Forrest Griffin: Is Replication Even Possible?
Mike Sloan Aug 24, 2006
The date was April 9, 2005. Nobody who follows the sport of mixed
martial arts will ever forget that day because of what happened
inside the storied Octagon.
Two men, virtual unknowns before some upstart reality television series called The Ultimate Fighter, would eventually walk through the burning pits of hell and brave fierce storms of hammers.
When it was done, both Forrest Griffin (Pictures) and Stephan Bonnar (Pictures) were granted six-figure contracts
and officially became fighters for the Ultimate Fighting
Championship — though Griffin officially won by the narrowest of
margins.
Griffin and Bonnar seemed to like each other’s presence on the show, but once the horn sounded to kick start the grand finale of season one, it seemed as though each man became possessed by demons of Hades.
Both were staggered from hellish strikes yet neither would budge, stubbornly absorbing as much pain as any person can bear only to retaliate with double the force. It was as if two murderous spirits were conjured for one sole purpose: to bludgeon one another until all signs of life were eradicated.
Griffin was a bloody mess. Bonnar was exasperated.
The two warriors delivered more abuse upon each other on that night than Spike TV’s other fights combined. Looking at the fight from the outside, it appeared to be anarchy in the Octagon — essentially it was splendidly controlled chaos. This was a shoe-in for the fight of the year, yet only the first round had just ended.
After two more grueling rounds the Octagon, fans at Cox Pavilion and the sport of mixed martial arts in North America was torn asunder. Griffin and Bonnar instantly became the golden children of Zuffa. Fans clamored for a rematch. (No, fans demanded a rematch.) And after 16 anxiety-ridden months, UFC patrons are finally treated to what will inevitably be known as Chapter 2.
The burning question on literally everybody’s mind is can the legendary action of their first encounter be replicated? Is it even possible?
“Well, I don’t know,” chuckled Griffin in a recent interview with Sherdog.com. “Our first fight was a lot of fun. I think the two of us match up very well and we are both trying to get back on track, so who knows? We both know each other’s styles very well and we match up perfectly. I don’t know if we can repeat what we did last year, but I am guaranteeing one hell of a fight.”
Hopefully Griffin is accurate in his pre-fight assessment because the light heavyweight contenders step into the cage between that old rock and hard place.
While the rematch will almost certainly be a fight of the year candidate — just based on how well the two fighters match up and how determined they both are — there is so much hype circulating around this showdown that many fans might be disappointed in the outcome no matter how fabulous it is.
“I see the point in that way of thinking,” Griffin said. “But to be honest, I am not really worried about that because people know how I fight. I love to entertain so they know what they’ll get when I step into the cage. The same with Stephan. We both come to fight all the time. Will it be a carbon copy of our first fight? I doubt it, but I know it’ll be great.”
One key aspect of this fight is the fact that both fighters are coming off of losses and for the time being appear to be out of an immediate title opportunity.
With light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) set to defend his title against Renato Sobral (Pictures) after Griffin and Bonnar pummel each other, there’s still a chance the “Ice Man” would lock horns with PRIDE 205-pound king Wanderlei Silva (Pictures).
One might think that a win for Griffin or Bonnar at this stage in the game is crucial, but if the fight is even a fraction as exciting as the first one, both men can rest assured that they’ll have future bouts in the UFC.
“Yeah, we both are coming off of losses, so we need to get back on track here,” Griffin mused. “I know Stephan is mad as hell that he lost to Rashad (Evans), so he’s ready to shut some people up. I know he didn’t train properly for that fight and what I mean is that he prepared for the wrong type of fight. I don’t know why he did, but I think he expected a different fight from Rashad. I think he learned from that mistake and is ready to whip some ass. I know I am f___ing pissed as all hell because I just got my ass kicked last time, so I need to win this one. I think we both have some anger and frustrations to let out, so look out.”
“As far as a title shot, man, I don’t even know,” he continued. “I never want to know anything, to be honest. Dana will come up to me and say, ‘Hey I got a secret for you,’ and I’ll just tell him not to say anything because I hate secrets, I hate surprises. I never want to know anything ahead of time because it makes me all nervous; it drives me nuts. So, no, I have no idea about a title shot or anything like that. I refuse to know. What I do know is that Stephan and I are about to whip each other’s ass again.”
Since the initial season of The Ultimate Fighter, Griffin and Bonnar have become celebrities in the sport and know each other inside and out. After watching tape of their fight, both men must know every little nuance of the other’s game and should be able to capitalize on the other’s mistakes. Also, each man has assuredly corrected mistakes over the past year-and-a-half, so maybe this rematch might actually be vastly different.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Griffin responded. “If you look really close, we are basically the same fighter. I’m a jiu-jitsu guy who happens to box and he’s a boxer who is good at jiu-jitsu. I think he’s a better boxer but I think I hit harder than he does. He might be stronger, but I think my jiu-jitsu is better than his, no matter what he says. As far as wrestling, well, we are both pretty lacking in that area. Everybody knows I can take a beating and with Stephan, I don’t think it’s possible to even hurt the guy. So, basically every aspect of our game is the same pretty much. I really don’t expect this fight to be that much different, really.
“I’m not sure how the fight will end, but I think I’ll be the one with my hand raised. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to knock him out and the same goes for me. I think the only way either one of us gets knocked out is if we land one of those loopy high kicks behind the ear and we don’t see it. I can see a submission coming from either side, especially if we’re dead tired or make some stupid mistake, but I don’t really see that happening from either one of us. I’ll win, but it’ll probably be from decision. How’s that for a great prediction?”
