Griffin: It’s the same mentality this time
It’s the same mentality this time, he said. I’m gonna try and go forward, I’m gonna fight him and I’m…
It’s the same mentality this time, he said. I’m gonna try and go forward, I’m gonna fight him and I’m not gonna back down. I’m not gonna fall down and crumble, and every scramble, I’m gonna scramble with him. Yeah, there’s a good chance that he’ll catch me with a running hook or a knee or something, and I’ll be done, but he’s gonna have to earn that. I’m coming after him too. I’m in a pretty good place mentally because I’m not so attached to the outcome. I care more about how I perform and more about not going out there and laying an egg, aka pulling an Anderson Silva. As long as I fight and fight well, I don’t give a f**k.
The win over Rua was a huge upset, not as huge as that year’s Matt Serra win over Georges St-Pierre, but a damn close second. Yet lost in the euphoria and surprise of one of the sport’s greatest shockers was the fact that Griffin wasn’t shocked at all. In fact, he requested the fight with Rua when it was announced that he was coming to the UFC.
I heard all the PRIDE guys were coming to the UFC and I figured I’ll take Dan (Henderson), I’ll take Wanderlei (Silva), I’ll take whoever, he said. Give me those guys. To me, it was a way to get out of the pack. It seemed like there were a bunch of us kinda at the same level, and it was a way to propel myself toward the top and that title shot. You beat the man and you get to be the man, or some such nonsense.
