Forrest Griffin

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Forrest Griffin
USMC-100809-M-6457M-001 CROPPED.jpg
Griffin in 2010
Born (1979-07-01) July 1, 1979 (age 44)
Columbus, Ohio, US
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Division
Reach77 in (196 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
TeamThrowdown Training Center
Xtreme Couture
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Robert Drysdale [1]
Years active2001–2012
Mixed martial arts record
Total26
Wins19
By knockout4
By submission6
By decision9
Losses7
By knockout5
By decision2
University University of Georgia
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013 and is the Vice President of Athlete Development at the UFC Performance Institute. Griffin, a former Georgia police officer, first rose to prominence after winning the first season of The Ultimate Fighter . In the tournament finals, he defeated Stephan Bonnar, which is widely credited as sparking the success of the UFC.

Contents

Early life

Griffin, who is of Irish descent, graduated from Evans High School in Evans, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta where he played football. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Georgia. [2] Thereafter, Griffin served as a law enforcement officer for the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia. He also served as a patrol officer with the University of Georgia police. [3]

He trained at The HardCore Gym (now SBG Athens) in Athens [4] for seven years under Adam and Rory Singer. [5] He later left law enforcement to pursue a career in professional mixed martial arts. [6] Griffin is also an MMA instructor at Throwdown Training Center and Robert Drysdale Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Las Vegas, Nevada.[ citation needed ]

Early mixed martial arts career

Before The Ultimate Fighter, he fought the likes of Jeff Monson, Jeremy Horn, Chael Sonnen and early UFC veteran Dan Severn in his first pro fight. Forrest Griffin is also known for a fight with Edson Paradeo, in which Edson broke Griffin's left arm with what appeared to be a badly blocked roundhouse kick aimed at the body. Forrest continued on to win the fight by knockout. As a result of the badly blocked body kick, he has a huge permanent lump on his left forearm. [7]

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 had given up mixed martial arts and taken a job with the Augusta/Richmond County Sheriff's Department in Georgia, but he was persuaded by Dana White to take part in the show.

Griffin vs. Bonnar

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" [8] 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. [5] [9] The Stephan Bonnar fight was declared the #1 UFC fight of all time in the UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights program. [10]

Rise to fame

Griffin vs. Ortiz

On April 15, 2006, Griffin fought former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 59 , in which he lost a controversial split decision.

Griffin vs. Bonnar II

At UFC 62 , Griffin then fought Stephan Bonnar in a rematch from their earlier fight. [11] Griffin won by unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds. [12]

Griffin vs. Jardine

Griffin was defeated by Ultimate Fighter 2 semifinalist Keith Jardine at UFC 66 by TKO at 4:41 of the first round. After the fight, 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." [13]

Staph infection

Griffin was scheduled to fight at UFC 70 against Lyoto Machida on April 21, 2007, but he was unable to fight due to a staph infection. [14]

Griffin vs. Ramirez

On June 16, 2007, Griffin defeated Hector Ramirez at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 30–27 to Griffin. During the fight, Forrest was able to land 38 leg kicks breaking the UFC record for most leg kicks landed in three five-minute rounds. [15] This record has since been broken by Amir Sadollah, who landed 46 against Peter Sobotta at UFC 122. [16]

Griffin vs. Shogun

At UFC 76 , Griffin fought against PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Maurício Rua. [17] At the time, Shogun was ranked the number one light heavyweight fighter in the world by several MMA publications. Griffin won by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three. Griffin required surgery after the fight due to a shoulder injury that was sustained before the bout. Griffin's shoulder has been a recurring problem since. [18]

Coaching 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. [19] 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. [20]

Winning and losing the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and rematches

Griffin vs. Jackson

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, [21] Griffin faced Jackson in a hard-fought battle that was named "Fight of the Night" by UFC president Dana White. [22] Griffin won a unanimous decision victory and became the new undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Griffin appeared 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 severely wobbled Jackson. Griffin followed up with ground strikes and cemented his control, preventing Jackson from mounting any significant offense for the entire round. After three more back and forth rounds, Griffin would go on to win the fight by unanimous decision to capture the light heavyweight title. [23]

The decision was described as controversial by some commentators. [24] [25] [26] 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. [27]

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. [28]

Griffin vs. Evans

Griffin's first title defense came at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, against undefeated challenger Rashad Evans. [29] After Griffin controlled most of the first two rounds with effective striking, Evans caught one of Griffin's kicks and took him down, defeating Griffin by TKO in the third round with ground and pound from inside the champion's guard. [30] The loss was Griffin's third loss since entering the UFC. During the fight Griffin broke his hand, [31] sidelining him for several months.

