Forrest Griffin isn’t exactly a knockout artist. And he knows it. In eight UFC fights, he’s scored two KOs in his six wins. He holds only three total knockout victories over a 19-fight MMA career (15-4, 3 KO, 7 submissions). But that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a marquee name in the combative monolith that is the UFC. This Saturday (July 5), however, at UFC 86, Griffin will be stepping into the cage against a man widely regarded to be one of the most physically dominant fighters in the light heavyweight (205-pound) division: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
“I don’t hit that hard, but gonna hit him a lot,” says Griffin, the long and lean Ohio native who coached against Jackson in the recently concluded seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV.
Griffin, the first-ever winner of The Ultimate Fighter and the victor in what UFC president Dana White refers to as “the most important fight in UFC history,” will have to find ways to outsmart his opponent if he hopes to win Jackson’s belt.
After seeing Jackson’s last fight against Dan Henderson Jackson scored a unanimous decision against Henderson last September Griffin thinks that there’s one area where he has an edge on Jackson.
“When he saw him against Dan Henderson thought that I could exploit him in his conditioning,” Griffin said.
To that end, Griffin increased the amount of rounds he worked during training. Ultimately, he has one edge that he feels gives him a shot regardless of how much stronger Rampage may be.
“When it comes down to it, I’ll take more pain than anybody. I’m willing to do that.”
Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson will clash for Jackson’s UFC Light Heavyweight belt on Saturday, July 5, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin. To watch the fight, contact your local pay-per-view provider. For more information on the fight card, visit www.ufc.com.
