An influencer stepped in the cage with Sean Strickland, and it went about as you would expect.
Former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] loves to spar as hard as he fights.
Just ask streaming influencer Sneako, who was on the receiving end of a blood-inducing beatdown Friday at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
The sparring session was streamed online and was waved off by UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag] after Sneako ate a series of massive left hands. Towels flew over the cage from multiple directions during the seconds that led up to the stoppage.
Despite the lopsided affair, Sneako did not go down. He absorbed what appeared to be near full-power shots from Strickland, who raised Sneako’s hand in a sign of respect after the session.
Check out video clips of the sparring session below:
Sneako, 25, is an American YouTuber turned Rumble streamer, who has millions of followers across multiple social media and streaming platforms.
Strickland, 32, does not currently have a fight on the books, as he is one less than one month removed from his UFC 297 title loss to Dricus Du Plessis.
Friday in Las Vegas, both Sneako and Strickland attended campaign events for former U.S. president Donald Trump, who won Nevada’s Republican primary election handily over opponent Nikki Haley.
Eight years ago, Forrest Griffin jogged into the cage to face UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, only to jog out a few minutes later.
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(NOTE: This story originally published on Aug. 8, 2017)
By the time Aug. 8, 2009, rolled around, fans already knew [autotag]Anderson Silva[/autotag] was a great fighter.
How could they not? Heād taken the UFC middleweight title from Rich Franklin some three years earlier, then won seven more fights after that, breaking the previous UFC record for most consecutive victories with a graceful destructiveness.
Still, āThe Spiderā was at a crossroads. Heād cleaned out his division so thoroughly that heād begun to look bored with his own dominance. A title defense against Patrick Cote in Chicago the year before ended with a TKO due to Coteās knee injury, but not before Silva confused fans with his refusal to attack. A decision victory over Thales Leites the following April was similarly uninspiring, and suddenly a crisis seemed to be forming.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvr_fWWRlHy/
Why did the worldās best fighter insist on winning without fighting? What could be done to shake him out of an almost aggressive complacency?
With UFC 101, the companyās first event in Philadelphia, planned for late summer 2009, the UFC turned to a familiar solution. What if Silva once again went up in weight, as he had done against James Irvin in a counter-programming effort meant to sink the first Affliction pay-per-view a year earlier? And what if this time he faced a popular former light heavyweight champion?
Enter [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag], the overachieving 205-pounder who had gone from total obscurity to reality TV show fame to a brief stint as a titleholder all in the span of a few years. Griffin had taken the UFC light heavyweight title from Quinton Jackson with a narrow decision victory in July 2008, only to turn around and lose the belt to Rashad Evans via TKO in his first title defense later that year.
Dana White believed that Silva needed a bigger challenge, so he offered Silva an opportunity to move up in weight to fight Forrest Griffin. pic.twitter.com/WrypuJqUlG
Griffin, too, was at a crossroads. His “TUF” victory had made him an instant celebrity, and his title win had validated his quick rise. His reign as champion was short even for the tumultuous light heavyweight division, but he was too big a name to go back to fighting the also-rans of the weight class while building himself back up.
Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin
Initially, Griffin was connected to a fight with Thiago Silva, whoād recently suffered the first loss of his career at the hands of the rising Lyoto Machida. When the UFC asked him to fight a far superior Silva instead, Griffin once joked that it was the result of āa clerical error.ā
It made sense for the UFC. Fans werenāt exactly howling for the chance to see another Silva staring contest with the belt on the line. The Philly fans had a reputation for being ruthless, to the extent that Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission executive director Greg Sirb publicly warned fighters at the pre-fight press conference that the crowd would reward them with boos if they brought anything other than their āA-game.ā
That comment may not have been specifically aimed at Silva, but it couldnāt have been far from peopleās minds.
This was the first time since coming to the UFC that Silva had been anything other than the headliner (Silva-Griffin was the nightās co-main event, leading into the lightweight title clash between champion B.J. Penn and challenger Kenny Florian). Griffin was known for being a workhorse who beat athletically superior fighters by pushing the pace and wading through the necessary punishment. He seemed big enough to test Silvaās power, and stubborn enough to come forward even when it was bad idea.
But Griffin knew why the UFC had selected him. At a book signing event two months before the fight, Griffin recounted the phone call heād had with UFC President Dana White when the possibility was proposed to him. The offer was ānot really a questionā so much as a demand, according to Griffin, but he cautioned White that he wouldnāt go recklessly chasing Silva, no matter what kind of excitement the UFC might be hoping for with the pairing.
Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin
āI said, āYou know Iām not going to just rush in there. I saw what happened to Chris Leben when he did that. Iām going to fight a smart fight.āā
Regardless, Griffin joked, he knew the UFC wanted āa big, slow guy to follow Anderson around and make him look real good,ā and he fit the bill.
āBut seriously, for a hundred Gs, what are you going to do, say no?ā Griffin said. āOf course Iāll fight the fight. Itās 15 minutes, man. Iāll do all right, donāt worry about it.ā
Griffin entered the cage that night the same way he would leave it minutes later, jogging down the aisle as if he couldnāt wait to get started. Silva followed in a slow stroll, chin up and head cocked back, as if daring you to try to rush him.
As Bruce Buffer introduced him, the Philadelphia fans peppered Silva with boos, causing him to mock frown as he cast his eyes from one side of the crowd to the other. He seemed to want us to know that he didnāt care what we thought, and yet at the same time he looked at least a little bit surprised at the reaction. Didnāt these people used to love him?
Not that it was going to force him to fight any differently. For the first minute of the fight, Silva did what heād always done. He circled around the cage. He feinted with his hands, with his shoulders, with his feet. He watched Griffin, like some killer robot gathering data and assessing vulnerabilities. When Griffin threw a distant two-punch combo and then finished with a head kick, Silva calmly moved his head out of the way with a complete lack of concern.
It was roughly a minute into the fight before Silva threw his first strike, catching a Griffin leg kick with his left hand and firing off a punch with his right, much like heād done to quickly dispatch Irvin in his last trip to 205 pounds.
Griffin, for the time being, stayed calm. He tried a Superman punch. He pumped his jab. He resisted the urge to go chasing after Silva, which, as he explained in a later interview, would have played directly into the counter-strikerās hands.
However, Silva made it look easy. It was as if he saw all of Griffin's attacks coming in slow motion. Silva could not be touched that night. pic.twitter.com/cfJbHsGCQA
āWhat’s he’s doing there is he’s getting you to open up, to stop, to get a little frustrated, to load up, so he can counter you,ā Griffin said. āHe wants you to throw him that big, slow, hard punch. And that’s what he’s doing. He’s appearing to be open — he’s feinting. He’s not going out trying to lead the fight. He’s trying to get you to (lead). He’s trying to suck you in.ā
Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin
By the second minute of the fight, Griffin had begun to slowly ratchet up his aggression, but by then Silva was ready for more. For the first time in the fight he bulled his way forward with a multi-punch combination that mostly missed, but succeeded in getting Griffin to lash out with a left hook to check his progress. Silva evaded the punch, then came back with a right hook that dropped Griffin.
When Griffin got up, it was as if someone had hit the reset button on his offense, reverting him back to the kind of fighter heād sworn he wasnāt going to be. As Silva threw more, so did Griffin. Silva gestured for him to come on, and Griffin did. Silva feinted with his hands at his waist, and Griffin unfurled a three-punch combination, hitting nothing but air. Silva came back with a left hand that sat him down again.
āI tried to punch him, and he literally moved his head out of the way and looked at me like I was stupid for doing it,ā Griffin said in a radio interview a year later. āHe looked at me like, āWhy would you do such a stupid thing?ā ā¦ And then he punched me. … I felt like a kid trying to wrestle his dad.”
