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"My goal right now is to win a fight before the end of the year... The last fight they asked me who I wanted to fight, I said I don't care who but I would really want to fight in Las Vegas and they gave me that and I backed out of that fight. So I kind of feel like they gave me what I asked for and I backed out, so I'm kind of at their mercy... UFC gave me a call a while back and I was training with eight pounds and the [thought of] taking a fight when I'm not really training MMA at all was terrifying," he said. "But now that I'm training I'll have somewhere to fit those nerves... I've only been fighting twice a year for the past couple of years. I'm just kind of listening to my body... I think Randy Couture stole my youth and I think I'm aging double."
Penick's Analysis: Griffin jokingly wrote off the idea of a fight with Jon Jones this year, saying it's a great idea to take a fight against someone on a hot streak when you've been out with an injury for a year. And while I thought it would be an excellent fight last month, I fully get Griffin's desire not to jump right into that one. I still think a fight against either Rich Franklin or Randy Couture makes sense right now, but he could also face a number of other guys here in the fall if the UFC decides to go another route. Either way, it will be good to see him back in the Octagon when he can make his return.
[Forrest Griffin art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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