Forrest Griffin’s (15-4-0) stock just rose beyond his wildest dreams. Griffin was on his way to a decision victory over the consensus #1 ranked Light Heavyweight in the world, and then something happened. Instead of taking the decision victory, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (16-3-0) gave Griffin his back again and Griffin forced Rua to tap out to a rear naked choke.
Rua from the well respected Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, is a good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, as well as an ultra-aggressive striker with a devastating thai clinch. Forrest Griffin took advantage of Rua’s lack of conditioning and fought the perfect fight. His training at Xtreme Couture really showed at the weigh-ins and at the fight.
The only round that you could argue Rua was in was the first round. Rua did land a great elbow from Griffin’s full guard in the second round that created a huge gash on Griffin’s forehead, but that was pretty much it. Griffin was able to push the pace the entire fight and gas Rua out. It looked like Randy Couture was in there as Griffin seemed to out-will Rua. Cameras showed a concerned Wanderlei Silva after the second round, as even he knew that “Shogun” was in deep trouble.
When the third round started, Rua went for his signature takedowns, but Griffin was able to simply step out of them whenever he wanted. Rua was in no condition to keep the fight on his feet and Griffin took advantage of that fact and was able to get Rua’s back at the end of the third round and sink in a rear naked choke that forced the Brazilian to tap out for the first time in his career.
With this victory, Forrest Griffin’s career has just been revived from the morgue. After season one of The Ultimate Fighter, he was on top of the world. He then hit rock bottom after losing by TKO to Keith Jardine at UFC 66 when fans booed him for his post-fight comments to Joe Rogan. The only thing Griffin has to say now is, who’s next?
by 5thround.com
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