So I’ve heard, and previously thought, that Forrest Griffin has a suspect chin. Meaning I was unsure until as of late, how well he could take punches. BUT, after reviewing the tapes (over and over and over), I think he’s actually got a pretty good chin. My reasons are as follows:
Took MANY BIG punches from guys like Dan Severn, Quinton Jackson, and Rashad Evans.
When he got ko’d by keith he took like 8 punches, followed by g&p punches (most wouldn’t be able to weather that storm)
When he was ko’d/tko’d by Rashad he took a hard elbow, followed by a hard right that snapped his head back against the canvas actually koing him. IMO.
He’s fought a lot of hard hitters and only had three ko’s/tko’s, and one was a Jeremy Horn head kick.
[quote]Beershoes wrote:
So I’ve heard, and previously thought, that Forrest Griffin has a suspect chin. Meaning I was unsure until as of late, how well he could take punches. BUT, after reviewing the tapes (over and over and over), I think he’s actually got a pretty good chin. My reasons are as follows:
Took MANY BIG punches from guys like Quinton Jackson, and Rashad Evans.
When he got ko’d by keith he took like 8 punches, followed by g&p punches (most wouldn’t be able to weather that storm)
When he was ko’d/tko’d by Rashad he took a hard elbow, followed by a hard right that snapped his head back against the canvas actually koing him. IMO.
He’s fought a lot of hard hitters and only had three ko’s/tko’s, and one was a Jeremy Horn head kick.
Thoughts? [/quote]
He’s the white Noguiera…lol. Seriously,he sticks his chin out too much…and doesn’t use head movement. That’s why he looks like a mash-up of Benjamin Button and Alfred E. Neuman(kid on MAD magazine…for the uneducated…lol).
Anyone’s chin is suspect… I think it’s silly to judge a fighter by his ability to take a clean hit on the chin in MMA. Too many variables, too easy to get rocked with those small gloves, alot of guys don’t cover up well etc.
Leben has a great chin, but Silva teed off on him something fierce and that ‘advantage’ went out the window.
If anything, it’s his style that leaves him too open for being knocked out, aka Chuck v. Evans and later Evans v. Machida. If you notice, guys who never get knocked out, more than likely don’t get hit in the face alot, if ever, in the UFC.
Haha Boss that’s kind of true! But I think he’s improved that quite a bit since his loss to Jardine. Especially can be seen in the Jackson fight, less so in the Rashad fight. I like him as a fighter, heart and work ethic.
[quote]Therizza wrote:
Anyone’s chin is suspect… I think it’s silly to judge a fighter by his ability to take a clean hit on the chin in MMA. Too many variables, too easy to get rocked with those small gloves, alot of guys don’t cover up well etc.
Leben has a great chin, but Silva teed off on him something fierce and that ‘advantage’ went out the window.
If anything, it’s his style that leaves him too open for being knocked out, aka Chuck v. Evans and later Evans v. Machida. If you notice, guys who never get knocked out, more than likely don’t get hit in the face alot, if ever, in the UFC.[/quote]
That’s a really good point! That’s my line of thinking when it comes to training (if they can’t hit you, you can’t get knocked out). That’s why I’ve been drilling the hell out of head movement with my MT guys. I think MMA boils down to brawls 9 times out of 10, and I think 9 times out of 10 that’s why guys get ko’d.
Yep. Brawls is the KEY word. In a “brawl”, the form is terrible, looping punches and chins straight up. You might survive a “brawl” on chin alone from some smaller shots, shots that had no power, leg drive, “arm punches” if you will.
But once someone gets his feet under him and lands an uppercut, or REAL hook, or hard cross, that’s lights out sunshine.
Case in point. Leben was known to brawl, blitz guys and hope he got lucky while weathering the storm. Silva never brawls, straight punches and crisp kicks all day long. And he landed something like 30 unanswered strikes before the KO in their fight. Iron chin doesn’t mean shit if you let your opponent tee off on your face like a baby harp seal.
A little off topic: Alot of MMA guys have no idea how to actually box. They learn some bastardized form of ‘mma striking’ that is all looping punches or some shit and hands low. Chuck made it work, I love him, but some people can’t pull off that style. Hell, most people can’t pull off the Philly Shell (kind of similar, but more technical than the aforementioned ‘hands down’ style). When a guy with a real technical ability comes into a division (Silva and GSP come to mind) they decimate because no one has the tools to counter.
Last thing I gotta say. If you lined every UFC fighter up in a row, and had someone from their respective weight classes punch them square in the jaw with a right cross, how many would still have their “iron chin” rating? Not many I’d bet.
