9. Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, UFC 76
Result: Griffin by Submission (rear naked choke) in the 3rd round. Griffin was fed to Shogun as a sacrificial lambto allow the Brazilian, who had to that point fought for the Japan-based Pride promotion, to showcase his vast arsenal of offensive techniques to UFC fans. Shogun had bulldozed through the competition in Japan including the likes of Alistair Overeem, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Antônio Rogério Nogueira. However, Griffin wasn't willing to follow the UFC's script. He out-conditioned Shogun who was exhausted by the 2nd round, beating Rua to the punch and defending his take downs. Griffin's relentless fitness proved more valuable than Shogun's arguably more advanced technique and Griffin had little trouble getting the choke hold. Griffin demonstrated the importance of fitness in the Octagon as he managed to choke out Shogun, showing how little a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt means when you don't have the conditioning to implement it.
Sam Heard
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Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
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