You wouldn’t expect Forrest Griffin to be as relaxed as he sounds – not with the biggest fight of his career right around the corner.

 

But the light heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 is comfortably calm even as he talks about his upcoming showdown with Tito Ortiz.

Griffin gained instant notoriety in the MMA world with his victory over Stephan Bonnar in The Ultimate Fighter finale. It was a full-out war which will go down as one of the greatest battles in UFC history. Since that dramatic victory, Griffin (12-2) has gone on to score a first-round choke out of Bill Mahood and a first-round TKO stoppage of Elvis Sinosic.

 

Ortiz (12-4), though, will be a big step up for Griffin. The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has a who’s who of MMA on his victim list including Wanderlei Silva, Evan Tanner, Vitor Belfort, Patrick Cote and Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock. Since avenging an early loss to Guy Mezger, the only blemishes on Ortiz’s record are to the legendary Frank Shamrock, soon-to-be Hall of Famer Randy Couture and reigning UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell.

 

The Z-Files was able to catch up with Griffin in Dallas just a day before his training camp for the Ortiz fight was set to begin.

 

Z-Files: How ready are you for your fight against Tito Ortiz?

Griffin: I don’t feel too ready right now. I feel like I’ve got a big test coming and I haven’t studied yet. Hopefully everything will start tomorrow.

 

Z-Files: Is there a lot of pressure on you coming into this fight especially on your personal time?

Griffin: This is the last stop. The only thing I’m worrying about this is the physical. This is my last interview. The UFC wants me to run around and do a bunch of stupid things. They’ve got like eight million things they want me to do. I’m cutting it right down to the minimum.

 

Z-Files: Did you set a training plan for the Ortiz fight?

Griffin: My plan was to have an eight-week training camp which would have been the longest of my career. Usually it’s five weeks. I’ve only got seven weeks left now, so I’m still going to do an extra two because it’s the biggest fight of my career.

 

Z-Files: Were you surprised to get offered a fight against Tito?

Griffin: It came right out of left field. I thought Tito was going to fight in a different organization.

 

Z-Files: How much have you seen of Tito?

Griffin: I haven’t seen any tapes yet, but I will. I’ve seen almost all of his fights except the Wanderlei Silva one and some of his earlier ones. I didn’t see the end of the Vladimir Matyushenko fight. I do know he’s pretty damn good.

 

Z-Files: With watching his previous fights, have you created a game plan?

Griffin: Oh, man you know how I feel about game plans. They never work out for me. I think I’ve got a good strategy and I’m working on all aspects of my game so that I can counteract his strong points.

 

Z-Files: Tito was knocked around by Chuck Liddell in the standup. Will you try to go toe to toe with him?

Griffin: I think Tito’s standup is underrated. And I’m not Chuck Liddell and I’m not Vitor Belfort. You’re talking about two of the best strikers in the sport. I doubt I’ll try to go with a lot of standup, but I’m sure he’ll want to go standup with me. I’m pretty sloppy and I’m easy to hit.

 

Z-Files: Have you thought about where you’d be headed if you are able to beat Tito?

Griffin: Not at all. That’s why I like this life. I do one thing at a time and I don’t give a shit about anything else. I only have one goal ahead of me right now and that’s beating Tito.

 

Z-Files: Going back to The Ultimate Fighter show, how much did that help you become a better fighter and how?

Griffin: It definitely helped me. I’d love to do it again – I could use it over these next seven weeks. I really learned how to cut weight, which I had never known how to do before. And I learned how much I could really train my body and I was really pleased with the results. And I learned a lot of technical aspects especially from Pete (Welch) the boxing coach.

 

Z-Files: Do you have any advice for guys who are heading into the house for Season 3?

Griffin: When you get on there, it’s such a great jumping off point, a great starting point, for your career. And you realize that six weeks really doesn’t take anything out of your life. You have to do what it takes.

 

Z-Files: How many times have you gone back and watched your fight with Stephan Bonnar?

Griffin: I’ve seen it three times – and that’s two times too many. In hindsight I would have done some things different. But I would do that with most of my life.

 

Z-Files: You want to go back and do some things over?

Griffin: I made a lot of bad decisions since high school. I wish I would have done a lot of things different. But I guess things have worked out all right.

 

Z-Files: What kinds of things would you want to do over?

Griffin: Everything man. I lacked some discipline. I guess it’s probably more things that I would tell a therapist.

 

Z-Files: We could probably all use some therapy.

Griffin: Why do think I fight? I can’t afford therapy so I just go in there and get beat up and then I feel whole again.

 

Z-Files: What’s your take on the upcoming UFC show - Canada vs. U.S.?

Griffin: It is frickin’ awesome! I think (David) Loiseau and (Rich) Franklin has lots of potential to be great. B.J. (Penn) and (Georges) St. Pierre – that’s great. I think St. Pierre could beat me up even though I’ve got 30 pounds on him. And I’m excited to see Mike Swick fight. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.

 

Z-Files: Can I get your predictions on the two big fights – Loiseau vs. Franklin and St. Pierre vs. Penn?

Griffin: (long pause) I’ll go with B.J. and Franklin.

 

Z-Files: (laughs) Just because you’re American?

Griffin: Oh, yeah. I didn’t even realize that. Well, I guess I have to stick with the party lines.

 

Z-Files: I know you keep an eye on other fights. How about Patrick Cote fighting next week in the MFC 9 – No Excuses main event?

Griffin: I like Patrick Cote a lot. I’ve seen all of his bouts on TV. The first fight of his I saw was against Tito.

 

The old adage is that nice guys finish last. That could wind up being Forrest Griffin’s curse when he faces Tito Ortiz. On the other hand, Griffin’s style is such a mixed bag (how many fighters call themselves “sloppy”) that he could survive Ortiz’s best. Griffin certainly he can take a beating – and dish one out – in the win over Stephan Bonnar. It very well could be Griffin’s time to shine.

 

Until next time … stay patient and pick your spot.