Forrest Griffin

MMAstatsbox
name=Forrest Griffin


nick=
height=height|ft=6|in=2.5
weight=convert|205|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
nationality=American
birthdate=birth date and age|year=1979|month=7|day=1
died=
fightingfrom=Las Vegas, Nevada
hometown=Columbus, Ohio
fightteam=Xtreme Couture
fightstyle=Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu
wins=16
losses=4
draws=0
nocontest=
ko=3
submissions=7

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 [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13605&my_page=3 Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings ] ] , and #1 by MMAWeekly [ [http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/topten.asp?articleid=15&zoneid=15 Light Heavyweight Rankings - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more ] ] .

Forrest was recently one of the coaches on the popular TV series "The Ultimate Fighter", airing on Spike TV. [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5237&zoneid=1] The other coach was then-UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, whom he went on to defeat for the title at UFC 86.

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. [http://www.fight3r.com/topics/Forrest%20Griffin?] While attending school, Griffin served as a law enforcement officer. [http://www.ultimate-fighter.ca/blog/2007/forrest-griffin-interview-exclusive-to-ultimate-fighter-discussion/] He trained at the HardCore Gym in Athens [http://www.forrestgriffin.net/news/news_8.html] for five years under Adam and Rory Singer. [http://www.forrestgriffin.net/bio.html Forrest Griffin - The Ultimate Fighter ] ] He later left law enforcement to pursue a career in professional mixed martial arts. [ [http://www.forrestgriffin.net/news/news_7.html Forrest Griffin - The Ultimate Fighter ] ]

Mixed martial arts 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.Fact|date=August 2008

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. [ [http://www.forrestgriffin.net/news/news_3.html Forrest Griffin - The Ultimate Fighter ] ]

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 "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.cite web
url=http://www.nokaut.com/?id=12&solo_news=719&lang=e&cur=eur
title=Arlovski vs Werdum at UFC 70
last=Bolduc
first=Justin
date=February 23, 2007
publisher= [http://www.nokaut.com Nokaut] ]

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" Ruacite web
url=http://www.nokaut.com/?id=12&solo_news=949&lang=e&cur=eur
title=Shogun to Face Griffin, Not Machida
date=July 19, 2007
accessdate=2007-07-19
publisher= [http://www.nokaut.com Nokaut] ] . 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. [cite web
url=http://ufcmania.com/2007/10/16/report-forrest-griffin-to-have-shoulder-surgery/
title=Forrest Griffin to have shoulder surgery
last=
first=
date=February 23, 2007
publisher= [http://ufcmania.com UFCMania] ]

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. [ [http://forrestgriffin.proelite.com/ Forrest Griffin - MMA Fighter Profile - ProElite ] ]

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, [cite web
url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13545
title=No Joke. Griffin on Serious Rampage for Jackson
date=July 4, 2008
accessdate=2008-07-04
publisher= [http://www.sherdog.com Sherdog] ] Griffin faced Jackson in a hard fought battle that was given "Fight of the Night" honors by UFC president Dana White. [cite web
url=http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6639&zoneid=2
title=Main Event Wows, Forrest Wins
date=July 6, 2008
accessdate=2008-07-06
publisher= [http://www.mmaweekly.com MMAWeekly] ] 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. [http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-86-jackson-vs-griffin-play-by-play-13559] 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. [http://mmajunkie.com/news/4741/griffin-jackson-guillard-and-miller-earn-60k-ufc-86-bonuses.mma]

Championship controversy

When the Griffin vs Jackson fight at UFC 86 was over, some viewers [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-ufcscoring070708&prov=yhoo&type=lgns UFC 86 decision spotlights scoring system - MMA - Yahoo! Sports ] ] expressed that they thought the decision was controversial. [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/griffin-snatches-ufc-title-with-controversial-win-13564 Griffin Snatches UFC Title with Controversial Win ] ] [http://mmamania.com/2008/07/06/forrest-griffin-vs-quinton-rampage-jackson-judges-scorecards-revealed Forrest Griffin vs Quinton Rampage Jackson judges scorecards revealed at UFC blog for UFC news, results, videos, rumors, fights, pics and tickets — MMAmania.com ] ] [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13575 UFC 86 Fallout: Possible Protest, Rematch ] ] [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6639&zoneid=2. UFC 86 REVIEW: MAIN EVENT WOWS, FORREST WINS! - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more ] ] 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. [ [http://www.mmafrenzy.com/2008/07/11/juanito-ibarra-holding-off-on-protest/ Juanito Ibarra Holding Off On Protest | MMAFrenzy.com ] ]

Next fight

His next fight is scheduled for UFC 92, against Rashad Evans.

Awards and honors

*"'Inaugural winner of the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter"
*"' [http://www.mmaweekly.com MMAWeekly] , Wrestling Observer Newsletter:*Fight of the Year 2005: vs Stephan Bonnar ("TUF 1" Finals)
*"'FIGHTING SPIRIT magazine:*Fight of The Year 2006: vs Tito Ortiz ("UFC 59") [http://ronin5.com/fighters/bio/Tito_Ortiz]

Championships

*
*UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Mixed martial arts record

MMArecordbox
wins=16
losses=4
ko-wins=3
ko-losses=2
sub-wins=7
sub-losses=0
dec-wins=6
dec-losses=2

TV/Movie career

* . On November 28, 2007 he had a brief cameo in the episode "Fight" as a MMA champion and murder suspect. [ [http://digg.com/other_sports/Forrest_Griffin_on_Law_and_Order Digg - Forrest Griffin on Law and Order ] ]
*Human Weapon. On September 28, 2007 he had a cameo in the episode of MMA: America's Extreme Fighting.

References

External links

* [http://www.forrestgriffin.net/ Official site]
* [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.Detail&pid=355 UFC Profile]
*Sherdog|id=3526|name=Forrest Griffin
* [http://www.myspace.com/forrestgriffin Official MySpace Profile]

Persondata
NAME=
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Griffin, Forrest
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American mixed martial artist
DATE OF BIRTH=November 11, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=