Forrest Griffin wins trilogy against Tito Ortiz, grabs win via unanimous decision – UFC News
Forrest Griffin, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, successfully engraved his name on the trilogy with arch rival Tito Ortiz, Hall of Famer and former Light heavyweight champion, by grabbing a unanimous decision, in a three-round bout held on July
7, 2012 at UFC 148.
The Saturday night was definitely not a good one for the longest reigning light heavyweight champion in UFC history Ortiz as he lost his career’s last bout by just an inch to his arch rival Forrest.
The duo co-headlined the pay-per-view and met at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The event was headlined by the explosive five-round middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.
This was the third time that the duo was taking on each other. In their first two battles, both have won one bout each and therefore the Saturday night showdown was a decisive one. With high stakes and much on the line especially for Ortiz, the bout was
an exciting one from the very first second.
The grappling-wrestling specialist Ortiz, started things off with an early take down. Forrest succumbed to the grip but after a few second broke it and stood on his feet.
During Griffin’s attempt of holding the ground, Tito, also known as ‘Huntington Beach Bad Boy’, connected powerful jabs. The second round started with Ortiz’s explosive right hand that stunned Forrest seriously.
The rest of the round was dominated by the Georgian who started pounding Tito with uppercuts, powerful low kicks targeting thighs and strong frontal jabs. The last round witnessed Ortiz losing all his strength and getting fatigued which gave ample opportunity
to Forrest to connect substantial strikes.
In the middle of the third round, Ortiz again attempted a successful takedown but his effort went in vain as Griffin broke the grip, stood up and battered the Bad Boy vehemently throughout the round.
The judges unanimously declared Forrest as the winner by 29-28 on all three cards. After winning the trilogy, Griffin stated, “He gassed at the end, but I didn’t have gas either but that second knockdown, it was a legit knockdown. I was lost for a while.”
The victory has brought Forrest again on the win track whereas Tito has left the octagon once and for all after collecting career’s 11th loss.
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