With Griffin on his back, Silva stood over him, peppering him with punches as the crowd howled.
āI think he really is trying to send a message here, Mike,ā UFC commentator Joe Rogan said to his broadcast partner Mike Goldberg.
Silva stepped back with his hands on his hips, then offered to help Griffin up as he got to his feet. The gesture seemed vaguely mocking, but what could Griffin do? He grasped Silvaās hand, then went back to work firing punches. Strategy seemed to have gone out the window.
Griffin missed a left hook, then connected on a jab that earned him a disdainful look from Silva. Silva didnāt even bother to bring his hands up. Griffin lunged forward with a two-punch combination that Silva avoided almost with a casual shrug before responding with a short right hand in retreat. Griffin ran face-first into the punch and then collapsed onto the Bud Light logo, legs splayed out, hands waving at the air in front of him in a sort of international gesture requesting mercy.
The closing sequence was incredible. Griffin rushed in to attack Silva, but Silva calmly moved back and finished Griffin with a right hand. pic.twitter.com/vcEoKEKxaL
He got that mercy from referee Kevin Mulhall, who moved in to stop the bout at the 3:23 mark of the first round. Silva celebrated with a jog around the cage as a dazed Griffin rolled to his feet and headed for the cage door with the referee and doctor trailing him. As Griffinās team tried to stop him from leaving the cage, Silva climbed atop it and then jumped back down.
āāThe Spider is back!ā Goldberg shouted on the broadcast.
When the camera flashed back to Griffin, he was out of the cage and on the arena floor, jogging back to the dressing room the same way heād come. He wouldnāt stop until he was out of sight.
That exit would prompt even more Internet mockery than the result of the fight itself. Within days the memes flooded in. Griffin would later refer to it as the worst night of his career, made slightly worse by the fact that he later tested positive for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, which required him to pay a fine and undergo a 30-day suspension after the fight.
Griffin would fight again that November, defeating Tito Ortiz via decision in a close fight. Afterwards, he apologized to Silva when he encountered him backstage.
Anderson Silva
āIām sorry I ran out on you, it was no disrespect,ā Griffin said. āI just wanted it to be a great fight and I was really disappointed when it wasnāt.ā
Silva appeared to accept the apology, and why not? Heād won the fight and enjoyed his moment, maybe even more so without Griffin there. The GIFs of the finish that fans passed around on message boards after the fight made Silva out to be more Jedi than fighter, exhibiting the calm of a man who knew the future, or at least the next few seconds of it.
Aug8.2009
8 years ago today,
Anderson Silva brought the matrix into the octagon, when he finished Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 pic.twitter.com/k9oJVAhmEJ
Plus, now the fans were off his back. Heād given them a show as well as a finish. These people loved him again ā at least until the next one.
As for Griffin, heād spend at least the next year answering nearly constant questions about the fight. How did it feel to lose that badly? What could he have done differently? Why did he run? He used humor to deflect the questions. He recounted telling one interviewer that he was merely in a hurry to get backstage because the interviewerās mother was waiting for him there. He insisted that he never went back and watched the fight. He didnāt need to.
The thing he should have done instead, he would say in several subsequent interviews, was refuse to take the fight in the first place. This was Anderson Silva, after all. What was he thinking?
“Today in MMA History” is an MMA Junkie series created in association with MMA History Today, the social media outlet dedicated to reliving “a daily journey through our sport’s history.”
What do you think of Daniel Cormier’s ranking of the top five contestants in the history of “The Ultimate Fighter”?
With “The Ultimate Fighter” back, UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] has named his top five contestants from the show.
“The Ultimate Fighter 31” coached by Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler premiered Tuesday and will air each week on ESPN until mid-August.
Many “TUF” alumni have gone on to become UFC champions and stars of the sport. In the most recent episode of “DC & RC,” Cormier looked back at some of the most successful and influential contestants to ever participate on the reality show, which has produced 35 UFC title contenders, 11 UFC champions, and six UFC Hall of Famers.
