Griffins Victory over Jackson Sways the Un-Swayable

Even as a UFC fan, I have to admit that I did not watch the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.  It wasn't until midway through the second season that I became a UFC enthusiast.  The first fight I saw with Griffin was against Tito Ortiz (this was the fight where Ortiz won a razor-thin split decision over Griffin). 

Before the fight started, I thought for sure that the Huntington Beach Bad Boy was going to knock out Griffin in the first round (which almost happened).  Griffin managed to weather the storm, however, and won the naysayers who labeled him as a manufactured fighter from a reality TV show, even in his defeat.  While many people did not think Ortiz was the winner, I agreed with the decision.  But I was still in awe of Griffin's performance against Ortiz and his charismatic charm after his loss. 

Then came Griffins next loss, this time to underdog Keith Jardine.  I had my bets on Griffin, and for the first three or four minutes of the first round, I was pretty sure my friendly bet with a fellow UFC fan was going to pay off.  And then, Griffin experienced for the first time in his career what any good fighter has experienced: he got caught. 

Jardine got in one good shot, which lead to a ground-and-pound in which Griffins head was bouncing uncontrollably off the canvas.  In the end, Jardine raised his hands in triumph while Griffin lost control of his emotions in front of a Pay-Per-View audience. 

If you don't remember, he started sobbing uncontrollably in his corner, and then, contrary to the interview he gave after his loss to Ortiz, gave a lackluster interview with Joe Rogan.    

It was after that fight when I wondered whether or not UFC fans would ever see Griffin back in the cage again.  I questioned whether or not such a young star could come back from a first round knock out against the underdog (Jardine).  But Griffin did come back.  At first he came back with a meteoric victory over mediocre opponent Hector Ramirez.

Then, Griffin upset the MMA world and put on one of the greatest fights ever seen with his victory over Shogun Rua.  When Griffin sunk in the rear-naked choke that forced Shogun to tap out just seconds before the end of the third round, Griffin solidified himself as one of the UFC greats. 

Still, when I heard about the match I was among those who doubted that Griffin would be able to go five rounds, let alone defeat Jackson.  I saw Jackson ending the fight between the first and third rounds by knock out.  Especially as I saw the tensions rising between the two fighters as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, I expected Rampage to live up to his nickname inside the octagon.  This was not the case however, and Griffin ended up not only going five rounds, but winning the decision as well. 

It took more than two years, but in the end Griffins performance and resiliency proved me wrong.  Contrary to my predetermined belief that Griffin was just a manufactured fighter from a TV show, and that he could never compete in the UFC, he finally swayed the un-swayable with his victory over Jackson.