Tyson Griffin

Tyson Lee Griffin (born April 20, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division. He competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, the RFA, and the World Series of Fighting.

Background Griffin was a standout wrestler at Albany High School and moved on to wrestle at Santa Rosa Junior College before dropping out. He began training at David Terrell's NorCal Fighting Alliance and the Cesar Gracie Academy. During his first mixed martial arts training session, Terrell cut two gashes over Griffin's left eye, requiring stitches. Griffin states that he committed himself to a career in MMA while in the hospital waiting room. His mother supported him during his first year of training, but after his professional debut he had to get side jobs to support himself through his early career.

Mixed martial arts career Tyson Griffin began his professional career in 2004 in the Gladiator Challenge promotion. In his third bout, he dropped to featherweight to earn a TKO victory over future World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Urijah Faber, which stood as Faber's only defeat for over three years. Griffin went on to win his first six fights before facing Duane Ludwig at Strikeforce: Revenge. He won the bout by TKO in the first round, attracting the attention of major promotions. After considering offers from Pride Fighting Championship and the UFC, Griffin signed with the UFC so that he could continue to fight stateside. While cornering for David Terrel at UFC 59 in Las Vegas, Griffin had an opportunity to meet members of the Xtreme Couture camp for the first time. He began 2007 with a fight against Frank Edgar at UFC 67. The back-and-forth bout ended with Edgar trapped in a tight kneebar, but the judges unanimously scored the bout in his favor, handing Griffin his first professional loss. He rebounded with two decision victories over Clay Guida and Thiago Tavares at UFC 72 and UFC 76, respectively. All three of his bouts in 2007 were judged in the top 10 best of year.

In 2008, Griffin won unanimous decisions over Gleison Tibau at UFC 81 and Marcus Aurélio at UFC 86.

He next faced Sean Sherk at UFC 90, in a fight with title contention implications. In another three-round war, Griffin lost by unanimous decision, after a hard fought fight.

Griffin defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs Kampmann via unanimous decision.

He won against Hermes Franca via KO in the second round at UFC 103, earning his first victory via stoppage in three years.

Griffin was scheduled to face Jim Miller on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108, but was forced off the card with an injury.

Griffin fought Xtreme Couture training partner Evan Dunham on June 12, 2010 at UFC 115. He lost the fight via split decision.

Griffin faced former PRIDE Lightweight Champion, Takanori Gomi on August 1, 2010 at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko, replacing an injured Joe Stevenson. Griffin lost via KO (punch) at 1:04 of the first round. This marked the first time Griffin had lost back to back fights, as well as the first time he had been stopped in a fight as all of his previous losses had gone to a decision. Griffin was visibly upset with the loss; pacing around the octagon and refusing to shake Gomi's hand.

Griffin was defeated by Nik Lentz on November 20, 2010 at UFC 123 by split decision. After the bout it was revealed that Griffin had failed a post-fight drug screening, testing positive for marijuana.

Griffin next faced Manvel Gamburyan in his featherweight debut on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. He won the fight via majority decision.

Griffin lost to Bart Palaszewski on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137 via first-round KO. During weigh ins, Griffin had failed to make the featherweight limit, coming in 3 pounds over. Griffin was fined 25 percent of his earnings and the bout took place at a catchweight of 148 lb. It wasn't announced until June 2012 that he was released from the promotion shortly after the fight.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance Griffin signed a 3-fight contract with the Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA).

Tyson faced TUF 8 winner Efraín Escudero in a lightweight bout at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 4 on November 2, 2012. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

World Series Of Fighting In June 2013, it was announced that Griffin had signed a multi-fight deal with World Series of Fighting. On August 10, 2013, he faced Strikeforce veteran Gesias Cavalcante. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

Griffin faced Luiz Firmino at WSOF 10 on June 21, 2014. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Universal Reality Combat Championship On August 24 2018, after a four year hiatus, Griffin returned to face former Bellator fighter, Jordan Bailey at URCC 34. Griffin won the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and achievements Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (Five times) vs. Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares, Sean Sherk and Rafael dos Anjos Submission of the Night (One time) vs. David Lee UFC.com Awards 2007: Ranked #2 Fight of the Year , Ranked #7 Fight of the Year & Ranked #10 Fight of the Year 2008: Ranked #4 Fight of the Year 2009: Ranked #8 Fight of the Year Gladiator Challenge GC Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Jordan Bailey Decision (unanimous) URCC 34

Richmond, California, United States Loss

Luiz Firmino Decision (unanimous) WSOF 10

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Gesias Cavalcante TKO (punches) WSOF 4

Ontario, California, United States Win

Efraín Escudero Decision (unanimous) RFA 4: Griffin vs. Escudero

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Bart Palaszewski KO (punches) UFC 137

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Manvel Gamburyan Decision (majority) UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Loss

Nik Lentz Decision (split) UFC 123

Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States Loss

Takanori Gomi KO (punch) UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko

San Diego, California, United States Loss

Evan Dunham Decision (split) UFC 115

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

Hermes França KO (punches) UFC 103

Dallas, Texas, United States Win

Rafael dos Anjos Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Loss

Sean Sherk Decision (unanimous) UFC 90

Rosemont, Illinois, United States Win

Marcus Aurélio Decision (unanimous) UFC 86

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Gleison Tibau Decision (unanimous) UFC 81

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Thiago Tavares Decision (unanimous) UFC 76

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Clay Guida Decision (split) UFC 72

Belfast, Northern Ireland Loss

Frankie Edgar Decision (unanimous) UFC 67

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

David Lee Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 63

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Duane Ludwig TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Revenge

San Jose, California, United States Win

Chuck Kim Submission (rear-naked choke) GC 49: Face Off

Lakeport, California, United States Win

Melchor Manibusan TKO (punches) FFCF 5: Unleashed

Mangilao, Guam Win

Jorge Evangelista KO (punches) GC 46: Avalanche

Coarsegold, California, United States Win

Urijah Faber TKO (punches) GC 42: Summer Slam

Lakeport, California, United States Win

Cody Williams Submission (rear-naked choke) GC 36: Proving Grounds

Porterville, California, United States Win

Ryan Frost TKO (punches) GC 32: King of the Hill

Colusa, California, United States