Forrest Griffin thinks Tito Ortiz is still tough but knows how to stop him

The world is only a few weeks away from watching iconic UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz compete for the final time in his career when he faces Forrest Griffin at UFC 148. Ortiz has shed blood, sweat, and tears inside the Octagon for fifteen years and is calling it quits after their bout.

While Griffin respects Ortiz’s accomplishments in MMA, as well as respects his current abilities, he’s also confident he knows what it takes to beat him after two previous meetings between the two including a win for the original Ultimate Fighter in 2009.

“He’s a tough guy to fight. He’s still got a good overhand right, a good shovel hook. He throws good punches. He’s got good knees, actually…good Thai Clinch. If you can stop him from coming forward he’s not so tough to fight but when he comes down in that good stance and you can’t tell if he’s going to throw a bomb or shoot, that’s tough to deal with,” said Griffin, implying he plans to put pressure on Ortiz instead of having things play out the other way around.

Ortiz Headed to the Hall of Fame on UFC 148 Weekend

In fact, Griffin’s so sure he’ll send Ortiz off into the sunset with a loss he’s willing to bet his life on it – literally.

“People ask me, they say, ‘Forrest, it’s Tito’s retirement fight. If you lose to Tito are you going to retire?’ If I lose to Tito I’m going to retire from life. Seriously,” Griffin deadpanned to the camera.

Ortiz-Griffin will serve as co-headliners at UFC 148 to the main event between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chael Sonnen. Other featured fights on the card include Cung Le-Patrick Cote and Demian Maia-Dong Hyun Kim.

Check out the complete interview with Griffin below: