Teammate vs teammate? Fine with Tyson Griffin -- if it's for the lightweight title

by Jesse Holland on Sep 25, 2009 11:02 AM EDT

Quoteworthy:

"As far as fighting teammates, it's kind of an unwritten rule that it happens for titles. If Gray got the title shot, I'd be happy for him and I'd help him train for it. I'd train with him to win. The weight division is stacked. There's tons of other guys that we can fight if the title's not on the line. It did feel great (to end a fight by stoppage) but I’m sure that monkey will come right back as soon as a fight goes to another decision."

Embattled UFC lightweight Tyson Griffin finally gets himself a finish inside the Octagon after knocking off Hermes Franca at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas. The talented Xtreme Couture product is the winner of a staggering five "Fight of the Night" bonuses but had gone to a decision in seven straight bouts dating back to 2006, taking heat from fans and media alike in his inability to seal the deal. Does last week's stoppage over the purple-haired pop tart signify the arrival of the 14-2 Griffin as a serious title contender? Or will he make a "decision" to lurk in the shadows for another year? One thing's for sure, he has no problem taking on a teammate if that's the only thing that stands between him and the gold.

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Comments

After BJ tools Diego, I would like to see Diego/Griffin. Or, if Clay can get past Kenny, I would like to see Griffin/Guida II (I still think Clay should have gotten the decision in the 1st fight).

by Cole on Sep 25, 2009 11:06 AM EDT reply actions

wait Tyson…we shouldnt complain that before the Franca fight, you havent finished a fight since 2003?

by john G on Sep 25, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions

2006 not 2003.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually, 1958.

by PW on Sep 25, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Way to jump to the rescue with your humor. If you’re going to use numbers when supporting your arguments you might as well use the correct ones.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

is there really much of a diference between not finishing a fight in 3 years, and not finishing a fight in 6 years? lol

by john G on Sep 25, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Sure, since he’s been fighting pro for 5 years.

by MongoMan on Sep 25, 2009 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Let’s see, it is double the amount of time. You must not be a businessman John. An immaterial amount to you would be quite a staggering number. lol

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

guess sarcasm doesnt translate well around here

by john G on Sep 25, 2009 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I guess overlooking easily obtainable facts does.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Big surprise that Tyson actually finished a fight, though Hermes was in awful shape so it wasn’t that big an achievement. I’ve never been a fan of Franca, he may have talent but he’s too lazy hasn’t ever looked impressive to me. I can’t get behind anyone with no work ethic.

Hopefully Tyson-Gray never happens because it’ll either be a boring clay and gray decision or the world’s worst kickboxing match, where neither guy shows any technique or comes close to finishing the fight. Tyson has lost to Edgar and Sherk so is nowhere near a title shot, Gray is a lot closer. Shame that Edgar got matched up with Pellegrino is he should be right up there at the top of the division.

by David W-S on Sep 25, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

It was good to see Griffin finish a fight. That said, Franca looked woefully out of shape, so maybe it wasn’t a huge statement win. As things stand or until proven different, there is a gap between the champ and the contenders at 155. Of the 4-5 jockeying for position, and as much as I hate to admit it, Maynard currently makes the strongest case for being one win away from a title shot. Griffin…..I’d say 2 wins over legit top 10 opponents.

by CL on Sep 25, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions

florian vs guida = winner
………………………..>……. winner>>
griffin vs n.diaz = winner
-——————————————————
maynard vs Faber = winner
………………………..>……..winner>>
bj penn vs sanchez = winner

by Mikeybear on Sep 25, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Nate Diaz has lost 2 of his last 3 hasn’t he. He doesn’t deserve to be in that little bracket of yours.

by LJ on Sep 25, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Faber? He’s not moving up anytime soon and if he did there’s no way they’d match him up with a big boring wrestler like Gray.

by David W-S on Sep 25, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions

why is Tyson’s skin red and white is that from blood?

by the still operator on Sep 25, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

He’s def not ready for a title shot, he did lose to sherk and edgar and frank lost to Gray, and he’s undefted. I say Griffin v, Diaz, pelligrino, Lauzon or even Huerta. The Franca fight showed me nothing, he was an overweight pop tart. hahaha lol

by dorts5150 on Sep 25, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I would just like to say that I really dislike Tyson….not becuz of this thread just in general…

by SluggerCitySoldier on Sep 25, 2009 11:06 AM EDT reply actions

I’ll counter by saying that i happen to really like Tyson.
I don’t remember any of his fights ever boring me – he doesnt control decisions – and his comments are always tactful.

