Anderson Silva goes full Matrix on Forrest Griffin in 2009 | UFC News WON Flashback
August 8 2009 was the date of UFC 101, a fight card that was headlined by B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian for the Lightweight Championship, but is remembered mostly for Anderson Silva moving up to Light Heavyweight and completely dismantling Forrest Griffin.
This was Silva’s second time fighting at 205lbs, but he was going up against a beloved fighter in Griffin, who was a made man following his Ultimate Fighter Season 1 win (with an epic fight against Stephan Bonnar in the final).
Our own Dave Meltzer wrote about the epic moment in MMA history in the August 17, 2009 Observer Newsletter, which you can read in full with a subscription).
UFC 101 Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin
Here is what Dave had to say in the Observer about UFC 101 and the massive fight between Griffin and Silva:
“While it is too early to get a direct read, early indications are UFC 101 on 8/8 in Philadelphia exceeded all but the most optimistic PPV expectations. Even though B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian was the main event, it was clear Silva vs. Forrest Griffin was the match driving viewership. The key to Silva drawing is he needs the right opponent, and none were more right in every way for Silva than Griffin, who was probably the key draw.
“Silva made Griffin look like a sandlot player facing major league pitching, knocking him down three times before Griffin wouldn’t and couldn’t get up in just 3:23. It was such a scary dismantling of a former champion in a weight class above him that it left the crowd at the promotion’s Philadelphia debut in awe. Griffin got a Bruno Sammartino level reaction, which local reporters said rivaled the if the Flyers were to win the Stanley Cup. Silva was booed out of the building. But three minutes later, it was a reversal as people couldn’t help but be impressed by Silva’s performance, and booed Griffin as he ran from the ring after the loss.
“Even though he lost the light heavyweight title to Rashad Evans on 12/27, it was clear that didn’t affect Griffin’s popularity. He was chosen as Silva’s opponent because Silva had come off two straight boring title defenses, and was in need of an action-packed match to help him become the solo headliner that his talent itself deserves to be. Griffin has had a strong match type of match annually, the 2005 match with Stephan Bonnar, the 2006 match with Tito Ortiz, the 2007 match with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and the 2008 match with Quinton Jackson.
“Still, after the one-sided drubbing, questions abound. The key is, what in the hell was Griffin thinking. Anyone charting the match going in would have figured that if Griffin decided to stand with Silva, the result would be exactly what it turned out to be. Maybe not as quick. It was probably more one-sided and more humiliating than most would have expected. But the end result was predictable. Why Griffin never deviated from trying to box with someone with more quickness and power made little sense. And with Griffin running from the cage and disappearing the past few days, nobody has been able to find out why. Certainly after the first knockdown, when it was clear the stand-up game wasn’t going his way, Griffin should have thought to close the distance and go for a takedown. Silva has shown good, but not great, takedown defense. There may have been no way Griffin was taking this fight, but at least using his size and trying to win with wrestling and Jiu Jitsu was his best bet. That was what nearly every insider said going in. Instead, he fought the perfect fight to make Silva look unbeatable to the average person watching.”
Jake is the Head of Audience Development at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.