Do consecutive losses signal 145 move for Griffin?

A perennial contender inside of the UFC’s crowded lightweight division, Tyson Griffin has always stood out above the rest.

Whether it be his numerous “Fight of the Night” awards, his high pace and aggressive nature he brings to every bout, everyone is, for the most part, left satisfied after seeing a Tyson Griffin fight.

And while Griffin has been successful for the better part of his octagon career, which has seen him earn wins over the likes of Clay Guida, Hermes Franca, and Gleison Tibau, he has fallen on harder times as of late, since suffering back-to-back losses.

After clashing with fellow teammate and budding contender Evan Dunham last June at UFC 115, Griffin suffered a split decision loss to the 5’10 Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Eager to regain momentum, Tyson stepped up on some-what short notice, filling in for the injured Joe Stevenson to take on former Pride Lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi.

Just one minute in, Griffin was knocked out from a signature Gomi-hook, and face planted into the mat, and while additional punches were thrown, the bout was waved off 64 seconds into the first round.

While it may not had been apparent to everyone, but in my eyes, did Griffin look considerably smaller than Gomi?

At 5’6, he stands in the middle of the pack. Not too short, but not one of the taller guys in his weight class. Griffin is no stranger to lighter pastures. Many forget, when Urijah Faber and the Xtreme Couture product squared off some years ago, it was for the Gladiator Challenge Bantamweight title (145 pound title), however after the bout, Griffin would move onto the lightweight division and eventually find himself in the UFC.

While he has done great up until this point, should a third loss signal a run to 145? Or should Tyson, 26, make the conscious decision to move down now, and become an immediate contender in the WEC’s featherweight class?

There are a lot variables interrupting that decision. While the WEC has been coming along great, attributing the lighter weight classes in such a way, that stars like Jose Aldo, Mike Brown, and Urijah Faber have become well recognized, however–coverage is a little less limited, as more people in the United States are subscribed to the SpikeTV network (home of UFC Fight Nights, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Unleashed, and Best of Pride), more so than Versus (the WEC’s network home). The UFC pulls in larger viewing number’s on the Versus network, and has done exceptionally well in recent PPV revenue as well.

And with larger viewers, means bigger sponsors. While the WEC is making the proper strides to be on equal footing as the UFC, they won’t be there for some time.

So what do you guys think? Should Griffin tally-hoe on towards the WEC, and become an immediate threat? Or remain optimistic in the UFC, where he will always be the smaller guy, competing against larger foe, ironically enough in the “lightweight” division.