Tyson Lee Griffin (born April 20, 1984) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division. He competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

, the

RFA RFA may refer to: Groups, organizations * Radio Free Asia, a private news broadcaster and publisher in East Asia, funded in part by the U.S. government * Renewable Fuels Agency, a former UK renewable fuel regulatory agency * Renewable Fuels A ...

, and the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

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 World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

featherweight champion

Urijah Faber Urijah Christopher Faber ( ; born May 14, 1979) is an American former mixed martial artist and actor. He competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the founder of Team Alpha Male ...

, which stood as Faber's only defeat for over three years. Griffin went on to win all of his first six fights before facing

Duane Ludwig Duane Paul Ludwig (born August 4, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts coach, retired professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Ludwig formerly held the unofficial fastest knockout record in the UFC after his win against Jonathan Go ...

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 PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

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 Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts is an American mixed martial arts training organization headed by former Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC Champion and former co-founder of Team Quest, Randy Couture. Xtreme Couture was founded with the flags ...

camp for the first time.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Griffin made his UFC debut at '' UFC 63'' against David Lee. He won the bout via rear-naked choke submission in the first round, and later used the prize money to move to Las Vegas and joined the Xtreme Couture camp. Former teammate

Nick Diaz Nicholas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and ...

criticized Griffin as a "gym jumper", but Griffin rejected the accusation. 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 Clayton Charles Guida (; born December 8, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the UFC in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2003, Guida also formerly competed for Strikeforce, the WEC, King of the ...

and

Thiago Tavares Thiago Tavares (born November 8, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and politician who most recently competed in the Lightweight division. An 18-fight veteran of the UFC, he has also fought in the Professional Fighters League and Cage Warr ...

at ''

UFC 72 ''UFC 72: Victory'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place Saturday, June 16, 2007 at The Odyssey in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Background ''UFC 72'' continued the UFC's expansion into Eu ...

'' and ''

UFC 76 ''UFC 76: Knockout'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place on September 22, 2007, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Although the event was advertised with the s ...

'', 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 Janigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau (; born July 10, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, Professional Fighters ...

at ''

UFC 81 ''UFC 81: Breaking Point'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held on February 2, 2008, by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip. Background The main event featured Tim Sylvia and Ant ...

'' and

Marcus Aurélio Marcus Aurélio Martins (; born 18 August 1973) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist. He formerly fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships and for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently does stunt and mo-cap work, after an ...

at '' UFC 86''. He next faced

Sean Sherk Sean Keith Sherk (born August 5, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was one of the first combatants to have been a championship competit ...

at ''

UFC 90 ''UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on October 25, 2008, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Background The main event featured UFC Middleweigh ...

'', 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 Rafael Souza dos Anjos (; born 26 October 1984), also known by his initials RDA, is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...

at '' UFC Fight Night: Condit vs Kampmann'' via unanimous decision. He won against

Hermes Franca Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

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 ''UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Background The card for UFC 108 was plagued with numerous injuries, ...

, but was forced off the card with an injury. Griffin fought

training partner Evan Dunham on June 12, 2010 at

UFC 115 ''UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background This was the fourth UFC ev ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Griffin faced former

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

Lightweight Champion,

Takanori Gomi is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who gained international fame in Pride Fighting Championships. Later in his career, Gomi also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gomi is the only Pride FC Lightweight Champion in the ...

on August 1, 2010 at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko, replacing an injured

Joe Stevenson Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California. Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Welt ...

. 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 Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin ...

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 Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. Griffin next faced Manvel Gamburyan in his featherweight debut on June 26, 2011 at

UFC on Versus 4 ''UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 4'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 26, 2011, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny Coun ...

. He won the fight via majority decision. Griffin lost to

Bart Palaszewski Bart K. Palaszewski (; born May 30, 1983) is a retired Polish-American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion compa ...

on October 29, 2011 at

UFC 137 ''UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 29, 2011, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was originally expected to take ...

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 Efrain 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

. On August 10, 2013, he faced Strikeforce veteran

Gesias Cavalcante Gesias Cavalcante (born July 6, 1983) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. He was the 2006 and 2007 K-1 HERO Middleweight Champion, and has also fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, Shooto, W ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round. Griffin faced

Luiz Firmino Luiz Firmino de Carvalho Júnior (born March 18, 1982), commonly known as Luiz Buscapé, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who fights at Lightweight. He has spent the majority of his career in Japan and has fought in Dream, Pride FC and Shoot ...

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 Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) is the first and only professional mixed martial arts promotion based in the Philippines. Its inaugural event was held at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque, Philippines on November 23, ...

34. Griffin won the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and achievements

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Fight of the Night (Five times) vs.

Frankie Edgar Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the Lightweight division ...

and

** 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 , align=center, 17–8 , Jordan Bailey , Decision (unanimous) , URCC 34 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

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, TKO (punches) , WSOF 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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Auburn Hills, Michigan Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Auburn Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 24,360. Auburn Hills is home to ...

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, KO (punch) , UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

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Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

Hermes França Hermes França Barros (; born August 26, 1974) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He has competed for the UFC, WEC, MFC, and Israel FC. He is a former WEC Lightweight Champion, and former UFC Lightweight Championship contender. Mixed mart ...

, KO (punches) , UFC 103 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:26 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located immediately northwest of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 3,952. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before ...

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References

External links

* *
Homepage of Tyson GriffinOfficial Tyson Griffin Tee KO Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Tyson 1984 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Lightweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Sacramento, California Santa Rosa Junior College alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters