Rampage\Griffin named TUF 7 Coaches

[TFK]

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=9086


12/09/2007
‘Rampage’ and Griffin named as coaches for TUF7

UFC President Dana White made it official over the weekend - UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and top contender Forrest Griffin will battle it out for the 205-pound crown in 2008 – but not before the charismatic duo compete as coaches on season seven of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, which begins filming in January.

White made the Griffin announcement during Saturday’s Ultimate Fighter finale show, with the announcement of Jackson’s involvement in TUF 7 coming during the broadcast of the 2007 Video Game Awards on Spike TV, which also airs The Ultimate Fighter.

Jackson, fresh from becoming the first fighter in history to unify the light heavyweight title when he defeated PRIDE champion Dan Henderson in September, will be making his first appearance on The Ultimate Fighter. On the other hand, Griffin - who stunned the MMA world with his decisive submission victory over the last man to beat ‘Rampage’, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, also in September – will be returning to the place that helped make him a superstar back in 2005, when he won the first season of the show by defeating Stephan Bonnar in one of the sport’s classic battles.

The seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter – featuring middleweight up and comers - is expected to air in April 2008.

I'm mixed on this. I think this is a good match up, in spite of what all the TUF Haters will tell you. I'm sure Rampage will be the favorite, and he should beat Forrest, but Shogun was supposed to beat Forrest too.

Griffin is a much better fighter then most people give him credit for, so he has a chance to win, and regardless of who wins, this should be a very entertaining fight.

And with the TUF marketing, this fight has the chance to be one of the UFC's highest grossing PPV's ever.

That being said, this fight won't happen until next summer. That's way too long to hold up a title defense. I guess the UFC didn't learn their lesson with Serra\Hughes. It sucks that TUF is able to hold the UFC titles hostage.

But I understand the logic. Griffin and Rampage are two of the most marketable fighters the UFC has, and the TUF exposure will add to that. Of course, I don't think we'll see the same kind of animosity between coaches that we saw between Tito and Shamrock, or Hughes and Serra, but I don't think that will matter.

This will probably end up doing huge business for the UFC when it's all said and done.

TFK

[Hanzy]

Half the fighters Forrest will be coaching will be far more skilled than him.:laughing: He can teach persistence and perserverance, he's not really gonna teach striking, submissions or wrestling since he's not really any good in any of those areas. Fool can barely throw a combo without tripping over.:lol:
Forrest beat a fat tired Shogun through superior cardio, not skills. Shogun was spent and I guess getting married and f*cking around on a honeymoon 2 weeks before a fight can do that to a fighter.

[valdosta]

Half the fighters Forrest will be coaching will be far more skilled than him.:laughing: He can teach persistence and perserverance, he's not really gonna teach striking, submissions or wrestling since he's not really any good in any of those areas. Fool can barely throw a combo without tripping over.:lol:
Forrest beat a fat tired Shogun through superior cardio, not skills. Shogun was spent and I guess getting married and f*cking around on a honeymoon 2 weeks before a fight can do that to a fighter.

Misconception. Griffen is good on the ground. Don't make excuses for Shogun, he got his ass kicked period. I don't like Forrest's stand up at all but he is adequate on the ground.

[Gh77]

I heard Jackson's hand is broken and that he'll be out for awhile, but I hate that TUF basically stalls a division for about a year, if the champion is involved of course.

[ArturoGatti]

Half the fighters Forrest will be coaching will be far more skilled than him.:laughing: He can teach persistence and perserverance, he's not really gonna teach striking, submissions or wrestling since he's not really any good in any of those areas. Fool can barely throw a combo without tripping over.:lol:
Forrest beat a fat tired Shogun through superior cardio, not skills. Shogun was spent and I guess getting married and f*cking around on a honeymoon 2 weeks before a fight can do that to a fighter.never thought I would do this to a Hanzy post, but- :rolleyes: .

[joony]

jackson and griffin are good friends and they trained together several times.

i'd expect jackson to win, but this is UFC and upsets aren't really upsets so i could care less who wins.

[Hanzy]

never thought I would do this to a Hanzy post, but- :rolleyes: .

:eeeek:

[*Z*]

Hanzy is a bitter Pride lover! That is why he cannot stand the fact that Shogun got beat by a TUF fighter! :lol:

[Bob N. Weave]

Nice!!! This will be entertaining.

[Hanzy]

Hanzy is a bitter Pride lover! That is why he cannot stand the fact that Shogun got beat by a TUF fighter! :lol:

It's such a strange sport I must admit. Here you have Griffin getting smashed to smithereens by f*cking Keith Jardine of all people and goes crying and running back to the locker room, then you have Jardine getting KTFO by some brawler in Houston Alexander, then Jardine comes back and humiliates the UFC's big boy Chuck Liddell, and then later Alexander gets smashed by Thiago Silva while Griffin goes and chokes out Shogun.
:lol: No wonder the UFC has such a hard time investing money into promoting a fighter. None of these lads can win back to back fights.:doh:
I guess that's a good thing since it shows you can't really be dominant in a sport like this.
I still believe Shogun was completely out of shape and that a rematch would spell differently. Although I won't say Griffin would lose to Shogun, I think the fight would be more competitive in a second tussle.:dunno:

[steve_dave]

I'm glad that Forrest is getting a title shot, he deserves it after that last performance. I also thought he beat Tito Ortiz.

[royyjonesjrp4pno1]

Rampage and Griffin are hilarious. Ill be tuning into this for sure.

[Hanzy]

I'm glad that Forrest is getting a title shot, he deserves it after that last performance. I also thought he beat Tito Ortiz.

He DID beat Tito Ortiz. But the UFC had plans for an Ortiz/Shamrock fight with their whole TUF season hyping it, so obviously they needed Ortiz to win. Politics.....just like in boxing.:lol:

[Beyond the Grave]

This should be interesting because neither of them seem like coaching material to me lol.....especially Griffen and Hanzy's right whats Griffen going to teach these guy's that they don't already know and possibly can do better than him??

[Hanzy]

This should be interesting because neither of them seem like coaching material to me lol.....especially Griffen and Hanzy's right whats Griffen going to teach these guy's that they don't already know and possibly can do better than him??

Exactly. I don't hate Griffin but he's a f*cking moron with sloppy standup and just a relatively basic grasp of the ground.:lol: The guy himself even says "I ain't that good." :laughing:

[Beyond the Grave]

Exactly. I don't hate Griffin but he's a f*cking moron with sloppy standup and just a relatively basic grasp of the ground.:lol: The guy himself even says "I ain't that good." :laughing:

his only strength is conditioning so he can probly help them improve on that.:dunno:

[ArturoGatti]

his only strength is conditioning so he can probly help them improve on that.:dunno:he will probably have 2 or 3 trainers with him, that will do most of the training.

[REEDsART]

REED CANNOT Wait for this to Air...Rampage & Forrest R Perhaps THE 2 BEST "Personalities" in MMA...

Even SITTING on the Title, Rampage Means MORE to MMA as Champion...His Personality is "SHIT" & the Viewing Audience will B the "FLIES" Instantly Drawn to it...

Smart Move by Dana White...


REED:bears:

[Breeze]

Half the fighters Forrest will be coaching will be far more skilled than him.:laughing: He can teach persistence and perserverance, he's not really gonna teach striking, submissions or wrestling since he's not really any good in any of those areas. Fool can barely throw a combo without tripping over.:lol:
Forrest beat a fat tired Shogun through superior cardio, not skills. Shogun was spent and I guess getting married and f*cking around on a honeymoon 2 weeks before a fight can do that to a fighter.

Yeah, I'd be kinda pissed if I was a fighter on the show and Griffen is my coach. He's not very skilled, although he will teach you how to take a punch if that means anything.