
(Pain don’t hurt. Image courtesy of udothedishes.com.)
Like James Irvin and Patrick Cote before him, Forrest Griffin is pretty sure he knows what Anderson Silva‘s past opponents have been doing wrong, and doesn’t plan on making the same mistakes when he takes on the Spider in August. As Griffin told MMA Mania:
I just don’t think anyone has actually tried to fight him up to their ability. Irvin went in and charged him, Leben went in and charged him. He’s a southpaw counter-striker … it’s not like I’m going to go jump his shit. If you rush into that guy you’re rushing into a knockout. So I’m going to fight the guy, I’ll hit him, and not get too frustrated when I miss. Because he makes you miss and then he makes you pay for it.
He’s made a lot of guys feel stupid. It’s when guys get hit, and then they can’t hit him back; they just look hopeless … like they almost want the fight to be over…
I will come up with a game plan. I need to score some takedowns while avoiding any guillotines. Silva has got those long limbs…Also, his quickness and the unexpectedness of his style are on my mind. I have never fought a southpaw that I struck with before. I don’t like the idea of fighting a southpaw, it’s weird. And his clinch work, he is just so relaxed when doing it. Other than that I’m not too worried about the fight; it’s only going to be 15 minutes so what’s the worst that can happen?
Well, for the fans, the worst that could happen is if Griffin plays it safe, Silva spends all three rounds waiting to counter-attack, nothing happens during the fight, and Silva loses the last of his flagging popularity. For Forrest Griffin, the worst that could happen is if Anderson Silva — inspired by his first worthy opponent since Dan Henderson — beats him into a coma that he never emerges from.
I think if I were Forrest, I’d try to focus on best-case scenarios here. As Fightlinker puts it, "Forrest on a good day can beat any fighter that’s having a bad day…he seems to be turning into a mini Randy Couture as far as upsets go, so who knows?" Trying to out-wrestle Silva is a good start — though as Hendo found out, that strategy will only get you so far.
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commentsare you kidding? 'his preference to not lose instead of win'? what fights have you been watching? were you talking about anderson silva or tim sylvia circa 2006? because regardless of what you think about his performance since he's been in the ufc(which includes 2 submissions, 5 (t)ko's, and not going passed the second round in 7 fights, not to mention the fact that he's undefeated in 9 fights in the worlds greatest mma corporation) A.silva has been destroying people since he burst onto the scene.
you're talking about a guy who was handpicked by chute boxe for his brutal and aggressive style, and was trained to fight with skill by learning his Bjj from two brothers who are world renowned in the sport. do some actual research and watch any of anderson silvas fights pre-ufc and try to tell me that this is a guy who doesn't push a fight.
it really shows how little some people actually know about the sport you see people actually writing things like that. so what you're saying if i understand you correctly is that because he has not knocked anyone out in two fights that he is suddenly not a great fighter? so did you feel this same way when he destroyed franklin both times? or how about when he walked through leben, marquart and lutter? and i guess you weren't impressed when he became third fighter to ever submit hendo? and just so we're clear 'fighting to not lose' that was what he was doing when he knocked james irvin out right? fighting not to lose?
you lack appreciation for a man who has brought enormous amounts of entertainment into this sport. its fighters like him that are the reason why bars show fights, and venues put on fighting events because he makes it worth seeing.
Its gunna be one kick ass match.... I See Forrest by Ground n Pound in Round 3
he's gonna get tagged, he's gonna take damage, but he can withstand damage like no one else and still be effective. silva isn't gonna gas, but he'll wear down easier than a rampage, i'd bet.
he'll wrestle silva down -- god i don't want to see a lay-and-pray situation -- and then he'll work the gnp until he pulls an submission.
i say forrest, late round 2 armbar or von flue.
Forrest is a great fighter I give him credit.. but Anderson is just unreal. He just got taken down into half gaurd by a world class jiu jitsu guy with tons of time left and absolutely nothing happened except him escaping. He also submitted Travis Lutter, a bjj world champion, from his back. He gnp'd Marquardt, he choked out Henderson, he out brawled Leben without taking a hit, he manhandled Franklin in the clinch where Rich thought he'd have the advantage... I guess you guys are hard to please but that's enough for me. He gets bored fighting 2 scrubs everyone knows don't belong in the ring with him and everyone thinks he's overrated. I'll be betting on Silva.
right on, motha fucka!
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