Forrest Griffin hoping to weather the storm against 'Shogun' at UFC 134

Nearly four years ago, Forrest Griffin pulled off one of the greatest upsets in MMA history against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 76.

Having suffered multiple disappointing losses throughout his nearly 10 year fighting career, the original "Ultimate Fighter" knows just how badly Rua wants to avenge that embarrassing defeat.

"Shogun" finally has the opportunity to do so in the co-main event of UFC 134 this Saturday night (August 27, 2011) in front of thousands of hometown fans in Brazil. but Griffin will be ready for him.

In fact, Griffin actually detailed some of his gameplan in an interview during the public open workouts yesterday.

"I hope he's still dealing with a lot of injuries. I figure he's been motivated, he's trained hard. I figure he's gonna come out and go right at me from the beginning. Just weather the storm is my plan. Run a little, weather the storm, see if I can push him against the fence and then open my bag of tricks."

The Brazilian made waves in Pride, crushing nearly everyone in his path before Griffin upset him in his UFC debut, a fight in which Rua's lingering injuries and lack of cardio were exposed.

Rua showed serious signs of fatigue in not only his fight with Griffin, but his rematch against a 44 year old Mark Coleman a little over a year later.

After appearing to be rejuvenated against Chuck Liddell and Lyoto Machida, winning the UFC light heavyweight title in the process, he again looked exhausted and worn out while getting dominated by Jon Jones.

Griffin seems intent on wearing the former Chute Box fighter down again, but will "Shogun's" new routine after hiring a decorated strength and conditioning coach be a factor? Does the season one winner of The Ultimate Fighter have a back-up plan in case Rua is capable of pressing forward for three straight rounds?

Sound off, Maniacs!