Overview:  Forrest Griffin knew what he was talking about in this pre fight interview as he talked about his upcoming light-heavyweight title defense against top contender, Rashad Evans.  Griffin mentioned, he was not going to under estimate Evans and was well aware of his knockout power;  he was going to keep him at jab length and work his low kicks;  finally, he was going to try to avoid any take downs and make Rashad work at his potential attempts.  The fight mirrored everything he said.  Unfortunately for Forrest fans, Griffin did everything he wanted for two and half rounds before he got caught with Evans powerful right hand, which he warned of.

Summary:  Griffin vs. Evans

Forrest Griffin clearly came out and dictated the pace for the first two rounds.  I felt this is some of the best stand up I have witness from Forrest in his UFC career.  He was very unpredictable while using all four limbs in his fluid and accurate combination attacks.  Evans, known for sitting back and waiting for the big shot, was on his heels most of the fight.  When Griffin was not attacking, he was covering and counter striking well and his footwork and angles were making it hard for Evans to land any solid attacks.

Throughout the first two rounds Griffin landed kicks seemingly at will.  The main reason for this success is that he was setting his kicks up with punches first and he was changes targets from low(legs) to high(head).  Ultimately though, he got careless when he kicked to the body without a great set up, which usually makes it easier for an opponent to attempt a kick catch and a quick right cross counter.  This is all Evans needed as he drilled Forrest with the straight cross counter to the chin that dazed Griffin enough to allow Rashad to dominate in Forrests guard.  Griffin, who has an effective MMA guard which usually has him standing back up, could not recover and took much punishment after over a minute on the ground.  The ref stopped the fight and Rashad Evans took the title from fan favorite, Forrest Griffin.

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 9 USA vs U.K.

In a fight between two of the less-impressive welterweights on the show, Team UK’s Nick Osipczak defeated Team USA’s Mark Miller via a head kick in round two. The finish was ironic due to the fact that prior to the fight, Team USA Muay Thai coach and Pride FC veteran Cyrille “The Snake” Diabaté had told Miller that Osipczak possessed no knockout power in his legs.  

In all fairness to Diabaté, Miller’s height disadvantage and sloppy hands left him pretty open to be put to sleep. It was a puzzling matchup choice by USA head coach Dan Henderson; Osipczak had a five-inch reach advantage on Miller, who never had much of a ground game to rely on in case he got out-struck.  

Overall, it was a sloppy yet exciting fight where both men only sparingly listened to their corners. Osipczak at least showed the capacity to fight in both a “southpaw” (left-handed) stance and a traditional stance, a fact that Team UK head coach Michael Bisping used to his advantage. Neither man showed much takedown defense or head movement during their fight.  

Two fights are slated to air on next week’s episode; if teaser footage is to be believed, it seems as though Frank Lester will be called on to be one of the fighters competing.  
 

TUF Top 3 

Which of the fighters are the front-runners to winning it all? Early days for sure, but it’s never too early to be keeping tabs on the early standouts.  

Lightweight 

1. Richie Whitson – Team USA (Previous rank: 1) 
   The red-haired Alaskan, already nicknamed “Carrot Top” by internet fans, defeated Paul Bird via first round submission to earn the right to represent the USA. The Team Quest prospect showed good takedown defense and quick hands in his victory, making him the top standout so far from 155.
2. Ross Pearson – Team UK (Previous rank: 2) Pearson looked quick and spry in his slugfest victory over AJ Wenn, battering Wenn with knees and punches until picking up a 2nd round TKO. On this week’s episode, Pearson was showing taking exception to Team USA members drawing on his wrestling shoes. 
3. Jason Dent – Team USA (Previous rank: 3) Dent’s win over Robert Browning was expected, yet not exactly impressive; faced with an undersized opponent whose best move was the Chuck Liddel-style hand-wave distraction, Dent came off as tentative to engage before stuffing a Browning takedown attempt and then teeing off with punches and knees until he got the TKO. However, Dent is the most experienced fighter on the show, and with two previous UFC fights on his resume, his experience in the big time against big opponents shouldn’t be overlooked.  

Welterweight 

1. Demarques Johnson –Team USA (Previous rank: 1) So far, the lightweights on the show look much more promising than most of the welterweights, but for now Johnson stands out with his quick G’n’P win over Ray Elbe in the prelims. An interesting dynamic on the show is that Johnson is shown to be the only American so far who seems to be actually affected by Bisping’s trash-talk.
2. David Faulkner – Team UK (Previous rank: 2) When your own coach says that you’re “mentally weak”, it’s a red flag on your credentials that’s hard to ignore. Faulkner quickly finished James Bateman with a heel hook, but we won’t be able to see what the Wolfslair prospect is really made of until he’s put into some kind of peril inside the cage. An interesting note: his only professional MMA loss came against his current Team UK teammate Dean Amasinger via DQ in 2007.
3. Nick Osipczak – Team UK (Previous rank: n/a) The first winner on the main show didn’t look overly impressive in doing so, but he showed a good chin in dealing with Mark Miller’s punches in the first round. Osipczak so far has not shown much technique, and instead seems to be coasting on his physical talents alone. Now at least, his KO win should make the other welterweights respect him a little more. 

Dropped out: Frank Lester – Team USA 
 
Notes: 

• Besides Diabaté, the other notable coach is Team UK’s BJJ coach Mario “Sukata” Neto, whos 10-5 MMA record includes fights with Gary Goodridge, Dan Severn, Kevin Randleman, and a win over Kimbo-conquerer Seth Petruzelli. 
• He was only briefly caught on camera, but the man in the black cap and leather jacket sitting next to Dana White during the fight between Osipczak and Miller was Japanese MMA star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. White has said many times in the past that he hopes to bring Yamamoto stateside, most likely into the WEC and its featherweight division. Kid is scheduled to face Joe Warren at DREAM 9 in May.