Forrest Griffin turned down match against Vitor Belfort – UFC News
UFC light heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin had turned down a fight against title challenger Vitor Belfort. In an interview with Brazilian site UOL, Belfort revealed that Griffin was offered a match against Belfort at UFC 155 but Griffin refused, as
reported by MMAMania.com.
It should be noted here that Forrest Griffin was originally scheduled to fight Chael Sonnen, who is now scheduled to face light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at The Ultimate Fighter season 17. Now, since Sonnen will not be fighting Griffin, the latter will
be fighting Phil Davis at UFC 155.
In the interview, Belfort mentioned that that Griffin had a list of six possible opponents among which his name was on top. However, he added, Griffin told him he would not face him, which according to Belfort is a great way of recognizing his talent.
“I met with Forrest and he told me that he volunteered for a list of six names and mine was the first,” said Belfort. “He said he would face any of them except me. It's good to have this kind of recognition. I am here to serve the company.”
Belfort was nearly on the verge of making light heavyweight champion Jon Jones submit in their September showdown at UFC 152. Belfort was able to lock an armbar on Jones, making the champion go through the most painful moments of his career. Nevertheless,
Jones was able to recover from the manoeuvre to defeat the old-school fighter.
During the post-fight press conference, Belfort admitted that Jones indeed deserves to be a champion and he is not in any way an overrated fighter, as most MMA analysts put it. Jones proved his mettle against Belfort, a fighter who is known for being tough
and gruesome in the cage.
Probably, it was Belfort’s reputation as one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC that kept Griffin from choosing him as his opponent. Since Griffin is at a crucial moment in his career, he would not want to take on an opponent who is a threat. And
so, he chose to fight Phil Davis over Belfort.
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