Griffin vs. Silva

After recovery, Griffin signed on to fight pound-for-pound stalwart Anderson Silva at UFC 101. [32] Griffin was slated to take on Brazilian Thiago Silva, but on April 28, 2009, UFC President Dana White confirmed that he would instead accommodate Anderson's return to the light heavyweight division following his middleweight title defense against Thales Leites at UFC 97. During the bout, Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round by Silva. Before the third knockdown, Griffin charged Silva with a flurry of punches, all of which were avoided by sways from Silva, who then countered with a compact right hand whilst retreating, knocking Griffin out.

After the fight, Griffin got up from the canvas, left the cage, and jogged out of the arena. It was initially suggested that Griffin was rushed to a hospital due to a dislocated jaw and trouble hearing in one ear. [33] However, it turned out there was no injury to Griffin's jaw. [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] Both fighters were awarded $60,000 as Fight of the Night bonuses and Silva received an additional $60,000 in bonus money for Knockout of the Night.

Griffin vs. Ortiz II

When Mark Coleman got injured and had to drop out of his matchup against Tito Ortiz, Griffin accepted a rematch against Ortiz at UFC 106. [39] Griffin also wore white and black fight shorts instead of his trademark tan shorts for the fight. Griffin went on to win the gory battle by split decision, showing superior striking skills and a stronger ground game than in their previous fight. After the fight Griffin said, “Tito was a great fight for me to come back, we’ll have to do a third that’s 1–1 man.” With a split decision in both of their fights, Griffin seemed more than willing to get a rubber match put together with Ortiz to settle the score once and for all. “You could tell he was a guy getting ready for Mark Coleman, no offense, and he’s a guy coming off back surgery. We’ll do it again, I won’t break my foot, he’ll be in better shape,” commented Griffin. [40]

Shoulder injury

Griffin was expected to face Antônio Rogério Nogueira on May 29, 2010, at UFC 114, but Griffin pulled out of the fight due to a shoulder injury. [41] He was replaced by Jason Brilz. [42]

Griffin vs. Franklin

Griffin faced former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126. [43] Griffin controlled the majority of the fight: in the first round he took Franklin down and controlled him on the ground and in the second he used superior kicks and combinations to knock Franklin down. Griffin went on to win by unanimous decision. [44]

Griffin vs. Shogun II

A rematch with Maurício Rua took place on August 27, 2011, at UFC 134. [45] Griffin lost the bout via KO (punches) in the first round and would be out up to 6 months with possible right-foot and jaw injuries. [46] Before the fight, Griffin was updated that his wife had gone into labor. Dana White also voiced his support for Griffin, stating that he was very proud of him regardless of the loss. [47]

Griffin vs. Ortiz III

Griffin faced Tito Ortiz for a third time on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148. He won the fight via a 29–28 unanimous decision out-striking Ortiz 2:1 despite being knocked down by Ortiz as well as being taken down twice. [48] The fight also won Fight of the Night earning both Griffin and Ortiz a fight bonus.

This fight marked the third time in his career that he left the Octagon on unusual terms, simply walking out before the fight results were read. He later went back to the ring and gave Tito Ortiz an unexpected interview. [49]

MCL & ACL injury

Griffin was expected to fight Chael Sonnen in a rematch on December 29, 2012, at UFC 155. Instead Sonnen was pulled out of the fight to coach TUF season 17. [50] Griffin was then expected to face Phil Davis at the event. [51] However, on December 5 it was announced that Forrest was forced out of the bout due to an MCL tear and ACL strain. [52]

Griffin hoped to return from injury by the end of 2013. [53]

Retirement and UFC Hall of Fame

On May 26, 2013, it was announced at the post-event news conference for UFC 160 that Griffin had retired from MMA fighting, citing chronic injuries as the reason for his decision. [54] After the announcement of Griffin's retirement, Dana White announced that Griffin and Stephan Bonnar would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on July 6. [55] Griffin has remained in the sport, and is currently working as the vice president of athlete development at the UFC Performance Institute.

