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Time For Some Recognition As Forrest Griffin Builds His Way Up And Is Ready For Big Time! Just a few hours away from what promises to be one of the most exciting tournaments in recent years, Full Contact Fighter continues to heat up things for the show as they couldn't be more heated at this point! In a field with famous Light Heavyweight fighters including UFC and PRIDE veterans, and athletes representing the biggest teams in our sport, one guy quietly emerges as the underdog, as he always did in his appearances, and don't be surprised if he manages to steal the action and come out on with some good wins when all is over at tonight's IFC show. Forrest Griffin is a guy that has the opposite stereotype of what people got used to recognize as an MMA fighter. Very down to earth, calm, relaxed and educated, Griffin is a different kind in this sport. Spending his time and earning his living by helping kids with emotional problems, one can already understand that Forrest is an extremely calm person, and this translates into the ring. If you ever see this guy in a weigh-in, you will understand why he is for real. His calmness and tranquility reaches a point that amazes most people, and one could think he is either a talented and confident fighter, or a crazy unaware guy! But if you look at his record, you'll soon understand that the first case is what reveals the truth. With one loss coming at his very debut to the hands of a much more experienced, and much heavier Dan Severn, Griffin is yet to lose a fight since, and his list of wins includes names like UFC veterans Jeff Monson and Travis Fulton, and most impressively a recent quick win over seasoned veteran Ebenzer Fontes Braga at HEAT FC 1 in Brazil, little more than a month ago. Quietly and without drawing much attention, this fighter from Georgia has been building an impressive resume and now he is entering the biggest tournament he ever took part in. Make no mistake about it, he knows what this can mean, and he is taking it as he takes all his fights, for fun! This is probably the secret of this guy's calmness and good showings, despite not training with big names or in any known teams, he loves our sport and he is a natural. So, when the IFC starts tonight, don't be surprised if Forrest Griffin steals some of the spotlights and put on a good showing, cause winning or losing he is going be having a great time!
FG: It was a great experience all around. The fight worked out well for me. It was one of those things that if the fight haven't gone so well I would thought of it as a horrible experience (Laughs), but everything went well for me as far as the fight, so the experience was a good one and is always good to travel and sort of overcome that psychological disadvantage of being in somebody else's home turf. FCF: Do you like fighting as the underdog? FG: Yeah, it's a lot easier that way! FCF: (Laughs) What did you think of being in Brazil overall, not only about the fight itself, but of the show, or the trip in general? FG: Oh, I mean, I loved it! But it's a totally different place, on the little things. Like the showers aren't very hot, or the beds at the hotel are small (Laughs) nothing is supersize like we have in America. Everything is a little different, and those things are nice when you're just going out for travel, and seeing places, and enjoy different parts of the world and get a piece of that culture, but when you're gonna fight you want as much normality as possible. You like everything to be pretty normal, like you are used to. FCF: What did you think of Braga issuing you a challenge for a rematch, in a friendly way, after your victory? FG: Well, I mean, is one of those things that ensures me another trip back to Brazil and another fight. You never really want to fight a guy that you already beaten up. It's just that I know that when somebody beats me I'll want to fight him again, and I just know that if I had lost that fight I would want to fight him again, and I would just work my ass off for every minute of every day, to make sure that the next time things will go down in my favor. You know in your head that that's what he is thinking "No way this little punk kid is gonna beat me twice! I'm going to give everything I can and beat this kid". You really have to watch fighting somebody you already beat. FCF: Are you a guy that seeks rematches? You only lost once, but did you think about rematching Dan Severn after you lost to him in your debut? FG: Not really. I don't know, you know, I just don't see it helping me out really. It's not like he was a mean guy, or vicious or anything like that. He didn't really leave a bad taste in my mouth, for me it was just one of those things as growing, learning, developing as a fighter and overcoming the fact that there's people watching you. For me it was a good learning experience, it's tough to lose but I didn't get hurt and I was training again in the next week. The guy wasn't mean, he dominated me but he didn't hurt