“Shogun” To Face Forrest Griffin in Debut
Forrest Griffin, not Lyoto Machida, will be Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s opponent at UFC 76 according to reports. The news contradicts numerous previous reports that suggested Machida would be facing the top light heavyweight.
Rua is 16-2 in his mixed martial arts career but has yet to fight in the UFC. Rua has won 4 straight fights in PRIDE over Cyrille Diabate, Kevin Randleman, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and Alistair Overeem in a span of just 6 months.
Griffin won the first season of the Ultimate Fighter over Stephan Bonnar in one of the highly acclaimed fights in UFC history. He followed up the win with two more wins over Bill Mahood and Elvis Sinosic earning a shot at former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Griffin lost the fight against Ortiz via split decision. Following the loss a rematch with Stephan Bonnar was next for Griffin. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Griffin lost again in his next UFC fight against Keith Jardine at UFC 66. Griffin was slated to face the man he is now rumored to have replace, Lyoto Machida, at UFC 70 but pulled out of the fight due to a staph infection. Griffin was successful in his last UFC fight in June at UFC 72 where he defeated Hector Ramirez.
Most fans and analysts agree that a match against Machida would have likely been a greater challenge for Rua in his debut. The matchup was likely scrapped due to the fact that few casual UFC fans are familiar with Machida but Griffin on the other hand has a large following due to his time on The Ultimate Fighter. It appears the UFC opted for a more marketable fight as opposed to the superior MMA matchup.
For more on UFC 76 check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
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Bad break for Griffin, he shouldnt have signed the deal. Shogun is gonna put him out quick.
I actually think it was a pretty smart move. If Forrest loses it doesn't really set his career back as he will be the underdog in this fight anyways but a win would be absolutely huge. Beside the physical risk of fight Shogun I have to say this was a pretty smart fight for him.
Fighting Shogun aint really a smart move….hes gonna step right over Forrest…probably with relative ease…and hes gonna get a title shot right away against who ever wins the quinton vs henderson fight…im not surprised that forrest isnt going to or likely never will (unless he sparks up a crazy win streak) receive a title shot even though he deserved one a long time ago….i guess its just because hes a TUF fighter that means that he has to prove himself…but "kenflo" got one and his name is not as big as forrest griffin's…anyways prediction that r gonna see here first "shogun" takes the fight 1st round KO in under a 1:30 by way of head kick
I really think the risk is worth the reward for Forrest. The odds of him losing are high but a win over Shogun followed by another over a top guy could earn him a shot at the title. There really is nothing but positives for him. Without facing Shogun he would have needed many more wins to earn a shot at the title but a win over top competition seriously improves his title stock.
A loss really means that he will still need to put together a good run before he would get a title shot which is no different from his current situation.
Sometimes people blow my mind.
If Shogun was fighting a nobody, people would b****. They would say he is one of the top 5 fighters in the world and should be fighting somebody in that category.
If Shogun was fighting someone somewhat worthy (like Griffin) people will b**** and say Griffin is not worthy enough and they are giving Shogun a scrub. How can you not like this match up?????
It's a lose lose situation. By the way, my opinions aren't coming from this article or the commentor's on this site. I've been to many MMA sites on this Shogun vs Griffin fight and can't believe a great fight causes so much negativity.
Can't wait for this UFC. They should call it Stacked 2!
Kris:
"The odds of him losing are high but a win over Shogun followed by another over a top guy could earn him a shot at the title."
I agree with you. Dana has mentioned if Shogun wins his first fight he gets an immediate title shot. The same rules should apply for the challenger.
The negative comments from fans have really surprised me Steve. I guess it just shows that not everyone will ever be happy with most matchups.
I really think the UFC did a good job getting this matchup booked over Lyoto Machida, not that that wouldn't have been a bad match either.
I always love when the stage is set for an upset. On any given day as they say. This is the year of the upsets. That is also why I like the Jardine vs Chuck fight.
why is forrest so under-rated? forrest griffin is at the top of the lhw class no doubts about it. i think forrest is going to win this fight.
and rua is not getting a title shot after this fight. if chuck beats jardine, he will fight silva… the winner of griffin-rua will fight machida… then we see either silva, liddell, rua, or machida as next title fight… im guessing liddell