Tyson Griffin

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1 Profile
2 Early Career
3 UFC Career
4 Mixed martial arts record
5 Gallery
6 External links

Profile

Tyson Griffin (born April 20, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He stands 5 ft. 6 in. (168 cm) and fights in the lightweight division.

He is a former Gladiator Challenge bantamweight champion and currently fights as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Early Career

Tyson Griffin made his professional mixed martial arts debut at Gladiator Challenge 32 on November 18, 2004 against Ryan Frost. His debut was a quick one as he scored a TKO victory at 1:16 of round 1.

After defeating Cody Williams in his second professional bout, once again in the Gladiator Challenge, Griffin earned a shot at the Gladiator Challenge bantamweight belt, which was held by future WEC featherweight champion, Urijah Faber.

Griffin forced Faber's record 8-1 after he landed a superman punch 5 seconds into the third round and followed it up with some ground punches forcing the stoppage.

He followed the Faber victory with a KO over Jorge Evangelista at GC 46, a TKO over Melchor Manibusan in Guam and a rear naked choke victory over Chuck Kim at GC 49.

The highest profile bout of his career came at Strikeforce: Revenge in June of 2006 when he faced off against UFC veteran, Duane Ludwig. Griffin overwhelmed Ludwig with his pace and wrestling, scoring an impressive TKO victory at 3:57 of round 1.

UFC Career

With a 7-0 start to his professional career, Griffin earned himself a contract with the UFC and made his debut at UFC 63 against David Lee.

A botched flying knee attempt by David Lee early in the bout, gifted Griffin Lee's back from which he quickly secured a rear naked choke and his first UFC victory. The quick submission earned Griffin "Submission of the Night" and a spot on the PPV broadcast.

At UFC 67, Griffin returned to UFC competition against UFC virgin, Frankie Edgar. In what many media outlets and fans dubbed, "Fight of the Year", Griffin and Edgar put on a fast paced and technical battle that featured multiple takedowns, sweeps and transitions. The fight went the distance with the last 10 seconds featuring Edgar trapped in a fully stretched out kneebar. The extremely close decision unanimously went the way of Edgar. Both fighters were awarded "Fight of the Night" honors.

Griffin bounced back from his first professional loss at UFC 72 when he scored a controversial split decision victory over Clay Guida in another high paced lightweight affair. In what appeared to be a trend, Griffin was once again awarded "Fight of the Night" honors.

"Fight of the Night" came calling again at UFC 76 when he faced off against Thiago Tavares. After three exciting and close rounds, Griffin was awarded the unanimous decision victor.

Griffin kicked off 2008 with a unanimous decision victor over another Brazilian, in Gleison Tibau at UFC 81. Griffin battered Tibau on the feet and was able to escape quickly everytime he was put on the ground by Tibau.

At UFC 86 he faced his third successive Brazilian in the form of PRIDE veteran, Marcus Aurelio. Griffin's superior wrestling and striking ability were the story of the bout, as Aurelio's superior jiu jitsu skills were negated by his inability to get the fight to the mat.

Riding a four fight win streak inside the UFC, Griffin was rewarded with the biggest test of his career at UFC 90 when he faced off against former UFC lightweight champion, Sean Sherk. Sherk's wrestling appeared to be the telling factor in the fight early, but Griffin's ability to scramble out of Sherk's control on the ground led the two to exchange furiously on the feet for the majority of the three rounds. At the end of the fight, Sherk was awarded the unanimous decision victory. Both fighters recieved "Fight of the Night" honors at the post fight press conference.