On this day in 2008, a new UFC -light heavyweight champion was crowned a controversial way.
'The Ultimate Fighter' has produced many great hunters and UFC champions, but there is one name that comes to mind when you think of the real original 'Ultimate Fighter'.
Forrest Griffin played in the first season of the show and would be the first hunter to be admitted to the modern wing of the Hall of Fame of the promotion.
Griffin's fight with Stephan Bonnar in the final remains one of the most important matchups in the history of sport, because it helped to bring mixed martial arts as a whole to a different level.
Although Griffin had many ups and downs during his run, it is his Underdog UFC title winnings that remains the highlight of his incredible career.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Forrest Griffin hit the fans after return to his light heavyweight title profit on UFC 86
On the way to UFC 86 on July 5, 2008, Forrest Griffin was considered the Underdog on the way to his first title fight.
Griffin had a number of remarkable victories under his belt, but with losses for Tito Ortiz and Keith Jardine in the past, he would experience a tough battle in trying Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.
The light heavyweight title fight would turn out to be a great back and forth battle that eventually won the winning of the year.
After overcoming an early storm of 'Rampage', Griffin responded with some own damage by landing some huge legs, which he later revealed that it was an accident.
At the end of five rounds, the jury members unanimously scored the challenger, with one score card 49-46, with which the fans in the Mandalay Bay Events Center clearly did not agree.
The controversial outcome seemed to split fans and the media in the days after the fight, but Griffin did not take that long before he tackled the immediate return.
“I want to thank you so much,” said Griffin in his interview after the fight before he responded to the response of the fans. “Hey, what the hell is it? What? Are you joking? Come on. I want to thank Quinton Jackson. I think that was pretty close. I don't want it because he touches too much, but I think we have to do that again and that is crazy for me. “
Photo by: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson still does not believe that Forrest Griffin believes he has won
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was convinced that he should have gotten his hand on UFC 86 and he still holds that faith to this day.
Although Jackson and Forrest Griffin have sat down together to talk about their rivalry during an episode of the Jaxxon Podcast, 'Rampage' remains convinced that he deserved the victory.
In another episode of his podcast, the former champion claimed that he does not even believe that Griffin thinks he won that fight, which would mean the Hall of Famer later.
“I feel that Forrest actually knows that he did not win that fight against me and I felt that he was playing a bit on it [that] He did really well. See if I would have won the belt that way, I would have taken the belt, but I would let it be known if, “Ah I don't think I really won this belt.” I take a lot of honor to fight. “
Griffin would lose the light heavyweight title in his first defense against Rashad Evans on UFC 92.
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