Honorable mentions went to Diego Sanchez, Matt Serra, Tony Ferguson, T.J. Dillashaw, Robert Whittaker, Julianna PeƱa, Carla Esparza, and Brandon Moreno.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and “TUF 1” winner [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag] posted on Twitter on Wednesday to share some words on the death of his two-time opponent.
“Stephan was a lot of things: He was always the most interesting person in the room, he had the biggest heart and most importantly, he was my friend,
Griffin wrote on Twitter. “I always loved it that people got excited when they found out we were really friends. Iāll always miss you, brother.”
Stephan was a lot of things: He was always the most interesting person in the room, he had the biggest heart and most importantly, he was my friend. I always loved it that people got excited when they found out we were really friends. Iāll always miss you, brother. https://t.co/lXuMgRgaJV
Griffin and Bonnar first fought in the “TUF 1 Finale” in April 2005. It was the culmination of the UFC’s attempt at reality television on Spike, now known as Paramount.
The two went toe to toe for 15 minutes and delivered an instant classic that converted a new wave of fans. It was exactly what the UFC needed at the time. The promotion was struggling financially and was hadn’t been able to fully break into the mainstream sports world. Many pundits and experts think Griffin vs. Bonnar was a milestone for the UFC and one of the most important fights in the company’s history.
In the end, Griffin defeated Bonnar by unanimous decision and became the light heavyweight winner of “TUF 1.” The fight was so good that Bonnar, despite coming up short, also received a contract with the UFC and went on to fight under the Las Vegas-based promotion for many years.
The two fought a little more than a year after their first meeting at UFC 62 in August 2006. Griffin won the rematch by unanimous decision.
‘”As real as it gets” is the UFCās slogan describing just how realistic the combat in our sport can be. But before fighters get to any of the face punching, they share a moment of respect, a moment of peace that represents their mutual acknowledgment for the struggle to arrive at this moment ā the touch of gloves.
Fighters might beat each other up for 15 to 25 minutes, but the respect for one another and the sport of MMA never goes away. The martial arts spirt is always with them.
In this first edition of “Touch of Gloves,” we see that spirt come to life as fighters, coaches and more show appreciation to the people they think especially deserve a shoutout for what they did in 2021:
[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] on [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]
[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] on [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]
[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] on [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]
[autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] on [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]
[autotag]Rashad Evans[/autotag] on [autotag]Julianna PeƱa[/autotag]
Marc Ratner on Dana White
Brendan Fitzgerald on John Gooden
Eric Nicksick on Laura Sanko
[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag] on [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag]
[autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] on Chael Sonnen
[autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] on [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag]
Shannon Knapp on [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]
Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor will meet in the 14th trilogy fight in UFC history when they clash at UFC 264.
Another chapter in the long story of UFC trilogy fights takes place Saturday at UFC 264.
[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] will clash for a third and likely final time ā 2,483 days after they first fought at UFC 178 in September 2014.
McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) won the initial meeting by first-round TKO. In the rematch more than six years later, Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) got redemption with a second-round TKO at UFC 257 in January.
Now the two lightweight contenders will compete one final time in the winner-takes-all rubber match.
It will be the 14th trilogy fight in company history, and ahead of UFC 264, we rank the others that have happened so far. Check out our list below, from worst to best.
Looking for something to watch? Here are five of the best “Ultimate Fighter” seasons worth checking out.
Have we seen the last of “The Ultimate Fighter?” That remains to be known, but if you’re looking for something to watch during the coronavirus outbreak, there are a few seasons worth your time.
The show has produced some of the best talent in the UFC, including the likes of Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, T.J. Dillashaw and Robert Whittaker ā all of whom went on to become champions.
There have been 28 regular seasons of the show, not counting international versions. But in terms of talent, caliber of fights, personalities and coach rivalries, there are a few that stand out.
Here are five of the best “Ultimate Fighter” seasons every fight fan should check out.
