Max Griffin has been itching to get back in the cage following his win over Tim Means last October.
Welterweight Griffin (19-9) improved to 4-1 in his last five fights with the win over Means, and sees it more of a 5-0 situation after the UFC opted to pay his win bonus following a split decision loss to Neil Magny prior to that.
Regardless, Griffin has just wanted to get going again. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready to fight for months. I feel great. It’s been a long time,” Griffin told media outlets during Wednesday’s UFC Vegas 76 media day. “Nine months. I was looking at the calendar like, yo! But I’ve improved so much in those months. I still improve, I improve every time, I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”
Saturday at UFC Vegas 76, Max Griffin finds himself in a main card match-up with Michael Morales. It’s not the kind of pairing Griffin was looking for after fighting back-to-back veterans.
“I’m not gonna lie, I was pissed at first. The first day I was like— I mean, Kevin Holland fought Tim Means, and then his next fight, he headlined against Wonderboy. So I was like ‘shit, I want to get something good.’ Then I get freakin’ Michael Morales,” Griffin exclaimed. “I was just like ‘aww man, what the hell, what’s going on here? this is bullsh*t!'”
Griffin does understand the pairing from a matchmaking perspective, and appears to see it as part of a trend of late. “He’s a young guy, undefeated. I felt like they were trying to feed me to the wolves, well not feed me to the wolves but try to beat me. I’ve been seeing a lot of these vets, I’ve been smelling this vet sh*t for a while. Vets versus rookies, they’ve been pairing a lot of guys the last six months. A ton of them. This guy versus this young guy, this guy versus this young guy.”
The recent return of The Ultimate Fighter was another step in that direction, with Conor McGregor coaching rookies against Michael Chandler’s veterans. “And then The Ultimate Fighter came out, vets versus youngsters. I’m like ‘I told you!’ But the thing is, I’m not the guy. I’m not the old guy. I’m 37, but I’m the best looking 37 you’ve ever seen, most in shape, shredded, faster, smarter. I’m not these guys on the tail end, like ‘I’m thinking about retiring,’ none of that.”
Upset at first, Griffin used the match-up as motivation in the end. “I used that like a chip on my shoulder. ‘They think they’re going to beat me with this guy, they’ve got some undefeated guy and they think he can beat me? Eff this guy.” But later, Griffin had an epiphany, seeing the fight as a gift.
“I look at this as a gift now. I flipped my whole mind. ‘This is a gift, Max.’ You’re going to shine, you’re going to smash this fool on ESPN, on the main card, in front of everybody. You’re going to smash his hype, because people like him.'”
Later, Griffin would highlight the experience mismatch between the pair. “I’ve had more experience than this kid’s been alive. So, I’mma do him.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 76 media day appearance by Max Griffin above.
