Name Forrest Griffin
Nickname N/A
Association Xtreme Couture
Weight Class Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.)
Height 6′ 3″ (191 cm)
Style Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Birth Date July 1, 1979
Fighting Out Of Las Vegas, Nevada
Country USA
Forrest Griffin Pictures [http://www.forrestgriffin.net/ Griffin’s Official Site]

”’Forrest Griffin”’ is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion and a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the Light Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 1, the inagural season. Forrest was also a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 7, airing on Spike TV. The other coach was then-UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, [[Quinton “Rampage” Jackson]], whom he went on to defeat for the title at UFC 86 Jackson vs Griffin.

== Professional Record ==

Record 19 – 7 – 0 (Win â€Â“ Loss â€Â“ Draw)
Wins 3 (T)KOs
7 Submissions
9 Decisions
Losses 5 (T)KOs
0 Submissions
2 Decisions
Result Opponent Method Event Title Date Round Time Notes
Win Tito Ortiz Decision (Unanimous) UFC 148 Silva vs Sonnen 2 7/7/2012 3 5:00 Won Fight of the Night
Loss Mauricio Rua KO (Punches) UFC 134 Silva vs Okami 8/27/2011 1 1:53
Win Rich Franklin Decision (Unanimous) UFC 126 Silva vs Belfort 2/05/2011 3 5:00
Win Tito Ortiz Decision (Split) UFC 106 Ortiz vs Griffin II 11/21/2009 3 5:00 Avenged first loss in the UFC
Loss Anderson Silva KO (Punch) UFC 101 Declaration 8/08/2009 1 3:23 Won Fight of the Night Honors -Considered to be the most embarrassing knockout in UFC history.
Loss Rashad Evans TKO (Punches) UFC 92 The Ultimate 2008 12/27/2008 3 2:46 Lost UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Fight won Fight of the Night Honors
Win Quinton Jackson Decision (Unanimous) UFC 86 Jackson vs Griffin 7/05/2008 5 5:00 Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Fight won Fight of the Night Honors
Win Mauricio Rua Submission (Rear Naked Choke) UFC 76 Knockout 9/22/2007 3 4:45 Won Submission of the Night Honors; Became #1 contender for UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Win Hector Ramirez Decision (Unanimous) UFC 72 Victory 6/16/2007 3 5:00
Loss Keith Jardine TKO (Punches) UFC 66 Liddell vs Ortiz II 12/30/2006 1 4:41
Win Stephan Bonnar Decision (Unanimous) UFC 62 Liddell vs Sobral 8/26/2006 3 5:00 Bonnar tested positive for boldenone after the fight
Loss Tito Ortiz Decision (Split) UFC 59 Reality Check 4/15/2006 3 5:00
Win Elvis Sinosic TKO (Punches) UFC 55 Fury 10/07/2005 1 3:22
Win Bill Mahood Submission (Rear Naked Choke) UFC 53 Heavy Hitters 6/04/2005 1 2:18
Win Stephan Bonnar Decision (Unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale 4/09/2005 3 5:00 UFC debut; Won The Ultimate Fighter: Light Heavyweight Tournament
Win Edson Silva KO (Punch) Heat FC 2: Evolution 12/18/2003 1 1:04
Loss Jeremy Horn KO (Head Kick) IFC: Global Domination 9/06/2003 2 3:40 IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals
Win Chael Sonnen Submission (Triangle Choke) IFC: Global Domination 9/06/2003 1 2:25 IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament Opening Round
Win Ebenezer Fontes Braga Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Heat FC 1: Genesis 7/31/2003 1 N/A
Win Steve Sayegh Submission (Strikes) KOTC 20: Crossroads 12/15/2002 1 1:45
Win Travis Fulton TKO (Cut) CC 1: Halloween Heat 10/26/2002 1 5:00
Win Jeff Monson Decision WEFC 1: Bring It On 6/29/2002 4 4:00
Win Kent Hensley Submission (Triangle Choke) ISCF: Battle at the Brewery 4/12/2002 1 2:26
Win Jason Braswell Decision (Split) RSF 7: Animal Instinct 1/26/2002 3 N/A
Win Wiehan Lesh Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Pride and Honor: Pride and Honor 11/24/2001 1 N/A
Loss Dan Severn Decision (Unanimous) RSF 5: New Blood Conflict 10/27/2001 3 4:00

