Rampage and Forrest Have a Classic
Posted by Thomas Hackett on July 6th, 2008
Following the final bell of last night’s UFC light heavyweight championship title bout, Forrest Griffin could be heard thanking the cornermen who helped him reach this moment:
“Thank you guys so f—ing much… Seriously, I don’t say it enough.”
Griffen had yet to be declared victorious in the bout, but had already proven more than capable to go blow for blow with the world’s very best. His transition from the brawler of three years ago to today’s tactical world class Mixed Martial Artist is complete, with more than a little help from his friends. It was a Forrest Griffin I never expected to see.
The only response from his cornermen came (appropriately enough) from UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who quietly replied, “it was an honor.”
For the rest of us, it was a moment to remember — one of many in last night’s classic UFC title fight and my “fight of the year” so far.
By the time Forrest made his entrance into the Octagon last night, to the tune of Dropkick Murphy’s “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” UFC 86 hadn’t been that great of a night. The middleweight showcase was a disappointment, as Ricardo Almeida looked unusually sluggish against a tentative Patrick Cote. Cote would win on account of his improved grappling defense, which won’t be very useful against Anderson Silva, and striking that looks nowhere near as precise as the “Spider’s.” Marcus Aurelio was overwhelmed in slow, grinding fashion by Tyson Griffin, and Josh Koscheck vs. a remarkably gutty Chris Lytle was similar, but just add a pool of blood. Gleisen Tibau and Joe Stevenson combined for a good midcard bout, but to be fair, nothing worth a PPV buy.
Griffin and Jackson would change all that as minutes into the first round the guns started blazing. Griffin began establishing his superior footwork and using his reach advantage here, leaving aside the old rock ‘em sock ‘em style for a new level of focus. He set about patiently hitting the occassional punches and firing leg kicks while Jackson looked for the inside power shots that have become his trademark. As mentioned in our live blog, it was a fight in a night of non-fights. It was skillfull and strategic, but it was a fight, and a good one.
Jackson would win round one, 10-9, on a late hook-uppercut combination. Round two would prove the most decisive of the fight as Griffin brought Jackson to the mat after painful leg kicks and dominated him with elbows and a few submission attempts, earning a 10-8 score from me. The third was painfully close — I scored it even, as both fighters were equally aggressive, and able to impose their will on the other, but not nearly close to finishing. Jackson would win the fourth clearly, dominating takedowns and strikes, showing the head movement and sharp boxing that carried his fights against Chuck Liddell, for a clean 10-9 score, but the fifth was tough to call. I gave it to Griffin, who seemed to land just a hair more effectively, to bring the total score to 48-47 in his favor.
I won’t waste time on the idea, brought up on some other sites, that argue whether or not Griffin earned a championship with this performance or just got preferential treatment. Forget all that. He has without a doubt earned a measure of respect that he hasn’t been shown, and without a doubt earned the title of champion.
For his part, Jackson refused to argue with the decision in his post fight interview, memorably remarking, “he just kicked my a**.” If you follow how this site was handicapping the bout, he kind of kicked ours too. No one on this site predicted a Griffin win. Not even me.
So, thank you Forrest. We don’t say it enough. Sometimes it’s great to be proven wrong.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Fight of the year? More so than Alvarez and Hansen? Wow. I must have seen a different fight.
July 7th, 2008 at 12:13 am
1. Rampage thinks he was robbed. He was smart and political in his interview though. Good for him.
2. Funny you had to bring up whispers in his corner to find a classy Forrest. The post-fight interview was classic Griffin. An asshole to the end.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Actually, I never said anything about the guy being classy or not, but don’t let facts get in your way. The guy was smart enough to bring his game to a new level (a Forrest I never expected to see) with the help of the best in the world. That’s what the moment meant to me.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
“Thank you guys so f—ing much… Seriously, I don’t say it enough.”
“it was an honor.”
I suppose you not actually using the word “classy” means this exchange wasn’t intended to show that Forrest is such a good guy, a respectful guy. No mention of his expletive-laden post fight speech. That wasn’t very martial arts of him, I guess.
July 8th, 2008 at 7:06 am
_I_ always thought Forrest would win and my centsports.com betting record will confirm that! Forrest is a classy guy and I don’t think hatred is a good color on you, Jonathan. Disappointing remarks from a formerly reasonably e-colleague.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I agree with Andrew, it was hard not to bet on Forrest, but in my heart it was wearing the chains of Rampage, God’s Warrior.
My centsports.com account is now lined with a filthy dollar.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Are you guys getting paid for your filthy centsports.com shilling?
July 11th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Always good to read about MMA or UFC.
Can I ask though - how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive, is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
July 11th, 2008 at 4:05 am
We haven’t done anything special. I think Google links are a product of page hits, bags of money, word of mouth and the vagaries of chance.