Ortiz vs. Griffin: Key Takeaways from Their Trilogy

Three fights. Three close fights.

Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin gave fans a thrilling trilogy to the fans.

In the final fight of the trilogy, they picked up where they left off, going toe-to-toe in a back-and-forth battle.

In Ortiz’s swan song, he left it all inside the Octagon as he has done throughout his career. It was an emotional night for the Huntington Beach native. And after three rounds, Forrest Griffin claimed the victory and trilogy with three 29-28 scorecards.

The fans booed the contentious decision after it was read. Tito exits MMA, and everyone owes him a thank you.

They Were Well-Matched

Regardless of how one scored any of the three fights, everyone can agree that these two were evenly matched in each contest.

What makes that even more startling is where each fighter was at in each contest.

In the first meeting, Tito was a title contender, and Forrest was coming off The Ultimate Fighter. By the time they met the second time, Tito was irrelevant, and Forrest was a former light heavyweight champion. And at UFC 148, both men were near the end of their careers.

Usually, the prospect surpasses the legend at some point. Instead, they each became legends and remained equals throughout their trilogy of fights.

Forrest Should Thank Tito...

...specifically for the first contest.

Yes, he lost. However, as the decision was hotly debated, it still elevated Forrest to a new level in the light heavyweight division.

After winning The Ultimate Fighter, he was considered a prospect in the division. Ortiz was on the brink of challenging for the 205 crown once again. Ortiz was expected to win and show the young gun what it takes to be a champion. Instead, Forrest showed he was his equal and impressed the UFC audience.

From that point on, the opinion of Forrest as a potential contender down the road changed. And let's not forget the amount of money Forrest has earned by being opposite Tito on fight cards.

Forrest owes a debt of gratitude to Tito.

Even Without Divisional Relevance, the Fights Felt Important

OK, I'll concede the first fight was relevant, but the second two fights were not.

The second fight was put on to sell the pay-per-view because of their name value. There's nothing wrong with that, but it had virtually no relevance to the light heavyweight division at the time.

At UFC 148, it was merely a swan song for the UFC Hall of Famer and a way to settle the score between the two.

Yet, all the fights had some feeling of importance.

Maybe it's just the longing for Tito's past glory or being hopeful that one of the two can do something special. But they had a way to make fans care about their fights in some manner.

That's not easy to do.

Tito Should Thank Forrest

Without Forrest, Tito could have fell further down the MMA ladder. Having Griffin there to oppose him on the big stage kept him at the forefront of the UFC scene without being in title contention.

Griffin gave Tito that other “name” to fight—someone whom he could still make a lot of money off by fighting. That made a big difference to Tito's wallet—something he cares about.

With Griffin being his equal inside the cage, it also made Tito look good. Instead of being dummied by a brilliant, athletic young fighter, he was able to be competitive against Griffin and give hope that he could return to the top of the division one day.

Just as Griffin owes Tito thanks, Ortiz owes him too.

Every Decision Was Controversial

No matter what, fight fans will debate the outcome.

There will be fans who have Tito winning all three fights and others who have Forrest winning all three fights. That's rare.

No matter how you slice it, these two put on one of the better, closely matched trilogies in MMA history.

When the fight was announced, it received a borderline, flat-line response, but as it drew closer, it was starting to gain traction. The UFC weigh-in crowd confirmed as much. And the two put on another gutsy performance at UFC 148.

Tito and Forrest gave it all inside the Octagon. Not much more can be asked.

It was a fun trilogy throughout.