Franklin vs. Griffin Prediction Commentary

This is the official prediction commentary thread for Franklin vs. Griffin. Let's see what you've got.

Extremely close to pick, as their styles are very similiar. That being said, this bout will take place mostly on the feet where Franklin has quicker strikes and better movement. He should take the decision.

Franklin via split in a all out slug fest!

Really close fight to call, but I am leaning towards Forrest. I think he will be able to use his size and strength to bully Ace.

Griffin by size and the fact that he's younger.

Never mind

Griffin decision.

This is a toss-up for me.  I could see it going either way.  However, Griffin has stated that he's worried about ring rust.  Kinda makes me think that he's throwing his excuse out there before the fight's even happened.  I like both guys, so I'm just going to sit back and just watch the fight.  I wonder if the loser is gonna fight Jones/Bader?

Minatuaro I find it unlikely that little Nog would get the winner of Forrest vs Franklin. In fact it be a step back for either of them. Forrest just beat Tito and Franklin just beat Chuck so the winner should fight some one in the title picture not Nog who most current win is Tito. If he gets matched up with with either of them it will be the loser and it should be.

@franklin, griffin is coming off a split decision win over an old and fading ortiz. Franklin is coming off of a win over the shot-chinned liddell, who he ko'd after getting beat up for a round. His fight before that was a ko loss to a middleweight. Neither of them are anywhere near title contention, and both of them would likely lose to lil nog who is superior on the feet and on the ground to both of them. 

Nice post minotauro, agree with most all of it, although I would argue that Lil Nog's stand up is a little over rated.  I think he would be in better shape on the floor with either Griffin or Franklin.  Overall, I think the Light Heavyweight title picture is a little more complicated than most people think.  The top 4 (Rua, Evans, Jackson, and Machida) have been established as the top of the division for quite some time.  Jones/Bader, Franklin/Griffin, and Ortiz/Nogueira are all important matches in establishing the second tier of 205ers, and I think matching any of those winners against each other in the near future would be great match making.

Thanks. I am biased towards lil nog I guess because he is one of my favorite fighters, but I whole heartedly believe he is one of the best strikers in the LHW division, second only to Shogun. He got a bronze medal in the 2007 Pan Am Games in boxing, which is a very good accomplishment for a mixed martial artist. In his fight with prime Shogun, he stood toe to toe with him and dropped him twice. He has finished some very good fighters on the feet, such as Matyushenko, Luiz Cane and Allistair Overeem (current K-1 WGP champ). 

really looking forward to this one

Yes minotuauro they are, so? Why would the winner then fight a man who just beat 2 fights ago?  it makes zero sense. Why should nog get the winner? Because he beats Tito who forrest beat 2 fights ago?  He should and will get the loser.

Also if you wanna start going over past recent fights lil nog aint lookin so good himself beat briz (which was VS by the way) and lost to bader.

First of all, the Brilz decision was not BS, and don't ever bring that **** up around me again. In the first, Nogueira landed punches and knees on the feet, Brilz didn't land ****. Then, when Brilz took him down, he didn't land a punch, then he got swept. Watch the ******* fight again, just because someone is on top doesn't mean they're winning, it says in the ******* rules that the guard is a neutral position. Then, the Bader fight was extremely close, which is a fight both Franklin and Forrest would also lose. And what is in common about those two guys? They are both grapplers. He may be fading, but Nogueira is still a huge threat on the feet. 
Forrest was matched up to fight Rogerio before he pulled out with an injury. If Nog wins and Forrest wins there is no reason not to make that match up that everyone was excited for. Lil Nog will not fight the loser because the UFC never matches up fighters coming off wins with fighters coming off losses. It would make sense to put Lil Nog vs the Forrest/Franklin winner in order to send one of them into title contention. 
And by the way, bringing up recent performances, Forrest Griffin got embarrassed by Silva, then won a SPLIT decision over Tito Ortiz, someone Forrest should have ran right through. And Franklin was getting beat up by Liddell, then he got KO'd by a MIDDLEWEIGHT. All three of these guys will not be LHW champions in the UFC, but they will match them up to determine which of the three is a decent contender.

I like Franklin so I'm picking him. Realistically though I do see Forrest's size posing a problem for Franklin. 

Well i agree with most of the things your saying @minotaur11 except for the part about the fight with bader,That fight was not close at all. Lil nog was on his back for the almost the whole fight not threatning to sweep or anything. And I think nog should get the loser of the franklin/griffin fight, there still building him up and a win over either of these guys will put him in title contention. ( No need no get so defensive when it comes to the nog brothers they are both great fighters, but all fighters have flaws)

@minotaur

While I agree that the Brilz fight can competently be scored for Nogueira upon review, your suggestion that an opinion supporting a Brilz decision win is ridiculous is completely asinine. I agree with you on the guard being a neutral position, but I don't think people who believe Brilz deserved the nod are basing that solely on his ability to take Nogueira down and keep him there; he dealt a serious amount of damage to nog, especially in the first round.

Either way, the point @franklin880088 was originally trying to make was ignored, which was the fact that--whatever your opinion on the decision--nogueira looked horrible against a non-ranked fighter in a recent bout, and I also agree with @BeastMaster in that the Bader decision was not close at all. Did Bader inflict damage? Not really. But he positionally dominated Nogueira throughout that fight, with a few exceptions.

@minotaur

at this point ur just ranting man...first off, the lil nog v brillz decision was null invoid to me...brillz should've NEVER been THAT close to beating him...which makes the case for lil nog being overated....he's a less famous rampage...take em down and ur golden....

2nd, the ufc pits recent winners vs recent losers all the time...example, lesnar vs jds....so thats a mute arguement....

3rd, my personal opinion is that IF lil nog wins, which is a BIG IF, (as u pointed out his recent struggles with wrestlers..which is what tito ortiz is) he wont face the franklin/griffin winner or loser..my gut feeling is a win here would get him a fight against an up and coming phil davis..or maybe stephan bonner...

This is a close fight, franklin is just too well rounded for forrest. Franklin starts and finishes well, Forrest has glimpses of greatness in the middle. Franklin by ud.

Thumbs downs came from me for all the off topic Brilz Nog discussion. I thought Brilz/Nog was a pretty even match. Styles make fights... how good or bad someone looks can just depend on the matchup. Little Nog could lose to Bader but then beat Shogun if given the chance.

I'll give myself a thumbs down for joining in.