Fighters Only

Issue 039

July 2008

Forrest Griffin would make a good poker player. He’s good at steering people in the wrong direction and getting them to believe his hand is weak when it’s extremely strong.

?If a random observer unfamiliar to the sport took a gander at Griffin in interviews, they’d assume he’s going to get hammered inside the Octagon. The way he talks about his success in the UFC is as if he just bumbled and stumbled his way to the top of the ladder at light heavyweight accidentally.

But it’s been far from accidental. The Augusta, Georgia native, now training out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, is described as one of the most dedicated and hard-working fighters on the planet.

It comes down to sheer grit, a sense of self-belief and knowing that he will not quit on himself. On a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 7, Griffin imparted said wisdom on to his team. His secret to success was nothing magical: “Just know inside that you won’t quit on yourself. That’s all there is to it, that’s it,” Griffin told his squad, eager to learn from the light heavyweight star. “Shakespeare said, ‘To thine own self be true’. I don’t know what the fuck he meant by that. Just don’t quit on yourself… the juice is worth the squeeze, I assure you.”

Griffin hasn’t quit on himself in spots where he could have. After his KO defeat to Keith Jardine in late 2006 he was devastated. He comes across as an ambivalent fighter, but the tears shed after his knockout loss to Jardine indicated just how much the fight meant to him. A win over Hector Ramirez six months later would set up a bout with the Brazilian Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, one of the top ranked 205 pounders in the world.

Pundits and fans predicted Griffin’s demise against ‘Shogun’, a champ in Japan, but Griffin’s inner confidence allowed him to defeat the Brazilian via rear naked choke. Again, Griffin didn’t quit on himself. “There’s two things you need to know – one that you’ve done everything in your power to prepare for the fight,” explains Griffin. “And two, that you won’t break mentally and quit on yourself. When I fight I’ve done just about everything I could to prepare and I won’t break.”

Win, lose or draw, Griffin sleeps well, knowing he did everything in his power to be his best. “The thing I always say is, ‘control all the variables you can control, don’t worry about the rest,’ ” says Griffin. “There’s a little prayer they give to the druggies and alcoholics, ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.’ Yeah, I live by that.”

The prayer has worked for druggies, alcoholics and for Griffin too in one of the toughest sports in the world. His serenity allows him to let the chips fall where they may in the cage and concentrate on fighting to his potential. The gigantic pressure that comes with being one of the top fighters in the UFC is something Griffin is finally becoming accustomed to. In the past he’d be content to just do the sport for fun, nowadays, while the fun of stepping in the cage is still present, the stakes on the line for his career are always in mind.

More responsibility has fuelled Griffin to delve deeper into the sport, whereas in the past he might have just gone out there and scrapped it out without a specific plan. “I just trained against whatever they were strongest at and practiced and worked on everything more or less equally,” notes Griffin on preparing for past opponents. These days though, having a solid game plan is more on his mind, partly due to the influence of team mate Randy Couture. “I remember with Gonzaga, Randy was really working half guard top a lot, and was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to make this happen’ and he made it happen,” says Griffin, before casually stating, “I think I’m going to start doing that (game planning), I haven’t really done it that much.” Nowadays, more emphasis is put on working specific takedowns, ways to get up off the bottom and ways to pass the competition’s guard, analysing which side the opponent likes to go to and so on.

Being a part of the star-studded gym of Xtreme Couture has really sharpened Griffin’s skills and overall game immensely. Griffin has been working there since before they even had mats on the floor and will testify to how he has benefited from the time put in. Randy Couture, Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, Mac Danzig, Mike Pyle, Martin Kampmann, Jay Hieron, and Karo Parisyan (among others) make the gym one of the toughest and most prestigious places to train. Mike Pyle, Jay Hieron and Gray Maynard have been particularly influential on Griffin. “They are all there for me and hopefully I’m there for them as well,” notes Griffin, who feels that the fanfare he receives for being a hard worker should be shared with his team mates. “I would say Gray and Jay work just as hard as I do, I’m not doing anything they’re not doing.”