== Biography ==
Griffin graduated from Evans High School in Evans, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta. He then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia. While attending school, Griffin served as a law enforcement officer for the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in Augusta, Georgia. He also served as a patrol officer with the University of Georgia Police. He trained at the HardCore Gym in Athens for five years under Adam Singer and Rory Singer. He later left law enforcement to pursue a career in professional mixed martial arts. Griffin is also an MMA instructor at Warrior Training Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

== Mixed Martial Arts Career ==
=== The Ultimate Fighter ===
Griffin first became well-known by taking part in the first-season of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter, a mixed martial arts reality show. At the time, he was ready to give up mixed martial arts and rejoin the Athens Police Department, but he was persuaded by Dana White to take part in the show.

On the show, he reached the finals where he defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision. The fight was credited by Dana White as the “most important fight in UFC history” and the fight that brought the UFC into the mainstream. For winning the competition he was given a six-figure professional contract to fight with the UFC.

=== After The Ultimate Fighter ===
On April 15, 2006, Griffin took on his toughest opponent yet when he fought former Light Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 59, in which he lost a controversial split decision. Despite his loss on the judges scorecards he won over the fans with his ability to withstand everything that Tito could throw at him.

At UFC 62, Griffin fought Stephan Bonnar in a rematch from their earlier epic fight. Griffin won by unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds. The fight wasn’t as explosive as their previous encounter but was still an exciting bout.

Griffin was then defeated by [[The Ultimate Fighter 2] semifinalist Keith Jardine at UFC 66 by way of TKO at 4:41 of the first round. After the fight, a visibly distraught Griffin sat in his corner crying. Moments later, he walked away from Joe Rogan‘s attempt to interview him, saying “I don’t ev…Keith came in, and he did exactly what I wanted to do, and he knocked me the fuck out. Let’s go home.” Griffin then walked off camera, leaving Joe Rogan to speak to the camera by himself. Moments later, Griffin reappeared heading the opposite direction saying, “I’ll be back,” as he headed out of the Octagon.

Griffin’s next fight was supposed to be at UFC 70 against Lyoto Machida on April 21, 2007 but he was unable to fight due to a staph infection.

On June 16, 2007 Griffin defeated Hector Ramirez at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland via unanimous decision. Griffin won a unaminous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 30-27 to Griffin.

At UFC 76, Griffin fought against PRIDE‘s 2005 Middleweight (205 lbs.) Grand Prix Champion [[Mauricio “Shogun” Rua]]. At the time, Shogun was ranked the #1 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by several MMA publications. Griffin won by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three after dominating Shogun for the majority of the fight. It has since been reported that Griffin required surgery after the fight due to a shoulder injury that was sustained before the bout. It has also been reported that this shoulder has been a recurring problem for Griffin.

=== The Ultimate Fighter 7 ===
On The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale, Dana White announced that Griffin was not only the number one contender for the Light Heavyweight title but also one of the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 7 and would fight the other coach at the end of the series. The other coach, [[Quinton “Rampage” Jackson]] was announced by Dana White on December 9 at Spike TV’s Video Game Awards show.

On June 20, 2008, Griffin co-hosted the 25 Tuffest Moments in The Ultimate Fighter with Stephan Bonnar and Dana White.

=== UFC Light Heavyweight Champion ===
On July 5, 2008, Griffin fought the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, [[Quinton “Rampage” Jackson]]. Viewed as a heavy underdog by many going into the fight, Griffin faced Jackson in a hard fought battle that was given “Fight of the Night” honors by UFC president Dana White. Griffin won a unanimous decision victory and became the new undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Griffin looked to be in trouble in the first round after being dropped by an uppercut, but he rallied in the second round, and landed a damaging leg kick early that severely wobbled Jackson. Griffin followed up with ground strikes and cemented his control, preventing Jackson from mounting any significant offense for the rest of the round. Griffin went on to win the match by unanimous decision. Griffin’s documented pay for the fight was $310,000. $100,000 to fight, win bonus of $150,000, and $60,000 for the Fight of the Night award. The decision was described as controversial by many commentators. After the fight, Jackson’s trainer Juanito Ibarra, unhappy with the judges scoring, expressed plans to protest the unanimous decision with the Nevada State Athletic Commission but never filed as it would not have changed the decision.

