Tito Ortiz: I’d like to finish Forrest Griffin quick

Future UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz will fight his final battle against Forrest Griffin at UFC 148, ending their trilogy and marking the end of an extremely influential MMA career. While Ortiz may be retiring, he is still a fighter at heart and heads into the bout with a gameplan, hoping to go out on a high note. Both Ortiz and Griffin are no strangers to one another’s fighting styles, having fought a pair of close wars leading up to this grudge match. Recently, Ortiz spoke to MMAJunkie.com about his thoughts heading into the monumental UFC 148 this weekend:

“I’ve just got to make sure he doesn’t get on his bike and let his confidence level build each and every round. Because the type of fighter Forrest really is is a confidence fighter. If the confidence is shut down, he shuts down. So I’m going to try to do that early in the fight.”

Ortiz seems to want to end the fight before Griffin finds his rhythm, something that may serve the elder Huntington Beach Bad Boy well. It will be no easy task, but Ortiz has shown he can finish younger fighters early with his first round submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132. He came out smoking in his first meeting against Griffin at UFC 59, and while he trailed off eventually, he ultimately took home the split decision in one of his career-defining victories. Ortiz dropped another split decision to Griffin at UFC 106, and now looks to put him away in decisive fashion to end his career:

“I’d like for it to be over. But if I dwell on it being over quick, it usually goes the distance. If I say it’s going to go the distance, it’s usually over quick. So you never know. I would love to get it over quick, but Forrest is a tough guy.”

Ortiz shows respect for his familiar opponent at UFC 148, while still having a gameplan to end his career on a winning note, something that many fighters unfortunately find it difficult to do. Ortiz said he will come in calm, but that usually goes out the window early on, especially in a bout of this magnitude:

“Every time I go into a fight, I try to relax and have fun. But it never happens. It’s just automatic killer instinct.”

Tito Ortiz will face another legend in Forrest Griffin this Saturday. Both have done much for the sport of MMA to bring it to the current high levels of popularity. A trilogy fight requested by Ortiz makes perfect sense for the summer blockbuster. Who will come out on top when the cage door is closed on Saturday?

Further Reading: Countdown to UFC 148: Main Card Bouts (Full Video)