The hard work is going to be necessary as his next task will be going after the belt against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson on July 5th. If you ask Griffin, he has nothing but great things to say about Rampage, as usual sounding as though he is a lost soul entering into a fight he has no chance of winning. But behind the veneer of self-deprecation, Griffin is poised and pumped up for this opportunity, and confident of his chances. “He hits harder, is stronger and has got better wrestling,” he says about Rampage’s skills, but that’s not to say he doesn’t see his own advantages. “I’m longer than him, I’ve got a little better footwork.”

Ask him where he sees the fight going and he reverts back into comic mode. “Mostly it’s going to be in the cage, I think,” quips Griffin. “Hopefully we’re going to fight in the cage – that’s where I see the fight going – in the cage.”

There’s a bit of poker being played by Griffin again. Nevertheless, his mentality is always the same, and this bout will be no different. “I will prepare to the best of my ability and I know I won’t quit, and the rest is the rest, and who gives a shit,” he plainly states. “So, don’t worry about the things that are out of your control.”

Securing a win over Rampage and achieving the dream of being UFC champion is almost in Griffin’s hands. It’s something the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 1 might not have even dreamt of early in his career, but he is just one win away from realising this success story to inspire even the most hard-hearted of fans. “It’s weird how quickly something becomes reality and you just expect it,” says Griffin. “I think people are naturally kind of greedy – you’re always going to want more and whatever you have becomes kind of mundane, it’s something you already have so you want more.”

Three or four years ago Griffin would not have thought this would be available to him, but now it’s right on his doorstep. “Now it’d be weird to not be where I’m at – I lived through those three or four years and now it’s expected.” Watching Griffin give and leave his all in the cage has come to be expected from fans. His battles in the Octagon are a manifestation of his tremendous desire to succeed; his colossal inner desire to compete and win shines through in battle – no matter how nonchalant he sounds about it.

Rampage Jackson

He’s the lovable jester of MMA and happens to be the reigning king of the 205lb division. He is Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, and he will defend his UFC light heavyweight crown against Forrest in July.

Most MMA pundits would give the striking and wrestling edge to Rampage and the BJJ advantage to Griffin, but surprisingly, Rampage is saying he wants to play the ground game and is looking to submit Griffin. It may just be talk, but if you ask Rampage he’ll tell you he’s not “playin’.”

How has training been going for Forrest Griffin?

Training’s going really well, that’s what I’m supposed to say right? If training’s going bad you think I’m going to tell somebody?

Have you been doing anything different preparing for this fight?

I’m practicing a whole lot of jiu-jitsu for Forrest, I’m going to take Forrest down and submit him in the first round.

You want to show your jiu-jitsu game this time around?

I want to show my jiu-jitsu game, my jiu-jitsu coach is getting on my tail because he gets tired of me acting like I have no jiu-jitsu. He wants me to show the world I have jiu-jitsu.

Has your training or attitude towards it changed since becoming champion?

I pretty much train the same way I guess. I just wanted to let you all know I put the fool in jiu-jitsu.

You love joking around outside the Octagon but are very serious inside. Do you turn on a switch mentally when you walk in the cage?

The switch is turned on before I even get in the cage – as soon as I get ready to walk out there. You noticed that huh? I noticed that the other day.

You watched some old fights?

No, just thinking about it I guess.

How are American and English fans different from Japanese fans?

The England fans are cool. The American fans, they don’t know what the hell they like or what the hell they want. You can take a guy out in the first round in a minute and fifty-three and they’ll boo you. Japanese fans, as long as you put forth a good fight, they love you for life.

What aspect of your striking have you been focusing on?

I ain’t been working on no striking, I’m submitting him. I’ve been working on jiu-jitsu. I told you. You think I’m playin’?

What did you learn from your fight with Dan Henderson?

I learned that I can go 25 minutes hard without getting tired.

You’ve gone the full 25, Forrest has not, does this give you an edge?

I think that is an advantage.

Is there any animosity between you and Forrest?

It’s pretty much business.

Is there any animosity between you and Forrest?

No.

Are you still training with Michael Bisping and Cheick Kongo?

Yeah. Bisping has a fight so couldn’t make it out this time but I’ve been training with Cheick Kongo.