Have Fan Expectations Ruined Forrest Griffin?

By now we all know. We all either saw, heard, or read that one of, if not the most, popular fighters in the world was dismantled by the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Last night at UFC 101 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Forrest Griffin became yet another notch in middleweight king Anderson Silva's belt.

Forrest was deemed the toughest challenge of Anderson's career according to not only fans and experts, but by the UFC 101 poster as well. Forrest, known for his scrappy ethic and Rocky Balboa caliber heart, was supposed to force Anderson Silva into a real fight. 

That didn't happen.

Instead, what we saw was one of the most heart wrenching and embarrassing performances in UFC history. Forrest taunted, punched, and eventually knocked out. But that wasn't the embarrassing part.

For the first time ever, we saw Forrest lack any kind of killer instinct. We didn't see that dogfighting mentality. The worst part of all, Forrest seemed to have lost all confidence in himself.

The end of the fight saw Forrest run into a punch and fall backwards to the mat. Forrest wasn't out, but his heart was crushed. At that point, he looked to have waved his arms as if to quit.

I was in shock. Everyone was. We had just seen the biggest heart in all of MMA break.

Forrest would run out of the ring in apparent embarrassment. He was then taken to a local hospital due to a dislocated jaw and hearing loss in one of his ears.

Being crushed in minutes, leaving without offering any sort of sentiment to the crowd, and not even attending the post-event press conference. That's not the Forrest Griffin we know.

All night all that could run through my head was the image of Forrest being humiliated. The in-ring taunting from Anderson Silva, the backwards running punch that ended the fight, and the udder disappointment in Forrest's performance.

That's when I started thinking.

Forrest was known as the fan favorite ever since winning TUF 1. Then he started showing real signs of potential greatness when he went all three rounds with Tito Ortiz. The fans were recognizing his talent.

He would go on to submit Shogun Rua. That's when he earned his title shot. He was set to fight Rampage Jackson. Nobody gave him a chance, just like his previous fight against Shogun.

Forrest had built up a reputation of being a feisty underdog that nobody really gave a chance, but contained the ability to shock the world.

Shock the world he did. He beat Rampage and became the UFC Light-Heavyweight champion. Call it crazy, but that is the reason why Forrest has lost his last two fights.

At that point, everybody started thinking that Forrest was the best out there, and for good reason. He was the champ. The only bad thing was that Forrest started thinking that too.

Everyone expected him to win all of his fights, and in doing so, put on a show. He doesn't have the luxury of being a fighter like Sean Sherk. See, people expect Sean Sherk to win in a boring way. We expect to see lay and pray and a unanimous decision.

Forrest Griffin is the complete opposite. We have all been spoiled by Forrest. We're all used to seeing him come out and get stronger and stronger as the fight goes on. At the same time, we expect him to win Fight of The Night.

Forrest now has the mentality that he needs to win. He believes that he's got to put on a show and win the fight. He cares more about the fans than he cares about his own safety.

For that, I thank Forrest. But I only thank him as a fan. As a die-hard lover of the sport and a guy that loves to see fighters put their best foot forward and win in any way, I absolutely hate what Forrest has become.

Don't get the wrong idea here. Forrest is still a fan favorite and always will be. I, along with everybody else, want to see Forrest succeed, but Forrest needs to seriously re-evaluate himself.

Forrest is a talented fighter. He is easily one of the best out there and is definitely a championship caliber fighter. What Forrest needs to do, is take a little time off and find himself. He needs to find a time-machine and re-locate the guy that beat Rampage Jackson. That Forrest, has the ability to beat just about anybody in the business.

Forrest just fought the best in the world, and lost. He shoudln't be ashamed. Fighters like Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson who are absolute legends of the sport have all suffered the same fate.

We the fans need to cut Forrest some slack as well. I hate seeing people bash this guy because of last nights performance. He was outclassed, that's all it was. Have faith in Forrest, he'll be back, and he'll have a brand new frame of mind. One that could eventually lead to another title fight.