News From Osiris

Unless something catastrophic happens within the next 365 days, it’s a safe bet that Forrest Griffin (will lock horns with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson again. It may be for the UFC light heavyweight title or it may be for a chance to fight whoever holds said belt. But either way one cuts it, both 205-pound competitors will be trading leather, bones, flesh and blood again.

Griffin walked away from the famed Octagon at UFC 86 Saturday night with Jackson’s light heavyweight title and he earned it the hard way, albeit shrouded in controversy. Griffin and Jackson fought their tails off, each taking as much as the other delivered, and when the smoke cleared, the general consensus around the sold out Mandalay Bay Events Center was that Rampage probably retained his title.

With an emphasis on probably.

Two rounds within the ballyhooed showdown were landslides for one fighter — Jackson the first, Griffin the second. But rounds three through five were virtual toss-ups and when the final bell sounded, there truly wasn’t a clear-cut victor.

In the first round, Griffin was nearly stopped when Jackson dropped “The Ultimate Fighter” winner to his back with a picturesque right uppercut. Rampage, sensing another brilliant early-round knockout, pounced on the woozy Griffin in an attempt to end the fight. Somehow Griffin held onto his attacker and eventually cleared his head.

Griffin knew he had to keep a safe distance from the champion and the best way to do that was with leg kicks. Griffin wobbled Rampage seconds into the second frame with a crippling blow to Jackson’s outer lead thigh. Another followed seconds later and soon Jackson was stumbling away from Griffin. The Xtreme Couture fighter latched on a guillotine and tripped the Memphis native. Within moments, he had Rampage fully mounted. For almost three straight minutes, Griffin dished out elbows and punches to the wounded Jackson, but Rampage was able to fend off most of the attacks and make it out of the round.

“He jacked my leg up,” Jackson admitted later. “I tried to pretend; I ain’t that good at acting, but he knew he hurt my leg.”

Griffin tried to close the show in the third, but Rampage kept a safe distance, preventing any further damage to his left leg. Jackson pecked away at Griffin and the pace of the fight slowed.

Stanzas three and four were the swing rounds, as they were somewhat uneventful and, save for Jackson’s attempted slam in the fourth to shake off Griffin’s triangle choke attempt, neither man dominated.

Griffin boxed well in the fifth and kept Jackson’s charges at bay, though Rampage seemed the more powerful of the two when he did connect.

After the unanimous decision victory was announced with tallies of 48-46 (twice) and 49-46, a large portion of the fans in attendance littered the Octagon with boos and other vocal discord.

“What, are you kidding me?” an incredulous Griffin asked the crowd, though he had much respect for Jackson’s skills.

“I think that was pretty close,” Griffin said. “And I didn’t want to (over-engage), because he hits too fucking hard, but I think we’re going to have to do that again. And that sucks for me. Every fucking punch he threw hurt. I’m not kidding. Like I would catch it, and it would hurt my arm. Just everything hurt. And I just kind of let him get off and throw one, two or three. I never made him pay for it.”

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” said Jackson. “Forrest is tough. I respect him a lot. He works hard; he’s a hard worker. Hey, whenever you step in the Octagon, there’s a 50/50 chance you’re going to get your ass whooped. I ain’t no stranger to getting my ass whooped. I get my ass whooped sometimes.”
As reported by by Mike Sloan - Sherdog.com