me or didn't destroy me, he didn't break me mentally. So that's not I fight I ever wanted a rematch. FCF: So you don't hold grudges against the fighters you face in the ring? FG: No, not particularly (Laughs) I don't want to talk about it too much, but there's a couple of guys that I won the fight straight up, no questions asked and they were like "it was fluke, and this and that" These people I would be happy to fight again. Just because I go out there and fight a good fight, and you have an off day it doesn't mean you can run around saying, whatever, it doesn't count. It counts! FCF: You're fighting now in the IFC Light Heavyweight tournament, in what can mean a big step in your career. You have been showing good skills ever since you started fighting, but it seems that only lately people started to notice you. Why do you think it took so long for people to start giving you recognition as a fighter? FG: For me that's not actually the case. I went over and won a fight in South Africa and I destroyed my shoulder, and I was pretty hyped after that! People had good things to say about me, but then I didn't fight for three months. It took three months for me to be able to fight again. So I kind started from the bottom, so I built myself back up and I got some wins, I got back kind of where I needed to be, I beat Jeff Monson, Travis Fulton and then I won a fight in KOTC and I got hyped again! People were like "Hey, pay attention to this kid! This and that" so I had a shot at fighting Bobby Hoffman and being in a big tournament at KOTC, that could've being a big opportunity for me, but I broke my hand and didn't fight for nine months, until I fought Braga! FCF: So it took away some of the momentum you had... FG: Exactly, you have to string a couple of wins in a row in this business. You have to have a couple of good performances back to back before you can be that "flavor of the month" in MMA or anything like that (Laughs). FCF: Fortunately now people are paying attention to you after your win at HEAT FC, and you are entering one of the most exciting tournaments this year in the IFC. What are your thoughts about fighting in a tournament format, with three possible fights in one night, and what do you think this opportunity may represent for your career? FG: I think it's the biggest thing I ever done, the biggest opportunity I've ever had. As far as fighting three fights in one night potentially, it's a bit weird... It won't be too much problem for me to fight for long periods of time. I'll be able to bring in the second, and even in the third fight as long as I don't get hurt. But the thing is that you don't worry about that. You want to look down and think of the night as a whole. You want to beat the guy they put in front of you in the beginning. That's what you think about, just winning the first fight. If I do that, it'll be a successful night, regardless of what happens down the road. FCF: This tournament takes place in a cage. You already fought in KOTC once, but most of your fights like in HEAT FC were in a ring. Do you like better fighting in a ring or a cage? What's the difference for you? FG: I like fighting in a ring a lot better. I don't know why but the cage, I don't know... First I thought I liked it more but now I'm not crazy about it. I think [in the cage] there's more opportunity to just slow the action down. You see a lot more people standing in a clinch, just pushing each other against the cage and staying there and nothing happens. I think in a ring you can't really do that... FCF: Do you think the cage can favor a fighter that is willing to stall? FG: Yeah, I think it favors Wrestlers, of course... FCF: (Laughs) I didn't mention Wrestlers! But since you said that, I tend to agree (Laughs)... FG: (Laughs) Yeah, I mean, I don't mean it as a flight or anything but fighting on the cage favors wrestlers, end of story. FCF: Speaking of that, you're fighting a Wrestler in your first fight in the tournament, facing Chael Sonnen from Team Quest. What are you expecting from this fight? FG: Well, I really don't know much about him. He only had as much time to prepare for it as I had, since he is replacing somebody as well. I think it's a great opportunity for both of us. He is a young guy, like myself. I know that coming from Team Quest he is going to have game, so I gotta get ready for that, but there's always so much you can do. FCF: Does the fact that he is a Wrestler changes your strategy in any sense, or you just waits to see what the fight will bring to you? FG: I mean, I always have a strategy but I just haven't yet utilized it. Strategy seems to fall out of the window for me as soon as things starts happening (Laughs) you know... There's things I would like to do in this fight, sometimes you can make them happen, sometimes you can't. It's just a whole different thing when you get in there. You just do the best you can when you can't really make things happen. I think this is the mark of a great fighter, a fighter that can dictate where the fight is going to