Zuffa Positioning Forrest Griffin To Replace Chuck Liddell As A Top PPV Draw?

by Kelvin Hunt on Apr 29, 2009 7:04 AM EDT in News Comment 25 comments

Dana White has repeatedly said that he will not let Chuck Liddell fight again, although Liddell hasn't officially made a decision in regards to that matter. It was announced yesterday that Anderson Silva would move up in weight to fight TUF 1 winner and former UFC LHW champion Forrest Griffin. Now let's tie all of this together and see if it makes sense:

Right now, Anderson Silva isn't liked by many people. He will be the villian in this fight with the beloved Forrest Griffin.
Forrest Griffin is a decent PPV draw, but he's still not on Liddell's level
Griffin has a good chance of beating Anderson Silva

Basically with Liddell gone(if that holds true) the UFC will be losing a huge PPV draw. I mean that is PPV buys that were pretty much guranteed everytime Liddell fought. As I mentioned earlier, Griffin is a solid draw but he's still not on par with Liddell in terms of popularity and/or fanbase. However, a win over Anderson Silva at UFC 101 could propel Griffin into that next level of stardom. He would have beaten the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world according to Dana White. An angle the UFC would surely run with for marketing purposes if it comes to fruition.

I think this fight is really a win/win deal for Forrest Griffin. If he goes out and beats Anderson Silva, he'll shoot up the so called pound for pound rankings. He'll be right there contending for another shot at the UFC LHW title. It would be the third time everyone thought he was going to get brutalized in the cage, only to overcome the odds to pull out the win. Those are ingredients for fighters to shoot into that next level of superstardom. If he loses, then he wasn't supposed to beat the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world anyway. So I don't see a loss hurting his stock much(unless he gets the Chris Leben treatment from Silva).

Griffin poses problems for Anderson Silva. He'll be the largest opponent that Silva has faced thus far in his career. Griffin applies good pressure, and should be able to get the fight to the ground if he wants to. He's well versed in submissions, so he should be able to avoid anything Silva tries to do from his back. I can definitely see him grinding out a decision against "The Spider". So with this fight, I think Zuffa sees this as an opportunity to do a couple of things. It puts Anderson Silva in there with someone that will bring the fight to him so the fight should be exciting. It's against a 'big name' opponent, and if Griffin wins he'll become an even bigger star than he already is. Which means he could supplant Chuck Liddell as one of the top PPV draws in the UFC.

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I think this fight was more intended to have Anderson get a rub from Forrest’s blue collar grittyness; if Anderson wants to win he will have to work for it and I think a win here might redeem him, if Forrest wins it would just further cement his popularity.

Bloody hell.

by 3PA on Apr 29, 2009 7:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s a great matchup, and makes sense from a fan’s perspective. I’m not sure who the consensus favorite will be on fight night, but I think that Silva takes this one. Griffin, however, will be game and make a great fight.

by SlickRick00 on Apr 29, 2009 8:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m not he biggest Forrest fan but I’ll be cheering him on for this one. I want Silva to get beat. I want Silva to get mad. I want Silva to say, “you know what I’m gonna stay in the LHW division because these guys can actually give me a fight.” Thats what I want. :)

Also, I thought the UFC was positioning GSP as their top draw? Was Liddell that big of a draw or was it just his fights with Tito and Randy? I know they haven’t said anything but I wish they would do a UFC Primetime on Rashad/Lyoto sooooo fricken bad. Rashad has big time potential to be a big draw. Hes a cool cat but people just haven’t seen it yet.

UFC Big Draws Right Now

GSP
Lesnar
Griffin
Rampage
BJ

UFC Potential Big Draws

Bisping
Diego
Rashad
Velasquez
Shogun
Mardquart
Florian

Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."

by xFenixKnightx on Apr 29, 2009 8:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Word @ Rashad. I never understood why people seem to hate him so.

Bloody hell.

by 3PA on Apr 29, 2009 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Me niether, seems like an all around good guy. To me, the “showboating” he’s done in the past isn’t even anything to get upset over.

As for UFC Primetime I’m guessing they don’t think Lyoto could carry the show because of his limited English. :(

Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."

by xFenixKnightx on Apr 29, 2009 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow

totally disagree. evans showboating is exactly why people hate him. whether its a big deal is completely subjective. it just so happens a lot of people don’t like it.

me, i see him as cocky and arrogant and quite frankly i hate that in anyone whether they are a title holder or the guy who changes the oil in my car.