=== Losing the Title ===
Griffin’s first title defense came at UFC 92 The Ultimate 2008, against challenger Rashad Evans. After Griffin controlled most of the first two rounds with effective striking, Evans defeated Griffin by TKO in the third round with ground and pound from inside Griffin’s guard. The loss was Griffin’s third loss since entering the UFC. During the fight Griffin broke his hand.

=== Post-Title ===
It was rumored that Griffin would make his comeback against American Top Team‘s Thiago Silva, who was coming off a high-profile loss to Lyoto Machida. The fight was expected to take place at UFC 101 Declaration, but it never materialized, as Griffin was then scheduled to take on UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva instead. The fight would be Silva’s second outing in the Light Heavyweight division. Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round. After the third knockdown, Forrest signaled that he was finished and Silva was declared the winner by KO.

After the fight, according to initial rumors; Griffin immediately left the cage and was taken to a hospital due to a dislocated jaw and inability to hear out of one ear. These rumors were immediately dispelled by his representatives at Zinkin Entertainment, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, and Griffin himself in a statement to his sponsor, BSN. Forrest was healthyâ€Â”uninjured and not deaf. He did not leave the camp due to injury and that the injury reports were not true. Both fighters were awarded $60,000 as Fight of the Night bonuses and Silva received $60,000 in bonus money for Knockout of the Night. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White made a bold statement declaring that Anderson Silva is without question the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Griffin finally broke the silence after his loss in September 2009, explaining why he left the cage so abruptly at UFC 101 Declaration.

: ““There is no reason, it’s stupid. Anytime I lose a fight that’s what I’m doing from now on. I’m going to just jump over the cage and run out, there’s nothing to say.” said Griffin. “It’s not about talking. I thought this was a fighting sport, I’m tired of talking to people… it just gets old, all of it, people putting hopes and dreams on you, telling you they put money on you, ‘You’re my kid’s idol.’ I don’t want to hear that s**t. Get Tom Brady on your kid’s wall, not me.”

When Mark Coleman pulled out of his fight with a returning Tito Ortiz, Griffin stepped in. Forrest won the fight via split decision, showing superior striking ability. Whilst Ortiz was able to secure takedowns in the first and second rounds, Griffin showed considerable improvement since their first fight and was able to keep the fight standing throughout the third, leading to the split decision victory. Ortiz receieved a negative response from the fans after stating his previous injuries must have had an effect of the fight.

Griffin was expected to return to action on May 29, 2010 at UFC 114 Rampage vs Evans, where he would have faced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, but he pulled out of the fight due to a shoulder injury.

== Awards and Honors ==
* Winner of The Ultimate Fighter 1
* MMAWeekly, Wrestling Observer Newsletter
** Fight of the Year 2005: vs Stephan Bonnar (TUF 1 Finals)
** Fight of the Year 2008: vs Quinton Jackson (UFC 86)
* FIGHTING SPIRIT Magazine
** Fight of The Year 2006: vs Tito Ortiz (UFC 59)

== Championships ==
* The Ultimate Fighter: Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion
* UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

== TV/Movie career ==
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On November 28, 2007 he had a brief cameo in the episode “Fight” as a MMA champion and murder suspect.
* Human Weapon: On September 28, 2007 he had a cameo in the episode of MMA: America’s Extreme Fighting.

== Personal Life ==
Griffin is married.

===Got Fight?===
In Summer of 2009, Forrest Griffin knocks-out the publishing world with his first book titled, GOT FIGHT? The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion’s Got Fight? (written with Erich Krauss) debuted at number eight on The New York Times’ bestseller list. The book captures Griffin’s deepest thoughts as a fighter and really exudes his unique brand of humor.