Tyson Griffin (Pictures) is a human pit bull.

After he's done with his opponents, they have no clue what just mauled them.

At 9-1, all but three of Griffin's pro bouts have ended in the first round. He'll look to employ that signature aggression Saturday against Thiago Tavares (Pictures) at UFC 76.

Although Griffin holds wins over some of the sport's finest fighters, including a TKO against WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (Pictures) and a decision against tougher-than-leather Clay Guida (Pictures), he hasn't faced anyone with Tavares' Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills.

An undefeated lightweight at 13-0, Tavares has some of the slickest submissions in the world. However, Tyson scoffs at the notion of how deadly he is on the ground.

"He's an awesome submission guy," Griffin says. "I'll give him that. I know he's tough, and he's beaten some good guys, but I don't know how deep his heart really goes."

If he can force Tavares into the right position, Griffin thinks the Brazilian will be vulnerable.

"I've got great submission offense myself, and not many people really know that," the Californian says. "I treat MMA as it is, and it's a fight. I don't really force the submissions; I punch. I train with tons of great grapplers, so I don't get submitted that often."

Griffin makes it no secret that he plans on bombarding Tavares relentlessly, and he promises that any mistake his opponent makes will be his last one.

"I won't give away too much of my game plan," he says, "but a perfect fight for me would be to get back to my old ways in finishing guys quick. He'll be trying to pull submissions while I'll be trying to finish him from the top position and doing a little ground-and-pound action. He doesn't possess anything … that looks real threatening. His stand-up isn't really crisp, and he's very open to some holes I see in his game. If he stands too long, he's definitely going to get caught."

Griffin, who trains with Xtreme Couture, embraces the notion that an emphatic win over such a highly-regarded opponent would catapult him up the rankings. However, he honestly assesses himself in saying he isn't quite confident that he can beat the best lightweights just yet.

Still he insists that he wouldn't pass up a fight.

"I think I am honestly prepared to fight anybody in the 155-pound weight class," he says. "Anybody who can make 155 pounds will have a tough time finishing me. I may not win the fight, but I definitely don't see these guys finishing me. Am I ready to dominate B.J. [Penn] and whip his ass? I don't think so, but I'm definitely prepared to fight him."

Even though Griffin will climb into the cage and try to rip just about any opponent into pieces, there is one lightweight he'd prefer not to fight.

"Joe Stevenson is not somebody I would like to fight because that dude is my friend," he says with a chuckle. "I helped him train for his last fight, and I wouldn't want to fight him because of that. But if that fight does happen, it happens. It would be one hell of a fight, though, believe me."

With a showdown against Stevenson unlikely, Griffin is comfortable locking horns with Tavares, a man he feels is merely standing in his way to being the best lightweight in the sport.

Many fighters shy away from bold predictions. Not Griffin. He's confident that he'll stop the BJJ master early.

"The old Tyson Griffin (Pictures) is back," he says. "I'm just going to go out there and end this guy's night early."