Man your battle stations.
Two men, virtual unknowns before some upstart reality television series called The Ultimate Fighter, would eventually walk through the burning pits of hell and brave fierce storms of hammers.
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Griffin and Bonnar seemed to like each other’s presence on the show, but once the horn sounded to kick start the grand finale of season one, it seemed as though each man became possessed by demons of Hades.
Immediately they pounced onto each other like a pack of sharks
ripping into a dying whale, trying everything in their power to
inflict as much damage as any human can possibly administer.
Both were staggered from hellish strikes yet neither would budge, stubbornly absorbing as much pain as any person can bear only to retaliate with double the force. It was as if two murderous spirits were conjured for one sole purpose: to bludgeon one another until all signs of life were eradicated.
Griffin was a bloody mess. Bonnar was exasperated.
The two warriors delivered more abuse upon each other on that night than Spike TV’s other fights combined. Looking at the fight from the outside, it appeared to be anarchy in the Octagon — essentially it was splendidly controlled chaos. This was a shoe-in for the fight of the year, yet only the first round had just ended.
After two more grueling rounds the Octagon, fans at Cox Pavilion and the sport of mixed martial arts in North America was torn asunder. Griffin and Bonnar instantly became the golden children of Zuffa. Fans clamored for a rematch. (No, fans demanded a rematch.) And after 16 anxiety-ridden months, UFC patrons are finally treated to what will inevitably be known as Chapter 2.
The burning question on literally everybody’s mind is can the legendary action of their first encounter be replicated? Is it even possible?
“Well, I don’t know,” chuckled Griffin in a recent interview with Sherdog.com. “Our first fight was a lot of fun. I think the two of us match up very well and we are both trying to get back on track, so who knows? We both know each other’s styles very well and we match up perfectly. I don’t know if we can repeat what we did last year, but I am guaranteeing one hell of a fight.”
Hopefully Griffin is accurate in his pre-fight assessment because the light heavyweight contenders step into the cage between that old rock and hard place.
While the rematch will almost certainly be a fight of the year candidate — just based on how well the two fighters match up and how determined they both are — there is so much hype circulating around this showdown that many fans might be disappointed in the outcome no matter how fabulous it is.
“I see the point in that way of thinking,” Griffin said. “But to be honest, I am not really worried about that because people know how I fight. I love to entertain so they know what they’ll get when I step into the cage. The same with Stephan. We both come to fight all the time. Will it be a carbon copy of our first fight? I doubt it, but I know it’ll be great.”
One key aspect of this fight is the fact that both fighters are coming off of losses and for the time being appear to be out of an immediate title opportunity.
With light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) set to defend his title against Renato Sobral (Pictures) after Griffin and Bonnar pummel each other, there’s still a chance the “Ice Man” would lock horns with PRIDE 205-pound king Wanderlei Silva (Pictures).
One might think that a win for Griffin or Bonnar at this stage in the game is crucial, but if the fight is even a fraction as exciting as the first one, both men can rest assured that they’ll have future bouts in the UFC.
“Yeah, we both are coming off of losses, so we need to get back on track here,” Griffin mused. “I know Stephan is mad as hell that he lost to Rashad (Evans), so he’s ready to shut some people up. I know he didn’t train properly for that fight and what I mean is that he prepared for the wrong type of fight. I don’t know why he did, but I think he expected a different fight from Rashad. I think he learned from that mistake and is ready to whip some ass. I know I am f___ing pissed as all hell because I just got my ass kicked last time, so I need to win this one. I think we both have some anger and frustrations to let out, so look out.”
“As far as a title shot, man, I don’t even know,” he continued. “I never want to know anything, to be honest. Dana will come up to me and say, ‘Hey I got a secret for you,’ and I’ll just tell him not to say anything because I hate secrets, I hate surprises. I never want to know anything ahead of time because it makes me all nervous; it drives me nuts. So, no, I have no idea about a title shot or anything like that. I refuse to know. What I do know is that Stephan and I are about to whip each other’s ass again.”
Since the initial season of The Ultimate Fighter, Griffin and Bonnar have become celebrities in the sport and know each other inside and out. After watching tape of their fight, both men must know every little nuance of the other’s game and should be able to capitalize on the other’s mistakes. Also, each man has assuredly corrected mistakes over the past year-and-a-half, so maybe this rematch might actually be vastly different.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Griffin responded. “If you look really close, we are basically the same fighter. I’m a jiu-jitsu guy who happens to box and he’s a boxer who is good at jiu-jitsu. I think he’s a better boxer but I think I hit harder than he does. He might be stronger, but I think my jiu-jitsu is better than his, no matter what he says. As far as wrestling, well, we are both pretty lacking in that area. Everybody knows I can take a beating and with Stephan, I don’t think it’s possible to even hurt the guy. So, basically every aspect of our game is the same pretty much. I really don’t expect this fight to be that much different, really.
“I’m not sure how the fight will end, but I think I’ll be the one with my hand raised. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to knock him out and the same goes for me. I think the only way either one of us gets knocked out is if we land one of those loopy high kicks behind the ear and we don’t see it. I can see a submission coming from either side, especially if we’re dead tired or make some stupid mistake, but I don’t really see that happening from either one of us. I’ll win, but it’ll probably be from decision. How’s that for a great prediction?”
Man your battle stations.
