Background check: Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin was born July 1st 1979 in Columbus Ohio. He is 6ft 3in and weighs in at 205lbs with a 77 inch reach. He holds a brown belt in jiu-jitsu and is well versed in kickboxing. He trains out Las Vegas Nevada with Xtreme Couture. Griffin’s record stands at 17-6(3ko,7sub). Griffin’s MMA career started when he fought Dan ‘The Beast’ Severn, under the RSF banner, a fight which Griffin lost by decision.

Since his 2001 loss, against UFC veteran Dan Severn, Forrest has gone on to beat many top fighters and provided some classic MMA moments along the way. In 2002 he beat Jeff Monson, he then TKO’d Travis Fulton 4 months later. In 2003 under IFC Forrest faced off against Chael Sonnen and won via a first round triangle choke. Perhaps one of his most memoable fights was against Stephen Bonnar in TUF 1 finale. The two men slugged and brawled their way to a contract each in the UFC as a reward for the enthralling fight they provided. Since then Forrest has gone on to UFC victories against Hector Ramirez(for which he holds the most leg kicks in a 3 round UFC fight,38!!),  Mauricio Shogun Rua, Tito Ortiz and most notably Rampage Jackson for the LHW title. After claiming the title at UFC 86 Forrest lost against Rashad Evans and the title was handed over. He then went on to lose against Anderson Silva but has bounced back with his convincing domination of former LHW champ Tito Ortiz.

Griffin is, in my opinion, one of the bravest fighters to step in the cage. He shows great heart and determination and I really hope he will provide some more classic fights for the fans to enjoy.

Source: Wikipedia.org