Mammoth light heavyweight Forrest Griffin seems to have spent too much time at the buffet line after defeating Rich Franklin back on Feb. 5 at UFC 126.
The original "Ultimate Fighter" is now anticipating a tough cut down to 205-pounds for his pending match-up against Mauricio Rua at UFC 134 on Aug. 27, tough enough that he's already complaining about it.
Here's what he told Sherdog about his pending diet:
"I definitely put on more weight than I would like. I need to cut weight and it won't be easy. I'll have a lot of problems until the fight in Brazil, but I've gotta do it. I don't want to fight at heavyweight, so I gotta cut that f--king weight."This will be exponentially more difficult thanks to the location of the fight. Griffin and Rua are set to tango in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, which will wreak havoc on the former's already difficult food plan.
"It's difficult to adjust yourself [to another country]. There's the jet lag thing, and it's difficult to make weight since Brazil doesn't have the distilled water I use in the U.S. and the food I need to eat. It's always difficult to change your routine when you go to another country. I feel stupid because I can't communicate with people from the hotels and can't even say how I want my eggs. It's clearly a pain in the ass."You can see why he's such a homebody.
When considering Griffin's current positioning in the light heavyweight division, this fight takes on added importance. The Xtreme Couture product has won consecutive fights, against Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin, respectively, and is knocking on the door to another shot at the division crown.
A win over "Shogun," who just lost said title to Jon Jones this past March, just might send him over the top.
That's precisely why Forrest knows he needs to "go hard for 15 minutes" against the "blitzing style" of his Brazilian opponent. Because there's more at stake here than proof of who's best after the unusual circumstances surrounding their first meeting.
by Geno Mrosko
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