[quote]Therizza wrote:
Yep. Brawls is the KEY word. In a “brawl”, the form is terrible, looping punches and chins straight up. You might survive a “brawl” on chin alone from some smaller shots, shots that had no power, leg drive, “arm punches” if you will.
But once someone gets his feet under him and lands an uppercut, or REAL hook, or hard cross, that’s lights out sunshine.
Case in point. Leben was known to brawl, blitz guys and hope he got lucky while weathering the storm. Silva never brawls, straight punches and crisp kicks all day long. And he landed something like 30 unanswered strikes before the KO in their fight. Iron chin doesn’t mean shit if you let your opponent tee off on your face like a baby harp seal.
A little off topic: Alot of MMA guys have no idea how to actually box. They learn some bastardized form of ‘mma striking’ that is all looping punches or some shit and hands low. Chuck made it work, I love him, but some people can’t pull off that style. Hell, most people can’t pull off the Philly Shell (kind of similar, but more technical than the aforementioned ‘hands down’ style). When a guy with a real technical ability comes into a division (Silva and GSP come to mind) they decimate because no one has the tools to counter.
Last thing I gotta say. If you lined every UFC fighter up in a row, and had someone from their respective weight classes punch them square in the jaw with a right cross, how many would still have their “iron chin” rating? Not many I’d bet.[/quote]
Gotta agree with pretty much everything you said.
There are some guys with legitimate “iron chins” though (“Cabbage”, Mark Hunt, BJ, Hendo) but even them, if they get tagged right on the button by a big puncher they are going to get rocked.
Yea, Cabbage had a head full of cement! I remember watching his fight with Silvia and thinking “Damn dude has no brain to rattle if he’s eating all them punches!”
[quote]Therizza wrote:
Yea, Cabbage had a head full of cement! I remember watching his fight with Silvia and thinking “Damn dude has no brain to rattle if he’s eating all them punches!”[/quote]
Still, even then, Tank KO’d him with 1 well placed punch, so even he can get KO’d if the opponent hits hard enough and lands the punch on the target.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Therizza wrote:
Yea, Cabbage had a head full of cement! I remember watching his fight with Silvia and thinking “Damn dude has no brain to rattle if he’s eating all them punches!”
Still, even then, Tank KO’d him with 1 well placed punch, so even he can get KO’d if the opponent hits hard enough and lands the punch on the target. [/quote]
From the iron chin squad, Dan Henderson remains the only one, who has never been TKOed or KOed. I think this will not change, even with his next opponent being Anderson Silva.
Forest is going to get finished by Silva one way or the other. He was 100% hand-picked to be stopped by Silva. Little threat of submitting or knocking Silva out and a fighting style that is going to force Silva to finish him. Forest pushes the action and will not allow Silva to sit back and paw at him for 3 rounds.
The UFC needs another spectacular finish by Silva if they want him to sell another title fight or two. Forest is the biggest name that also provide the hightest probability of this happening.
[quote]dhickey wrote:
Forest is going to get finished by Silva one way or the other. He was 100% hand-picked to be stopped by Silva. Little threat of submitting or knocking Silva out and a fighting style that is going to force Silva to finish him. Forest pushes the action and will not allow Silva to sit back and paw at him for 3 rounds.
The UFC needs another spectacular finish by Silva if they want him to sell another title fight or two. Forest is the biggest name that also provide the hightest probability of this happening.
Smart match-up by the UFC.[/quote]
Kind of off topic hickey, eh?
And as for Hendo… his face is built to take a punch lol! I liked his falling shoryuken punch too!
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
There are some guys with legitimate “iron chins” though (“Cabbage”, Mark Hunt, BJ, Hendo) but even them, if they get tagged right on the button by a big puncher they are going to get rocked.[/quote]
Don’t forget to add Kazuyuki Fujita this man has fought the best and hasn’t been knocked out by them (When I say best Mirko, Fedor, Coleman, Wanderlai)
I agree they are going to get rocked, however not necessary knocked the fuck out
[quote]Beershoes wrote:
So I’ve heard, and previously thought, that Forrest Griffin has a suspect chin. Meaning I was unsure until as of late, how well he could take punches. BUT, after reviewing the tapes (over and over and over), I think he’s actually got a pretty good chin. My reasons are as follows:
Took MANY BIG punches from guys like Dan Severn, Quinton Jackson, and Rashad Evans.
When he got ko’d by keith he took like 8 punches, followed by g&p punches (most wouldn’t be able to weather that storm) 3. When he was ko’d/tko’d by Rashad he took a hard elbow, followed by a hard right that snapped his head back against the canvas actually koing him. IMO.
He’s fought a lot of hard hitters and only had three ko’s/tko’s, and one was a Jeremy Horn head kick.
Thoughts? [/quote]
I believe this was a submission due to strikes, was it not? Can’t remember how they announced it but if you watch the replay you see Forrest roll over and tap
Personally i think everybody is right. If you take too many punches at some point all that damage adds up, and if you never get hit your good, but one day someone will hit you. I’ve noticed those guys that never get hit that first punch usually knocks em out, then starts a long path of knockouts since they never developed a chin.
I hate to resort to boxing but Roy Jones is a perfect case, Chuck Liddell, maybe even Rashad Evans. I’m not too sure how many hits he took in his previous fights but his style seems like he’s not used to getting hit.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
Beershoes wrote:
So I’ve heard, and previously thought, that Forrest Griffin has a suspect chin. Meaning I was unsure until as of late, how well he could take punches. BUT, after reviewing the tapes (over and over and over), I think he’s actually got a pretty good chin. My reasons are as follows:
Took MANY BIG punches from guys like Dan Severn, Quinton Jackson, and Rashad Evans.
When he got ko’d by keith he took like 8 punches, followed by g&p punches (most wouldn’t be able to weather that storm) 3. When he was ko’d/tko’d by Rashad he took a hard elbow, followed by a hard right that snapped his head back against the canvas actually koing him. IMO.
He’s fought a lot of hard hitters and only had three ko’s/tko’s, and one was a Jeremy Horn head kick.
Thoughts?
I believe this was a submission due to strikes, was it not? Can’t remember how they announced it but if you watch the replay you see Forrest roll over and tap
[/quote]
He most assuradely did NOT roll over and tap out. Watch the fights, he’s out about the first punch after the elbow. Mazaghatti is just a fucking idiot and let him take 6 more punches.
[quote]Therizza wrote:
Yep. Brawls is the KEY word. In a “brawl”, the form is terrible, looping punches and chins straight up. You might survive a “brawl” on chin alone from some smaller shots, shots that had no power, leg drive, “arm punches” if you will.
But once someone gets his feet under him and lands an uppercut, or REAL hook, or hard cross, that’s lights out sunshine.
Case in point. Leben was known to brawl, blitz guys and hope he got lucky while weathering the storm. Silva never brawls, straight punches and crisp kicks all day long. And he landed something like 30 unanswered strikes before the KO in their fight. Iron chin doesn’t mean shit if you let your opponent tee off on your face like a baby harp seal.
A little off topic: Alot of MMA guys have no idea how to actually box. They learn some bastardized form of ‘mma striking’ that is all looping punches or some shit and hands low. Chuck made it work, I love him, but some people can’t pull off that style. Hell, most people can’t pull off the Philly Shell (kind of similar, but more technical than the aforementioned ‘hands down’ style). When a guy with a real technical ability comes into a division (Silva and GSP come to mind) they decimate because no one has the tools to counter.
Last thing I gotta say. If you lined every UFC fighter up in a row, and had someone from their respective weight classes punch them square in the jaw with a right cross, how many would still have their “iron chin” rating? Not many I’d bet.[/quote]
Great post.
The day I see an MMA fighter double jab I’ll shit myself. Seeing them slip and duck is even more rare.
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Personally i think everybody is right. If you take too many punches at some point all that damage adds up, and if you never get hit your good, but one day someone will hit you. I’ve noticed those guys that never get hit that first punch usually knocks em out, then starts a long path of knockouts since they never developed a chin.
I hate to resort to boxing but Roy Jones is a perfect case, Chuck Liddell, maybe even Rashad Evans. I’m not too sure how many hits he took in his previous fights but his style seems like he’s not used to getting hit.[/quote]
To a degree.
Look at Floyd Mayweather. He rarely gets hit flush- but he doesn’t get hit because he’s so good defensively.
However, he has taken some big shots in fights, notably the Castillo fight, the Corrales fight, and the DLH fight- and his chin is actually very solid.
Then you have guys like my man Ricky Hatton, who has taken shots from every fighter that’s been around the last ten years, including the legendary Kostya… and he gets KO’d against Mayweather and his chin is GONE. Wobbled by Lazcano (who sucks) and KO’d by Manny.
Silva wasn’t as good in his last couple of fights and could stand to lose this time around. He’s moving up to fight a bigger brawler.
Concerning forrest’s chin, he’s bigger, and less lanky than Silva so I doubt that he’s going to have a glass jaw. In fact, forrest has taken shots from bonner, a former boxer, rampage, rashad, etc and gets KO rarely. He’s gonna be the one to show that silva is on the decline.
All forrest needs to do is play it safe and go for the low-risk decision win, just stick n move and he’ll whup up da spider.