Forrest, Do You "Got Fight"?

Will the crowds fill the arena with excitement on November 21, 2009 as Forrest Griffin steps into the ring to fight against an old nemesis Tito Ortiz? That is the question. This will be
a repeat encounter for the two gladiators. Forrest and Tito first mixed it up in UFC 59 where Tito won by split decision.
Looking at the stats:
Griffin -16 wins, 6 loses, and 0 draws. Ortiz-15 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw.
Wins: 3(T)KO's 8(T)KO's
7 Submissions 2 Submissions
6 Decisions 3 Decisions
1 Draw
Losses: 4(T)KO's 2(T)KO's
2 Decisions 2Submissions
2 Decisions
Forrest Griffin was born 1/7/79 in Columbus, Ohio. He called Athens GA his home.
This is the dreaded tale of the tape:
GRIFFIN ORTIZ
Age: 30 Age: 34
Height: 6'3" Height: 6'2"
Weight: 205 lbs. Weight: 205 lbs.
Reach: 77.0 in. Reach: 74.0 in.
Style: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (possesses brown belt) Style: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Muay Thai, and Boxing Submission Wrestling
Griffin fights out of Las Vegas Nevada where he trains at the Xtreme Couture Warrior
Training Center. His most famous fight was against Stephan Bonner at the cultimation of
The Ultimate Fighter reality TV series. They were both competing for a 6 figure contract with
the UFC.
He has a behavior of leaving the ring if he loses. At UFC 66 he fought against Keith
(Dean of Mean) Jardine where he lost by TKO in the first round at 4min.41 sec. He sat very visibly shaken in his corner. Joe Rogan attempted an interview with Griffin and he walked away
saying "I don't know ...Keith came in and knocked me the fuck out. Let's go home." He left Rogan standing alone in center ring.
At UFC 70 he was scheduled to fight Lyoto Machida but contracted staph infection and was unable to compete.
Griffin won in UFC 76 against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua by rear naked choke. It is reported that after that fight he suffered a shoulder injury and had to have surgery. He was
taken from the limelight while he healed.
On July 5, 2008 he obtained the Light Heavy Weight title by fighting the opposing coach
on The Ultimate Fighter Series Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. H won by unanimous decision and
was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
In his first title defense he fought against "Suga" Rashad Evans in UFC 92. Evans defeated Griffin by TKO in the third round. In this fight Griffin Broke his hand. He was again
placed on the sidelines for recovery.
When the announcement came out that Griffin was scheduled to fight in UFC 101 against
Anderson "The Spider" Silva his followers had very mixed emotions. During a pre-fight interview with MMA News he commented that he was not getting a lot of positive reactions
when he told people who he was fighting, stating that he got comments like, "ewww dude.."
I am sure that was hard on his self- esteem. It did not help when Silva stood in the center of the cage yelling and taunting Forrest. He was defeated in the third round by KO in the first round at 3 min. 23 sec. He and his corner men immediately left the cage and disappeared into the crowd a leaving Silva to stand alone in the ring as he was announced the winner. He then dropped out of sight for an undetermined time being spotted occasionally at the Xtreme Couture gym.
It's noted that he no longer sports that "boyish grin" found so appealing by his fans. He has been interviewed and has made some very bizzare statements such as, "hey man don't tell me
I am your kids Idol.." and "It's kinda hard to believe anyone likes me...cause I don't even like myself..." He recently announced he went to GA and got married. Perhaps she will help guide him. As they say behind every good man is a good woman.
Forrest Griffin is replacing injured fighter Mark Coleman in UFC 106 on Nov. 21, 2009.
I wish him good luck. Forrest does have other wins under his belt that are before his time in UFC.