****
TUF Ā 1: Team Liddell vs. Team Couture
It’s hard not to include the first season for many reasons. Although the format was a little odd with some fighters not even getting to compete, we got the perfect mix of unique characters, future champions and a finale to remember.
Season 1 premiered in 2005 and featured middleweights and light heavyweights who were coached by Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. The cast included the likes of Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Chris Leben, [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag] and [autotag]Stephan Bonnar[/autotag].
It was when the world was introduced to a unique character in Sanchez, who entertained viewers with drunken escapades, yoga in the rain ā and who can ever forget when he wrapped himself in cling wrap?
Emotional troublemaker Leben was another interesting character who got into rifts with instigators Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth.
But the show was capped off with one of the greatest fights in UFC history: the light heavyweight final between Griffin and Bonnar, a fight that is widely credited for the UFC’s success today.
Griffin beat Bonnar, but both fighters were awarded contracts that night, an unforgettable moment in the company’s history. Griffin also went on to become light heavyweight champion when he beat Quinton Jackson at UFC 86.
UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin reacts to UFC naming a community service award after him.
The UFC’s newest award has been named for Hall of Famer [autotag]Forrest Griffin[/autotag].
The Las Vegas-based promotion recently launched the Forrest Griffin Community Award in honor of the former UFC light heavyweight champion and season one winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The award recognizes UFC athletes who do volunteer and charity work in efforts to better their community.
For his part, Griffin was humble about the idea of having an award named in his honor.
“Well, I think the first thing when you hear something like that is you’re like ‘Me, why me? No. I haven’t done enough, man. I should’ve done more. Certainly there’s somebody out there that’s done more than me and I’m sure there is,’ Griffin told MMA Junkie. “I kind of don’t want to think about it like that. I want to think, ‘Hey, I know that the stuff I’ve done in the community has helped people. I know that people’s lives are changed for the better because of some things that I’ve done.’ And that’s what this award represents, you know?
[lawrence-related id=238808,490739,485788]
“So it’s obviously less about me and just more about people that fight for the UFC that you would think these fighters that are really charitable, goodhearted people. And something I’ve found a long time ago, this was actually when I was coaching (on “TUF”) against Quinton (“Rampage” Jackson) is we actually had really similar backgrounds. I was like talking to him and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s me too. Oh yeah, that’s how I grew up too.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, so we have a lot of more commonalities than differences.’
Griffin also believes that by going out and doing good in the community, fighters help raise the image of the sport.
“I think people that are attracted to a sport like fighting, I think it’s just great that you have these people that fight, that do so much for the community and there’s so many throughout the years,” he said. “People that have done so many good things, I’ve gotten to be a part of so many projects through fighters.”
Since his retirement, Griffin has worked as an ambassador with numerous UFC partnerships with local charities such as Boys Town Nevada, Boys & Girls Clubs, St. Baldrickās Foundation, The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, and Three Square Food Bank, where he currently serves as a member of the board of directors.
The Forrest Griffin Community Award will be presented annually during International Fight Week. The inaugural winner of this award will announced soon and will be honored during the 2020 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will take place on July 9 at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
The winner of the award will receive a $25,000 donation in their name to the charity of their choosing.
Griffin is excited to be part of the selection process.
“Yeah, I’ll get to help select and I’ll get to hand it to somebody that’s some amazingly deserving and honorable person,” Griffin said. “And that’s really exciting to kind of get to give that to somebody. That’s pretty cool.”
Griffin hopes the Forrest Griffin Community Award not only inspires fighters to do good things for their communities, but also encourages fighters who are currently doing charity work to shine on their efforts.
“I certainly want everybody that fights on the UFC roster to hear about it and think, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m already doing some good things. Maybe I should bring some more light to them.'” Griffin said. “If you think about athletes in general, they really do a lot of great stuff because a lot of them come from different backgrounds where they’ve experienced a problem and then you have a little bit of money and a platform do something about it. That’s what good people do.
