Classic Fight: Chael Sonnen vs. Forrest Griffin IFC: Global Domination
Long before either man ever competed in the UFC’s Octagon, Chael Sonnen and Forrest Griffin fought each other in the opening round of the IFC: Global Domination light heavyweight tournament.
Fighting a class above his usual middleweight division, Chael who competed in the tourney at his walking around weight of 197 lbs, was unable to contend with the strength advantage and the ground game of Griffin, succumbing to a triangle in the opening frame.
The fight was the ninth in Griffin’s young MMA career, which already included wins over Jeff Monson, Travis Fulton and a decision loss to Dan Severn, and Sonnen’s ninth, including a win over future Team Quest team mate Jason Miller, a loss to Trevor Prangley and a draw with Akihiro Gono.
Griffin went on to the second round of the one-day tournament and was beaten by head kick knockout by submission specialist Jeremy Horn, who was fighting in his eightieth MMA bout at the time.
If MMA math means anything to today’s fighting landscape, Griffin was beaten handily at UFC 101 by natural middleweight Anderson Silva, who will defend his UFC 185-pound title against Sonnen at UFC 117 August 7.