Personal life

Griffin and his longtime girlfriend Jaime Logiudice were married on September 18, 2009. [56] The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, in September 2011. [57] Forrest's wife was going into labor (nine days early) as he competed against Maurício "Shogun" Rua at UFC 134 on August 27, 2011. [58]

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
26 matches19 wins7 losses
By knockout45
By submission60
By decision92
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Win19–7 Tito Ortiz Decision (unanimous) UFC 148 July 7, 201235:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesFight of the Night.
Loss18–7 Maurício Rua KO (punches) UFC 134 August 27, 201111:53 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win18–6 Rich Franklin Decision (unanimous) UFC 126 February 5, 201135:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win17–6 Tito Ortiz Decision (split) UFC 106 November 21, 200935:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss16–6 Anderson Silva KO (punch) UFC 101 August 8, 200913:23 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United StatesFight of the Night. Griffin tested positive for Xanax. [62] [63]
Loss16–5 Rashad Evans TKO (punches) UFC 92 December 27, 200832:46 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesLost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win16–4 Quinton Jackson Decision (unanimous) UFC 86 July 5, 200855:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesWon the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year.
Win15–4 Maurício Rua Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 76 September 22, 200734:45 Anaheim, California, United StatesSubmission of the Night. Submission of the Year.
Win14–4Hector RamirezDecision (unanimous) UFC 72 June 16, 200735:00 Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Loss13–4 Keith Jardine TKO (punches) UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz December 30, 200614:41 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win13–3 Stephan Bonnar Decision (unanimous) UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral August 26, 200635:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss12–3 Tito Ortiz Decision (split) UFC 59: Reality Check April 15, 200635:00 Anaheim, California, United StatesFight of the Night.
Win12–2 Elvis Sinosic TKO (punches) UFC 55 October 7, 200513:22 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win11–2Bill MahoodSubmission (rear-naked choke) UFC 53 June 4, 200512:18 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win10–2 Stephan Bonnar Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale April 9, 200535:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesWon The Ultimate Fighter 1: Light Heavyweight Tournament. Fight of the Year.
Win9–2Edson ParedaoKO (punch)Heat FC 2: EvolutionDecember 18, 200311:04 Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, BrazilHeavyweight bout.
Loss8–2 Jeremy Horn KO (head kick)IFC: Global DominationSeptember 6, 200323:40 Denver, Colorado, United States
Win8–1 Chael Sonnen Submission (triangle choke)IFC: Global DominationSeptember 6, 200312:25 Denver, Colorado, United StatesLight Heavyweight debut.
Win7–1 Ebenezer Fontes Braga Submission (rear-naked choke)Heat FC 1: GenesisJuly 31, 20031N/A Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Win6–1Steve SayeghTKO (submission to punches) KOTC 20: Crossroads December 15, 200211:45 Bernalillo, New Mexico, United States
Win5–1 Travis Fulton TKO (doctor stoppage)CC 1: Halloween Heat, ISCF SanctionedOctober 26, 200215:00 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win4–1 Jeff Monson Decision (unanimous)WEFC 1: Bring It On, ISCF SanctionedJune 29, 200244:00 Marietta, Georgia, United States
Win3–1Kent HensleySubmission (triangle choke)Battle at the Brewery, ISCF SanctionedApril 12, 200212:26 Atlanta, Georgia United States
Win2–1Jason BraswellDecision (split)RSF 7: Animal InstinctJanuary 26, 200234:00 Lakeland, Florida, United States
Win1–1Wiehan LeshSubmission (rear-naked choke)Pride and HonorNovember 24, 20011N/ASouth Africa
Loss0–1 Dan Severn Decision (unanimous)RSF 5: New Blood Conflict, ISCF SanctionedOctober 27, 200134:00 Augusta, Georgia, United StatesFor the RSF Heavyweight Championship.

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Win2–0Sam HogerTKO (strikes) The Ultimate Fighter 1 April 4, 2005 (airdate)21:05 Las Vegas, Nevada The Ultimate Fighter 1 Semi-final round.
Win1–0Alex SchoenauerSubmission (strikes)March 14, 2005 (airdate)11:20 The Ultimate Fighter 1 Quarterfinal round.

Pay-per-view bouts

No.EventFightVenueCityPPV Buys
1. UFC 86 Jackson vs. Griffin Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas, Nevada 540,000 [64]
2. UFC 92 The Ultimate 2008 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, Nevada 1,050,000 [65]
3. UFC 106 Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas, Nevada 375,000 [66]

Books

Griffin is the author of two books, 2009's Got Fight?: 50 Zen Principles of Hand-to-Face Combat and 2010's Be Ready When The Shit Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse, which both received positive reviews.[ citation needed ]

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009 I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Better Cop
2010 13 Joey Blarro
2010 Unrivaled Landon 'The Brither' Popoff
2010Locked DownMule

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Mike KonaEpisode: "Fight"
2008 The Ultimate Fighter Host
2012The Roots of Fight2 episodes
2021 Hell's Kitchen HimselfEpisode: "Young Guns: If You Can't Stand the Heat..."