I'm the kind of girl who loves to watch a GOOD fight!
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by funnytiger on Apr 29, 2009 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you think he seems cocky and arrogant? Seems pretty humble to me, he’s never been disrespectful to any of his opponents, cept maybe Tito

by Charles Walker on Apr 29, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look, I’m not trying to change anyone’s opinion on Rashad. If you like him, you like him. I just happen to not like him. Having said that, the reasons I don’t like him are based on his behavior inside the ring. The whole crotch grab thing in his fight with Forrest pretty much sealed the deal for me. He had the same issues when he was on TUF and has decided that’s what kind of fighter he’s going to be. Entertaining? Maybe. Humble? Eh… Not so much.

Let me also state that I don’t think that has any impact on his abilities as a fighter. I happen to think he is an outstanding fighter. Nor does it have any impact on the kind of draw he will eventually get in the UFC. People love heels just as much as they love the humble fighter (aka Forrest).

I'm the kind of girl who loves to watch a GOOD fight!
--------
Join the DC Area UFC Meetup Group
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by funnytiger on Apr 29, 2009 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My thoughts exactly.

by Wookalarman on Apr 30, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love him because he pisses people off for no apparent reason (well if you’re going to dislike an MMA fighter for talking some smack and acting arrogant you’re basically stuck cheering for Rich Franklin)

Bloody hell.

by 3PA on Apr 29, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dana said the next Primetime...

would probably be Rampage’s next fight. I really don’t understand why they would hold out for Jackson over Evans/Machida or Lesnar/Mir. I think either would do great. I myself would love to see a Primetime with Hughes/Serra.

by Wookalarman on Apr 30, 2009 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess Griffin can…but I think he lacks a few tools that Chuck had that worked to his advantage…like a good chin…but Griffin’s a gamer so I think the fans will always be behind him

by Charles Walker on Apr 29, 2009 8:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I love Chuck but since when did he have a good chin?

by Wookalarman on Apr 30, 2009 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sounds about spot on to me kelvin. when they 1rst announced this fight, i’t didn’t make much sense business wise to me, even though it’s a fight everyone want’s to see. your take on it makes sense to me. they are losing a big draw with chuck, so if forrest wins, he’s right up there, if silva wins, it revitalizes his career. you said it best to, unless forrest gets lebened, he’s in a no lose situation. if silva loses, like you said, he’s not exactly mr popular or a big draw as it stands and will still be the mw champ. sorry to paraphrase everything you just posted, but it’s a good write -up.

by bdw on Apr 29, 2009 11:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

True…it’s win/win for Forrest (even though he will lose).

Come to think of it, it’s always win/win for Forrest b/c he likes to test himself and that’s a good way to approach this sport.

If they did a countdown or primetime or whatever they call it now, do you think Rashad would be painted as the “bad guy” and Machida as the “good guy”….just like the GSP/BJ?

by The Real T-Bone on Apr 29, 2009 12:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

primetime. i think they would portray the fighters as to how they portray themselves. bj gave them TONS ammo and they didn’t need much help tp portray him as the heel. it’s possible the could edit it to look like rashad is the cocky showboater, while portraying machida as the humble martial artisit, but i think they will let the fighters tell their own story and rashad will make alot of new fans as would machida. of course they will most likely never actually do a primetime for this fight, but a countdown will be very interesting.

by bdw on Apr 29, 2009 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You’re right…BJ definitely supplied the ammo. In an effort to spark (even more) interest, sometimes they’ll do the Vince McMahon good guy/heel thing. With Rashad, there’s plenty of instances of him being a humble dude…and then there’s the face-off w/Rampage, the “showboating”, etc. so I guess only time will tell.

by The Real T-Bone on Apr 29, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cool…some good responses…I love Rashad…a lot of people dont’ realize that he’s humble…alot of the stuff he does is to sell the fight IMO.

http://www.mmaforreal.com

by Kelvin Hunt on Apr 29, 2009 6:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh hell yeah…I like Rashad too. Ever since he pissed off Matt Hughes… :)

It seems people really like to bash him and say he’s “bad for the sport” or whatever…gimme a break. He fires himself up in his own way. I have no problem with that. The nickname needs a little work but nonetheless, War Sugar!

by The Real T-Bone on Apr 29, 2009 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yea, that nickname is asswipes…but Rashad is THAT dude.

http://www.mmaforreal.com

by Kelvin Hunt on Apr 29, 2009 10:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If he goes out and beats Anderson Silva, he’ll shoot up the so called pound for pound rankings. He’ll be right there contending for another shot at the UFC LHW title.

I think he is still there. He is ranked #4 right now only behind Machida, Jackson & Evans.

by Wookalarman on Apr 30, 2009 12:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs