What If... (Part 1) Griffin Vs. Bonnar 3

What if...

What if Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar went at it for a third time? What if these two men, who helped define the UFC and MMA in their first fight, were matched up to fight again? Would the fight go Forrest's way again? Or would Bonnar take the whole "third times the charm" saying to heart and pull out the victory?

I think that the fight would play out like this....

Unlike in the last two fights, I believe that Bonnar and Forrest would come out swinging, and then Bonnar would start looking for the takedown. From the last two fights, it's pretty clear that Griffin is the better striker of the two, and he also has very good ground, but Bonnar would probably have the better chance of winning if the fight went to the ground.

In the first meeting, the two went to the ground a couple of times, but they didn't stay there for long. Bonnar almost submitted Griffin in the short time that they were on the ground though. From the looks of it, whenever the two of them hit the mat, Bonnar is the one with the best chance of winning from what I have seen.

Now standing, that's a different story. If the fight stays standing, then Griffin is almost guaranteed the win. Bonnar is no joke on the feet, but Griffin's stand up, and his whole game in general, has massively improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years.

His footwork had obviously improved when he fought Tito Ortiz for the second time. His head movement had come along too. He didn't just throw a punch and then stand there and get hit, he would punch or kick and then move off to the side.

Bonnar has good boxing, being a former Golden Gloves boxer when he was younger, and his kickboxing is good. But Griffin's Muay Thai is great and his boxing has been coming along in his last few fights.

We all know that both of these men have the potential to knock the other one out or submit the other one. Griffin has a very underrated ground game and Bonnar's ground game is pretty well known.

So what's the final verdict?

If the fight stays standing, then Griffin will almost certainly get the "W."

If the fight goes to the ground, it will be a great grappling match, and Bonnar would probably be able to pull off the submission.

But based on their last two outings, I don't think that these two are interested in going to the mat. It's obvious that these two fighters would much rather stand and bang it out to make the fight more entertaining for everyone. Even though a good grappling match is incredibly entertaining and fun to watch if you're an educated fan. And with the rise of MMA and more and more people and fans flocking to martial art schools to learn the styles that their favorite fighters are good at, the fight probably wouldn't be booed if the two men grappled and the fans would most likely love it.

A prime example of this is in the second fight between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre. Every time that GSP passed Penn's guard, thunderous applause would fill the arena. So a grappling match between Bonnar and Griffin would probably be a good one that wouldn't poor anyone.

So standing: Griffin wins by TKO or decision. Bonnar is too tough to be knocked clean out.

On the ground: Bonnar submits Griffin by armbar or kimura. Griffin doesn't give people to many chances to slap on a triangle choke and doesn't give away his back a lot.

No doubt that if these two veterans went at it, that it would be an extremely entertaining fight. But the probability that a third fight will actually happen, not very likely.

I personally thought that the third fight between the two should have happened at UFC 100. It would seem only appropriate. The two men who helped put the UFC and MMA on the map with their fight at the finale of the Ultimate Fighter should have been on the card to commemorate the UFC's success that they helped make happen.

But that's just me...

The probability that a third fight will happen? Low.

The probability that the fight would be a great one? High.