The Nogueira brothers are widely regarded as two of the best Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners in mixed martial arts. But as Forrest Griffin prepares to fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114 on May 29, he says he thinks his jiu jitsu is just as good as Nogueira's -- and that he actually wants to take the fight to the ground.
"I think I'm actually a better wrestler and my jits I think is just as good as his, and I just have to not get choked," Griffin said.
I'm not convinced that Griffin's jiu jitsu is as good as Nogueira's, but I will say I can understand why, after watching Nogueira's impressive TKO win over Luis Cane at UFC 106, he'd be more concerned about what Nogueira can do to him standing up than what Nogueira can do to him on the ground.
"He's a southpaw, he's really tough, he's got really quick hands," Griffin said. "Actually, I was surprised watching a little film of him, I was hoping he'd be slower than me but he might be a little quicker."
With that in mind, Griffin said his game plan against Nogueira is simple: "Not getting punched by the left hand, or maybe the right hook."
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