Forrest Griffin may be best known for his clash against Stephan Bonnar at “The Ultimate Fighter Season One Finale,” but there is much more to the former UFC light heavyweight champion than those famous fifteen minutes.
Throughout his career he has become one of the most well-liked fighters, entertaining fans with clever quips and hilarious comments. So it came as little surprise to hear he was back at it again in anticipation of his UFC 148 rematch against Tito Ortiz.
Speaking on the fight, Griffin said that, if he were to lose, he would “retire at life,” raising questions as to his future.
But Griffin has since cleared the air, stating that, unlike Ortiz, who will walk into and out of the Octagon for the final time this Saturday, he has no plans on retiring in the near future.
In fact, he just might stick around a bit too long.
“Not at all,” Griffin replied after being asked if he was considering retirement. “Not at all. I’m going to go for a while. Like I was saying, I’ll go until I should have quit a long time ago.”
With retirement questions shot down, Griffin focuses his third fight against former champion Ortiz in the co-main event of Saturday’s card. Even at one-and-one in their series, Griffin has experienced six rounds of close competition against the future UFC Hall of Famer.
Though he isn’t making any grand predictions, he believes he will be ready to finish the trilogy on a high note.
“I’d like to think I’m prepared for what’s coming. I’ve worked on some things. That’s the generic, stock answer.”
While Griffin awaits his Saturday night contest, he can do so without worrying about a lengthy plane flight, as the card takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Like most fighters, Griffin is thrilled whenever he can avoid travelling to compete, and he thinks “Sin City” is the perfect location for UFC fights anyway.
“I’m pretty excited about (the fight being in Las Vegas),” Griffin said. “I’m not a big traveler. It’s the fight capital of the world. Why not just do it here?”
But with every positive, there seems to be a negative. And Griffin has discovered just what that negative is as he continues to progress in the sport.
However, it has little to do with his fighting life, and more to do with his home life.
With a young daughter beginning to speak, Griffin has realized that his vocabulary should probably undergo some stark changes. And he isn’t exactly thrilled about it.
“I’ve got to stop cussing here anyway because my daughter’s starting to get vocal and pick that sort of thing up. When I started this it was okay, because children weren’t really doing it. Now, kids are doing (MMA). You know, six, eight, ten. You know, they’re doing it, so I guess I have to stop cussing. It sucks.”
Check out all our UFC 148 pre-fight interviews
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