. Again, there were plenty of vocal naysayers who have dismissed Griffin’s victory citing belief that Jackson should have won the decision. The reality of the situation is that it was a close fight. Consequently, whenever a close fight goes to a decision, someone is going to be unhappy with the judge’s verdict.
Having been TKO’d in his first title defense by Rashad Evans, Griffin is now faced with the task of trying to hand Anderson Silva his first loss in the UFC after nine consecutive victories. If Griffin is able to defeat Silva (obviously much easier said than done), how much longer will Griffin’s critics be able to dismiss his status an elite fighter? Victories over “Shogun” and “Rampage” in the primes of their careers are extremely impressive, regardless of whatever external circumstances critics might point to that may or may not have had an impact on Griffin’s victories. Throw in a win over Silva, arguably the most dangerous fighter alive, and even the staunchest Griffin critic would have to be impressed.
Taking things a step further, a victory over Silva would have Griffin knocking on the door to the top 10-12 light-heavyweight fighters of all time. Yeah, his critics are probably laughing out loud right now. But I challenge anyone to find another modern-era 205 lb fighter who could boast a similar resume to Griffin (should he beat Silva) and is not firmly entrenched in the top 10 light-heavyweights of all time.
Now all Forrest Griffin has to do is defeat Anderson Silva. Stay tuned

[samson]

I ain`t laughing---Griffin is one of my favs of all time----Go get him Forrest