Forrest Griffin took Xanax before Anderson Silva fight and failed drug test

It came out after the third Tito Ortiz fight that Forrest Griffin was on TRT for that match but apparently that wasn’t the first time he had taken something before a fight (though Xanax isn’t going to help him any).  It’s amazing how these fighters fail drug tests and they manage to keep the results hidden.  If Forrest hadn’t of admitted it in a recent interview, no one would have ever known.

Other failed drug tests have been covered up by the UFC as well, including Tyson Griffin failing a drug test at UFC 123 (for marijuana).  It does make one curious just how many other fighters have failed drug tests in the UFC and we simply never knew about it.

“I failed my drug test I think for Xanax,” Griffin said. “I had a doctor’s prescription, I was just, I didn’t do it before the fight, I did it the night before, I was nervous and I couldn’t sleep.”

Tito Ortiz on TRT

Tito is angry about all the TRT use in MMA, and frankly, so am I.  There have always been guys who are willing to cheat in order to gain an advantage over their opponents, but now it's legal.  The average healthy male has a ratio of 1:1, with TRT they are saying it's legal (depending on the state) to have a ratio of 6:1 or 4:1.  To allow someone who makes a living fighting, to take a substance that gives them 4 - 6 times the normal amount of testosterone is crazy.  People are saying now that Dan Henderson is better than he has ever been, he is also now on TRT.  Dan used to weigh in at about 195lbs when he fought at LHW, now he is over 205lbs and has to cut.  He also looks more solid now than he did when he was 30.

Frank Mir, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, etc are also on TRT.  Most of these guys are already in great shape and buff, do they really look like guys who have low testosterone?  I mean give me a break.  Just that fact that MMA is so blatantly corrupt now really turns me off of it.  It's no longer about being the best fighter you can be, wanting to challenge yourself, it's about who can do the most drugs and cut the most weight to gain an advantage over their opponents.  The Martial Arts in MMA is dead.   

UFC 148: Tito Ortiz vs Forrest Griffin

Tito Ortiz (16-10) vs Forrest Griffin (18-7)

The big news in this fight is that it's (supposed to be anyway) Tito's retirement fight.  He has been in the game for a long time but is only 1-6-1 in his last 8.  That record sounds bad but he was competitive in most of those fights, only Evans (the second time) and Lil Nog really cleaned his clock.

Tito has become more of a striker these days (which seems to happen to a lot of BJJ, Judo and Wrestling based guys for whatever reason).  His bread & butter was always to take people down and bust them up with elbows.  There is nothing wrong with expanding your game and adding more tools to your toolbox but when you completely abandon what you are good at you get results like Tito has (plus he is older now).  His key to winning this fight is to simply take Forrest down and land elbows to his face.  He may want to throw some punches as well but with the purpose of making Forrest forget about the takedown.

Forrest Griffin is a hard worker, getting by on heart and cardio more than anything else.  He has had some big highs and big lows in MMA.  He has also been talking retirement some so we will have to see what happens in this fight.  Forrest hasn't fought in nearly a year, after getting KO'd in less then 2 minutes by Shogun.  This guy is a cardio machine so I expect him to be in shape, even after the long layoff.  Forrest will want to keep this on the feet and use his high work ratio and low kicks while trying to sprawl out of any takedowns from Ortiz. 

Considering how close their first two fights have been, I wouldn't expect anything different this time.  Maybe one of them will pull out a decision this time (instead of a split decision like the first two fights).  It would be really interesting if one of them could really put a feather in their cap by finishing the other one.  It should be noted that Ortiz has been finished in his last 2 fights, both by body shots, Forrest should be paying attention to that and mix in some punches and kicks to the body during this fight.