He’s right about that damn monkey.

by Big Zino on Sep 25, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

what’s the point of having goals of one day becoming champ when you won’t fight your teammate for the belt? it’s called being a coward. sorry-ass excuse to avoid fights. a real fighter will fight anyone.

by real mma on Sep 25, 2009 11:18 AM EDT reply actions

Did you read the quote? They will fight if it’s for the belt.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

However, a fight between the two makes the most sense right now to establish the number one contender for BJ after he gets through Diego (assuming it happens). So you could argue that they need to fight in order to get a title shot. Nobody else at 155 comes to mind right now that would be ahead of Tyson and Gray.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I would have to put Fankie Edgar ahead of Griffin. Edgar has a win over Griffin, a win over Hermes (who Griffin just beat), and a win over Sherk (who just beat Griffin). Edgar’s only lose was to Maynard. I would put Griffin at about # 5 or 6 in the division.

by Cole on Sep 25, 2009 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions

You’re right Cole. I overlooked Edgar. I guess that would put Maynard in line for the next shot. Or Maynard would fight the winner of Guida/Florian for the next shot.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

i did read the whole story. sometimes teammates have to fight to determine number one contender for the belt. a real fighter avoids no one to get to the belt.

by real mma on Sep 25, 2009 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Then reword your previous statement to say that they won’t fight to determine the next title opponent. They’ll only fight, according to Tyson, if one of them has the belt. Good luck with that.

by Adam T. on Sep 25, 2009 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Tyson looked awesome last week..his kicks were great to watch. AND for everyone who says ‘F that’ teammates should fight each other, probably never trained MMA or if you did ‘train’ MMA , you had a punching bag in your garage, a tapout shirt, an armband tat , and an Eddie Bravo book. When you train for a fight you are around your team more than friends/family. You bond with them and you want he/she to succeed no matter what. You want the best for your teammates , you dont wanna beat them up. Sure, you give them a good shot or 3 in practice but thats as far as it goes. Now when it comes to a title shot, i think that is an exception, just for the fact that when you train , you want to be the best and beat the best. And the fact is , there would be no point to fight if you didnt think you had the chance to be at the top and when that opportunity comes about, you gotta pounce on it

by robbyc on Sep 25, 2009 11:18 AM EDT reply actions

every single time you fight you are fighting to make your way to the top. teammate vs teammate shouldn’t matter. obviously guys aren’t going to be calling out their teammates, but if fighting your teammate is what’s going to put you at the next level then nothing should stop you from taking that fight. i respect griffin for saying he would fight his teammate if that’s what it came down to. he wants to be the champ, and sometimes you’re going to have to take fights against your friends, or maybe even teammates to do that so i respect griffin for saying he would do it if necessary. guys like anderson silva, and machida…if they want to be considered the best fighter in the world then they will most likely have to fight each other. silva and machida are two of the best fighters in the world along with guys like fedor, gsp, mike brown, bj penn, etc. so if silva and machida want to be considered the best fighter in the world it seems like they are going to have to fight each other to prove that.

by taylor on Sep 25, 2009 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

You already considered Machida and Silva as one of the best in the world. They have no other reasons to prove anything else to reward pathetic people and their greedy minds who just want everything for themselves, for their own entertainment.

by Crackbaby on Sep 25, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah i agree…isnt that what I said??? Im agreeing with Griffin..If its for the belt, you almost have to do it. The Ando/Machida is sort of just going out of the way to make them fight. Diff. divisions, I dont think Ando has a 205 belt in his head yet

by robbyc on Sep 25, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

i agree, it is kind of going out of the way for silva and machida to fight…at least right now anyways because they both have several big fights in their division coming up. anderson has vitor, marquardt, and hendo all lookin for a chance. and machida has shogun, possibly rashad, and maybe even brandon vera coming after him. i still think the silva v. machida fight will have to happen eventually. silva is clearly at his best at 185 but after the performance he has put in at 205 i think he can definitely make a run at the 205-belt if he wants to.

by taylor on Sep 25, 2009 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Brandon Vera…HA!…Title shot..HA!!! Good one, Taylor! LOL!

Dude, Vera isn’t even ranked on any top-ten list that I’ve ever seen. It’s an insult to Couture to have to fight him.

by shonuff on Sep 26, 2009 2:30 AM EDT up reply actions

That photo shop effect makes him look like he’s got some kind of skin condition.

by MongoMan on Sep 25, 2009 12:03 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah they do!

by LJ on Sep 25, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

purple haired pop tart AWESOME!…and yes he is a contender. Will he beat Diego next year for the belt? doubt it……Will Diego have a good enough lawyer to get passed Penn – I hope so…

by BudsyKind on Sep 25, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

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by Justine on Sep 25, 2009 12:30 PM EDT reply actions

purple haired pop tart – AWESOME!
and yes he is a contender
and no he wont make it passed Diego for the belt next year
and yes I hope Diego has a good enough lawyer to get passed Penn.
and yess Diego is training to avoid the eye poke

by BudsyKind on Sep 25, 2009 12:31 PM EDT reply actions

He’d better! B.J. works those eye sockets like he’s doin freakin retinoplasty!

by shonuff on Sep 26, 2009 2:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn’t mind seeing tyson beat maynard’s ass.

by mma guru on Sep 25, 2009 12:42 PM EDT reply actions

Tyson’s def not ready for a title shot, Franca fight didnt impress me, he was an overweight pop tart (hahahaha) Put him against Diaz, Pelligrino, Lauzon, or even Huerta. Gray would beat him up, Its been said he throws him around in training. But Grays not ready for a title shot either.

by dorts5150 on Sep 25, 2009 7:46 PM EDT reply actions