In The Co-Main Event Of UFC 134, A Very Different Mauricio Rua Faces A Very Different Forrest Griffin For The Second Time

Hello and welcome back to this, the final entry in the second day of posts covering UFC 134. My mini-series “A Closer Look At UFC 134” has gotten all the way up to the co-main event, but here’s the traditional recap for any of you that are coming in late and watch to catch up. To see part 1, click here. Part 2 is available here, Part 3 is right here, and Part 4 is here. Finally, part 5 is here. With all that said, it’s now time to take a look at the rematch of one of the most exciting moments in UFC history: it’s time to talk about Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua 2.

For those of you who may not have seen Mauricio Rua’s legendary run in the equally-legendary PRIDE FC promotion, let me make it easy for you: the man was Jon Jones before Jon Jones was Jon Jones. He came in as a relative unknown, and throughout the course of a few fights it became apparent that he was at least two or three levels above everyone else. And like Jon Jones, he proved this by obliterating people left and right.

When Rua debuted in the UFC in late 2007, many considered him the best Light Heavyweight in the world, and by quite a large margin. Just about everyone counted out Forrest Griffin when he was named as the opponent Rua would make his UFC debut against. Everyone, of course, except Griffin’s dedicated fanbase that had been following him since his run on the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, which ended with the now-classic Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight that many fight fans consider one of the most important fights in MMA history.

Still, most people predicted that Rua would run roughshod over the 205 division, and assumed that Griffin was a sacrificial lamb, albeit a popular one.

But in one of the defining moments of Griffin’s career, Forrest Griffin set a pace that “Shogun” just wasn’t able to match, ending it by miraculously submitting Rua in the dying minutes of the third and final round. To this day, fans continue to bring up Griffin submitting Rua and then sprinting across the cage with his arms held high and a look of exuberant disbelief on his face as one of the best moments in UFC history.

Since then, it’s been a road filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for these two talented stars. Both men would end up holding the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, although they would fall to the same curse that has plagued every single Light Heavyweight Champion since Chuck Liddell: they both lost their belt in their first few defenses. In fact, both men lost the belt in their first defense period.

I think there are a lot of ways this fight could go, depending on what Mauricio Rua shows up and also what Forrest Griffin shows up. In all his recent interviews, I just can’t shake the feeling that Griffin’s heart just isn’t in this sport anymore, and that really saddens me. I think Griffin can become a champion again, but he seems to be stuck in a rut. He’s not the same fired-up hopeful that did the impossible, and that worries me.

Then again, Mauricio Rua is coming off one of the most one-sided losses of his career. Rua fans can take solace in the fact that he was coming off of a sizable absence when he lost to Jones, though. Some of Rua’s best performances have come after a loss, so I think Rua  could even the score and even dramatically finish Griffin.

In the end, I think I’ll side with “Shogun” even though I had many, many wars with “Shogun” fans when I predicted first that he would lose to Rashad Evans, and then that he would lose to Jon Jones. I just don’t like where Forrest’s head seems to be at these days.