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009 UFC 2009 Undisputed HimselfCover athlete
2010 UFC Undisputed 2010 Himself
2012 UFC Undisputed 3 Himself
2014 EA Sports UFC Himself
2016 EA Sports UFC 2 Himself
2018 EA Sports UFC 3 Himself
2020 EA Sports UFC 4 Himself
2023 EA Sports UFC 5 Himself

See also

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  37. ↑ "ShowdownJoe's Tweet". August 9, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  38. ↑ "Why did Forrest Griffin Run – No Broken Jaw!". August 9, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  39. ↑ Brian Knapp. "Ortiz-Griffin Rematch Slated for UFC 106". Sherdog.
  40. ↑ "GRIFFIN SETTLES THE SCORE WITH ORTIZ". MMAWeekly.com. November 22, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  41. ↑ "Injury pulls Griffin off UFC 114". sports.yahoo.com. May 4, 2010.
  42. ↑ "Evans, Bisping, Nogueira win at decision-filled UFC 114". USA Today. May 30, 2010.
  43. ↑ "Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin Fight Planned for Feb. 5 UFC Card". mmafighting.com. October 5, 2010.
  44. ↑ "UFC 126 medical suspensions: Griffin and Ellenberger facing potential long layoffs". MMAjunkie. Archived from the original on February 10, 2011.
  45. ↑ "Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua Rematch to Take Place at UFC Rio Event". MMAfighting. April 15, 2011.
  46. ↑ "Forrest Griffin out 6 months possibly". mmajunkie. August 31, 2011. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011.
  47. ↑ "UFC 134 Post Fight: Forrest Griffin Makes No Excuses, Dana White Calls Him a Warrior". MMA Weekly. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Tito Ortiz Vs. Forrest Griffin III Set For July's UFC 148". bloodyelbow.com. March 20, 2012.
  49. ↑ "TForrest takes Tito's moment of glory". foxsports.com. July 8, 2012.
  50. ↑ Helwani, Areil (August 14, 2012). "Chael Sonnen to Meet Forrest Griffin in Light Heavyweight Bout on December 29". mmafighting.com.
  51. ↑ Whitman, Mike (October 19, 2012). "Phil Davis Replaces Chael Sonnen, Meets Forrest Griffin at UFC 155 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas". Sherdog.com. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  52. ↑ "Forrest Griffin Out of UFC 155 with Knee Injury". MMAWeekly.com. December 5, 2012.
  53. ↑ "UFC's Forrest Griffin targets late 2013 for return". MMAjunkie.com. March 5, 2013.
  54. ↑ "'TUF' winner, former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin retires from UFC". mmajunkie.com. May 26, 2013.
  55. ↑ "Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar Will Enter UFC Hall of Fame Together in July". MMAWeekly.com. May 26, 2013.
  56. ↑ "Forrest Griffin married girlfriend over the weekend". FIVEKNUCKLES.com. September 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
  57. ↑ "Forrest Griffin blog". Bsnonline.net. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  58. ↑ "Griffin won't blame distractions for defeat". ESPN.co.uk. August 29, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  59. 1 2 Thomas Gerbasi (January 7, 2013). "TEN BEST - 2012 FIGHTS OF THE YEAR and previous years". Ultimate Fighting Championship .
  60. ↑ Thomas Gerbasi (January 4, 2013). "Ten Best - 2012 Submissions of the Year (and before)". Ultimate Fighting Championship .
  61. ↑ "Tito Ortiz Bio, Videos, Photos + Ronin5 MMA Clothing - MMA Shirts - Martial arts t-shirts". Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  62. ↑ "Forrest Griffin Served 30-Day Suspension, Paid Fine After Positive Drug Test at UFC 101". MMA Weekly. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  63. ↑ Nate Wilcox (October 2, 2012). "More details emerge on Forrest Griffin drug test failure and suspension". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  64. ↑ "UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin | MMA Event". Tapology. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  65. ↑ "UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 | MMA Event". Tapology. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  66. ↑ "UFC 106: Ortiz vs Griffin 2 | MMA Event". Tapology. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by 8th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
July 5, 2008 – December 27, 2008		Succeeded by
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