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By: Jerry Cattelane Jr., MMATorch Columnist Saturday’s UFC Light Heavyweight Championship tilt has been brewing for a long time. How long you ask? So long, that when it was announced, I was still writing regularly for this website. No, seriously. I’m not joking. Anyway…
It was a bit of a surprise not to see UFC 86 in the upcoming events list in this week’s Sports Illustrated, but still, it has all of the marquee necessities. Affable and eloquent champion? Check. Gutsy, energetic and lovable underdog? Check. Championship belt on the line? Check. War of words and reasonable made-for-PPV hype? Double check.
If you follow this site, you have likely gathered enough information on these fighters that I don’t have to list their many accomplishments. If you haven’t, then you probably live in Indiana next door to Ennis. (Kidding. I kid, because I care, really…)
How good will this fight be? It’ll be so good that a Tyson Griffin and Marcus Aurelio matchup is relegated to curtain jerker status. I doubt you could ask for a more intriguing juxtaposition of characters. How can you not root for Quinton Jackson? An eon ago during a podcast, both Shawn Ennis and I figured Jackson to be a media superstar by now. I don’t think it’s happened yet. Co-starring on a cable “reality” show is one thing. Kimbo Slice is another. Jackson absolutely has what it takes to be the true crossover mainstream MMA star if the UFC ever finds itself on network TV. The question really is if he still will be the champion by that time.
It’s odd to look back on Jackson during his PRIDE career. Between looking like a contender and then getting pounded out by the top fighters, it really seemed Jackson could never get over the hump. With his return to the U.S., something seems to have flipped the switch to allow him to change gears and become a champion. His win over Henderson spoke volumes about his conditioning and yet, watching the fight, I couldn’t help but think that were the fight back in PRIDE, Henderson would have found a way to win. Or perhaps, Jackson would have made enough mistakes to lose. Anecdotal? Sure, but it’s an opinion column and I’m a little rusty. Gimme a break.
On the other hand, you have Forrest Griffin. Griffin is so flaky, if he sat in a bowl of milk, you’d only need toast to have a balanced breakfast. I still remember him doing the chimpanzee routine during TUF 1. High comedy. And yet, there he was choking out Shogun back in September. (Was it really that long ago? Yikes!) If anything, Griffin has shown he can really take some punishment. He’ll need to if he wants to win Saturday. The thing I noticed most about this season’s TUF was the size advantage Griffin had over Jackson. I always thought that the lean fighters with limb length garnered an advantage in the cage. Clearly, Jackson has the power advantage, but Griffin is just one those freaks of nature that gets better once he gets tagged. And, if it gets to the ground, which I think it will, I think Griffin will employ said long limbs to test Jackson’s submission defense.
Jackson is a pretty hefty favorite and, considering that he is nearing his peak, probably has earned that distinction. But, Griffin is one of those fighters who has that aura of destiny about him. The win over Rua was a bit of a revelation. Saturday night’s win will not. In the grand Torch tradition of proving that none of us know anything and we (or in this case, I) are willing to jump off the bridge of prediction, I’ll take Griffin by submission in round four.
Have a safe and fun Independence Day!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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