Forrest Griffin vs. Thiago Silva Expected To Co-Headline UFC 101
Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin, who underwent surgery on his hand following a loss to Rashad Evans, will return to the octagon on August 8th to take on Thiago Silva in what is expected to be the co-main event of UFC 101 in Portland, Oregon beneath a headlining matchup featuring Randy Couture against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
MMA Junkie first reported the light heavyweight bout on Monday evening, adding that both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight and bout agreements are expected to be finalized by the end of the week.
Prior to relinquishing the 205-pound title in his December loss to Evans, Griffin (16-5), the winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, captured the belt with a unanimous decision victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86 in July. He earned the title shot with back-to-back victories over Hector Ramirez and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. As MMAFrenzy.com previously reported, Griffin anticipated an August return to action after undergoing surgery in January to repair a broken hand.
Silva (13-1) compiled an undefeated 13-0 mark, including UFC wins over James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, Houston Alexander, and Antonio Mendes, before suffering a first-round knockout loss to top-contender Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 in January.
For the latest UFC 101 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
Tags: Forrest Griffin, Thiago Silva
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This is interesting to me… Thiago is no push over (unless you push like Lyoto) and Griffin needs to win this battle to keep himself up there for a title shot versus whomever the Champion is at that time, which is key.. If he gets destroyed by Thiago then he is again pushed down the ranks of the LHW division, it is nice to see some good fights coming out of the huge LHW talent pool.. I will pick Griffin in this fight, but Thiago is a powerful man so anything can happen, clearly this isn’t a must win for Forrest but it would be nice to return with a win.. Plus Big Nog v Couture as the main event hell ya, 101 is looking pretty good already
what up FR
Yeah I cant wait to see Griffin return. I hope Big Nog is 100% this time. I dont think I can take see’ing him get beat so bad again, even in a losing effort I wanna see him do well.
Question for ya FR
Do you believe in the Champ not being a champ unless he defends his title at least once. Old Matt Hughes logic.
Even though I do not, do not like matt hughes at all, I tend to agree with his reason on this one.
I’m thinking about these tuff winners in Griffin, Evans if he loses to Lyoto.
i normally believe that, but i believe forrest was a true champ.
The ‘ol sayin you’re only the champ if u defend your belt, is a good sayin forsure but real quick lets look at the LHW division compared to the people Mr. Hughes went up against
Matt Hughes defended against~ Sakurai, Newton, Castillo, Sherk, Trigg before losing by choke to Penn (UFC 63) and that is a good first reign imho
Griffin beat Rua (as a huge underdog) and defeated Rampage via decision to become champion, now he then went on to fight a undefeated Evans and lost tko to him… I still consider Griffin a champion due to the fact that he did beat Rampage, but the LHW division rightnow is crazy stacked compared to the WW division in the past (actually even the present)…
The list of conteders at LHW for the UFC goes on forever it seems
Machida, Rampage, Griffin, Hendo, Liddell, Cane, Wanderlei, Rua, Jardine,Franklin, Thiago Silva, Hamill, Vera, etc… Not that the likes of Vera is a contender rightnow but I would say just by glancing at that list whomever is Champ is hard pressed to stay the champ for a extended amount of time.. That to me is a murders row..
Griffin beat two of the top LHW fighters of all time (imo) and got a belt in the process, that to me is a champion…
I also don’t see much a title run for anyone at 205 rightnow, the division is just crazy mad stacked, I can’t wait for May 23rd, nor can I wait for the winner to fight Rampage, Then hopefully one more title fight at LHW before the end of the year, hell it could change hands perhaps 3times this year but all would be champions in the books….
FR
Great point!!
In a division so stacked and so talented as LHW anyone who is the champ is the real deal.
But to some degree I agree but disagree.
I guess because that rule if gonna be used must be used in all weight classes no matter what. Even though lhw you technically could make exceptions due to the beastage of the fighters.
It would be unreal to see the lhw title change 3 times in less than a year even though even I dont think that is gonna happen.
It’s all good, I get where you are coming from on your stance…
hopefully forrest does good i wanna c him on top
me to he is a great fighter
Ya lets go forrest i would like to see him rematch rashad, he was dominating the first 2 rounds. i agreed with him he was to relaxed. but a win is a win. Forrest by UD
i hope forrest destroys silva….
i think silva is another fighter who has been able to get by, by facing weaker opponents…he had a true test vs machida and lost…i am expecting him to get beat by griffin…hopefully he does!
glad to see forrest back in action, and he is a stiff test in silva. silva is not a easy win by any means, he has ko power. that said I have forrest winning by decision due to his leg kicking ability and heart, he doesnt give up. he fought the evans fight with a broken hand thats why his striking wasnt happening in that fight. What made me like him even more is the fact that he didnt use his broken hand as an excuse as to why he lost. he mentioned it, but didnt go on and on, he gave props to evans like a true champ. take note bj, thats what a true fighter does, doesnt make excuses as to why he lost. cant wait for 101. im excited for the machida-evans fight, as well as the ultimate fighter fight with diego, 100 with gsp-alves. makes an awesome list of fights before I leave to become a army ranger in a few months.
I definitely think that Griffin can get a win in this fight, sure Silva is dangerous, but I think that Forrest will outclass him.
Nice match up! If Forrest stands and bangs with Thiago Silva hes going to get KTFO!
ya forrest was dominating the first 2 rounds with a broken hand, he’ll destroy silva
DESTROY Silva, don’t think so. Forrest has a chance to win, no doubt about that but to say he will destroy Silva is a bit foolish. As shown before he [Forrest] doesn’t fare well against guys with heavy hands. Exception [Rampage] I guess only time will tell can’t wait for this card my guy Couture is fighting and should easily beat Nog. if the same Nog shows up as in the Mir fight.
Speaking as a casual fun who rarely misses a UFC telecast, I’ve got a bone to pick with some of these fighters…
When I first starting watching MMA, It took me about a year to learn all of the different Silvas. (The “Smith” of Brazil, I guess)
But know it’s the Thiagos…Paulo Thiago, Thaigo Tavares, Thiago, Alves, Thiago Silva!! Before you know it, there’s gonna be a Silva Thiago.
How am I supposed to keep up?? I honestly can’t remember who’s who…and I’m sure I forgot a few.
This is a tough one because i really like both fighters. Forrest has evolved into a great technical well rounded fighter and has proven that he can hang with anyone at 205. I really like Thiago, he has great ground & pound plus just a great ground game period. Forrest has better stand up i feel because he has awesome leg kicks and can pick his opponents apart. It’s hard to pick a winner, but i personally would like both guys to win, but i also want to see a rematch between Forrest and Evans. I would like to see Thiago fight for the title as well, but i think i’m going with Forrest I don’t know exactly how he’ll win, i just feel he’s the better fighter overall.
Is UFC 101 going to be August 8th or the 15th? Here says the 8th, but under upcoming events says 15th?
It’s rumored to be the 8th, I missed updating the upcoming events but I’ve updated it now. Thanks.
Perfect, thank you Kris. UFC 100 the day before my b-day and 101 in my hometown, going to be a wonderful summer!
I like thiago silva but forrest has evolved into a complete fighter. Even though forrest lost to rashad, he was kicking his ass the whole fight. I honestly can’t recall how and when forrest got hurt. Either way, forrest seems to be very comfortable with himself.
Thiago on the other hand made the mistake of trying to trade with machida who is way faster and more technical than he is and he got kod. Forrest’s weakness is when he’s on his back and gettting GnP’ded on (jardine and evans). That is thiago’s forte and i think he should stick to what has helped him win (houston and that other dude).
Great match up can’t wait
Yeah i can’t remeber when Forrest got hurt during his title defense either. He was beating the crap out of Rashad. If If Thiago Silva wants to get a win over Forrest he needs to stick to his ground game and stop thinking he’s a striker. Like Jazzkok said, Thiago tried to stand up with Machida, who is a karate expert, Machida embarrassed Silva. I know that Machida is very quick, but i feel that that fight showed that Thiago should stick to his ground game. Forrest will be able to use his leg kicks and his jabs to pick Thiago apart. If Thiago refocusses on his JJ and reinforces it as his primary weapon against Forrest, he’ll problably be able to pull out an impressive victory.
great point. big fan of both fighters, both have their strengths and both are weak at some things.. lets not forget that thiago is from the chutebox academy.. i’ve done my homework and thiago is no pushover on his striking skills. i dont think that forrest has a real distinct advantage on the feet at all. i have thiago all the way.
forrest i still got love tho.
Sjitsu, isn’t Thiago Silva training @ ATT(American Top Team)?
is now. he used to actually train and teach at chuteboxe