be and the pace of the fight. I'm not there yet, I can't dictate where the fight is going to be. Sometimes I do, because they guy for whatever reason will let me, or he wants fight as frankly as I want to fight, but very few fighters can and it's mostly upper level guys. They can make you fight at their pace, and they can make you fight their style and that's a little out of my league right now. FCF: Do you think fighting a guy with Chael's style may be your toughest challenge in this tournament? FG: Yeah, I hate fighting Wrestlers. FCF: There's also a lot of big names fighting in this tournament. Who do you think are the most dangerous guys in this field of competitors? FG: I don't know. I mean, I'm not familiar with any of the Brazilians coming on the other side of the bracket. I don't know anything about them, except that I don't want them taking me down (Laughs). As far as the other guys, I think they're all tough otherwise they wouldn't be in the tournament. Babalu, Horn, they're all good fighters so you have to be prepared. FCF: This is a 205 lbs tournament, and you fought in Brazil heavyer than that. Do you already went down in weight? [Interview done last Sunday] FG: I weigh about 210/215 lbs right now. I haven't weighed 205 lbs since I was on the 10th grade (Laughs), so I never really tried to get that light. You know, your whole life you just try to get bigger, you kind of want to get big and strong... FCF: Do you have a plan for going down in weight? FG: Sweat! Lot's and lot's of sweat! FCF: I know you have a regular job, and I would like you to give us a brief description of what do you work with, so people can know what's your job. FG: Yeah, I'm a teacher. I work at a school for children with severe emotional and behavior disorders, and you know, it's a stressful job, a really stressful job just as far as dealing with the kids and everything. At the same time it's rewarding! I like kids and I like doing it. It's a lot of work but I kind of like it. FCF: It's impressive. Does the kids that you teach know that you are a fighter? FG: Yeah! And the funny thing is that it doesn't phase them at all! They don't care! (Laughs) They know you're not going to do anything to them, you know! It's like "Quit that Kung-Fu shit, that won't be work!" they don't care, it's funny how unimpressed they are about it at all! (Laughs) FCF: (Laughs) Does that frustrate you? FG: Well, I mean, you can't really intimidate kids. I just think it's funny as they are just so fearless of things as they are! It's the sign of the times man! (Laughs) FCF: Do they support you, like knowing you're going to fight and stuff? FG: They don't seem to care, one way or the other. You know, human nature is very self-centered, and I think we all as children tend to think the world evolves around us, and they aren't different. They're totally focused on their neighbourhood, their personal strives and struggles. We're talking about kids with severe emotional and behavior desorders, so... FCF: I heard that you have a girlfriend. How about her? Does she gets scared or affraid when you're about to fight or anything like that? FG: She doesn't worry too much. She was there when I broke my hand, so she's not affraid... FCF: In any case you made a good reputation for yourself here in Brazil with the girls, so if something happens you always have the Brazilian girls to resort to you know (Laughs)... FG: (Laughs) There you have it! FCF: What's next for Forrest Griffin after the IFC? When are you coming back to Brazil? FG: Well, I'll be back at Heat Fighting Championship 2, in November! What's the date of the show again? FCF: The 27th of November! FG: Exactly! I'll be back fighting at the 27th of November, and I look forward to have a good time and a good showing there. It'll be fun. FCF: Do you have any final messages for the fans of the sport, or even your fans since you're starting to build a fan base of your own in places like the Undergound Forum? FG: I'm very happy and honored to have fans, and I think in the end anything I can do for the sport would be great. Because this is something I enjoy, and I like doing and it's one of those things... I feel like we're so downtrodden, specially here in the U.S. you know, as far as the sport and any sense of legitimacy. We're all in that together. If you're a fan and you like my fighting or whatever, then there's no reason for not come up and just talk. This is not a sport where people ask for autographs really, you know, it's like you don't ask for my autograph, come over and ask me to buy you a beer! There's no sense for the autograph thing, I ain't making 32 million a year, the money is little, and the fame is little, so you really gotta love it. FCF: At least you're going to have a good time there! FG: Yeah, you know it! Definetelly! Except for that "mile high" altitude over there, I don't know about that (Laughs). FCF: I'm sure you will! Thanks a lot for your time Forrest! FG: Thanks Eduardo! It was a pleasure. |
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