Breakin' It Down: How Forrest Griffin Defeated Rampage Jackson

Call it what you will, but Forrest Griffin is the new UFC light heavyweight champion. It might not have had the intensity of Liddell/Silva, but give Griffin credit for exploiting the weaknesses of the always-dangerous Jackson.

So, how did he win? (Yes, he won. He didn't steal the belt. He earned it.)

First thing was to learn from the mistakes of others. Anyone foolish enough to stand and throw hands with Jackson is going to lose (unless your name is Wanderlei, and it probably isn't).

Liddell learned it the hard way and got knocked out, a lot like Forrest did against Keith Jardine. Forrest (or at least his coaches and team) knew it and had to adapt the game plan.

When Dan Henderson fought Jackson for the unification title (Pride versus UFC) he was able to avoid the knockout by not standing and trading shots. He stuck his punches when he could get them, then he moved away.

However, Henderson lost because of takedowns. To beat Jackson, Forrest had to stop him from coming in. Hence, the leg kicks. The leg kicks not only kept the champ from shooting in at first, but after the damage done in the second round, Jackson knew he couldn't risk another clean shot.

To his credit, Jackson did an excellent job of checking Griffin's kicks the rest of the rounds. Too little, too late.

In the second, Forrest was able to exploit Jackson's true weakness: fighting from his back. Jackson is incredibly powerful and a great wrestler, but once he had Griffin in half guard, there were no reversal or sweep attempts.

Unfortunately, Griffin seemed too intent on going for a shoulder lock or Ezekiel choke from mount when an arm bar was available at least a couple of times. Regardless, he won the much needed round.

Then there was avoiding the slam. It would be a strange thing to meet an MMA fan that isn't aware of Jackson's highlight reel footage of slamming opponents while being triangled.

The fact that it happens at all shows that Jackson is open to the submission, but if it isn't tight and perfect right away, it gives him time to end the fight with a slam that has been tested at having an impact around eight times the force of gravity.

In the forth round, Griffin almost had the triangle locked, but he didn't control Jackson's arm. This might be why Jackson didn't attempt the slam right away, but when he was finally in position, Griffin released the choke and escaped with just a little worse position.

As far as the last two rounds? What would you have done? Jackson had already dropped Griffin once with an uppercut when he got too close. Griffin had to have an idea that he was winning the fight.

There would be no point to risk getting knocked out to score a knock out. Just as Chuck Liddell. This fight was for the light heavyweight championship. If Griffin had gone for the KO and got leveled, people would be criticizing his recklessness.

Instead he played a smart game and won. And what does he get from the MMA forums? Criticism.

Griffin did everything right to win the fight. It might not have ended in knockout or submission, but he won. He didn't cheat, fight dirty, or bribe any judges. The scores were deserved, and he fought the fight he had to win.

Randy Couture didn't knock out Tim Sylvia, but he controlled the fight and won the belt. The point of the game is to win. To defeat an opponent doesn't mean destroying them. You exploit their weaknesses and avoid making stupid mistakes.

Besides, ask Jackson today if he thinks he "deserved" to win, then ask to see the belt.

Griffin showed that he has evolved as a fighter and can follow a game plan. This sport is too difficult these days to win just on power or speed alone. And if people are upset at the end of this fight, they aren't going to be happy when they see where the sport is headed in the future.

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