Max Griffin had no hesitation to accept his UFC 264 fight against Carlos Condit.
After Griffin scored a one-punch KO over Song Kenan he knew he would be getting a big fight. He had back-to-back vicious KO’s as prior to that he TKO’d Ramiz Brahimaj where he nearly tore his ear off with an elbow. When he got a call to face Condit, he said it was an immediate yes but there was some hesitation on the former interim champs side.
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“I said ‘f**k yes’ right then. Then, I wasn’t sure the fight was going to happen. It took two weeks for him to accept it,” Griffin said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “Maybe it was contract stuff, who knows. I’m glad it turned out. Maybe that’s why it took so long (that he was looking to fight a legend), maybe it was contract negotiations. I’m not an easy fight for anyone. I know he’s a legend to me, I’ve been watching him since the WEC days and I’ve been wanting to fight him forever. 10, 15 years later that his name is on my contract is a full circle, it’s a dream come true.”
Once the fight became official, Griffin’s excitement only grew. He knows this is a massive fight for him and it’s one that excites him. “Pain” likes this kind of fight of where it should be a stand and bang kind of scrap. He’s also ecstatic to be on a Conor McGregor card with fans back in the arena.
“A guy that wants to fight and is so good and technical and craft and seasoned,” Griffin said. “He’s like a legend to me, he’s been around forever, a pillar in the game. To have this opportunity to go out there and be me and get this crowd wild is surreal. It’s on the Conor card with fans back in Las Vegas for the first time it’s going to be bananas in there.”
Entering the scrap many expect this fight to go the distance as Condit is super durable and has never been knocked out.
Yet, Max Griffin says he’s knocked out people who have never been knocked out before and expects to finish Condit on Saturday. He also plans on taking his soul.
“I’ve beaten a lot of guys who have never been knocked out before, too. Nobody can not get knocked out by me right now, nobody,” Griffin explained. “He may take a few more hits, a few more combinations, I got something for him… He’s gotten better with his movement, he’s been grappling more, but of course, he’s going to shoot. I’m going to take his soul and I want more than him and I’m going to prove it.”
If Griffin does get a stoppage win the goal for the 35-year-old is to get a ranked opponent next. He says when he first got into the UFC the title wasn’t the goal, but after this winning streak that has changed.
“They have to start giving me these numbers. I’m ready for these names, I’ve been saying I want to make a run and I really want the title now, I do,” Griffin concluded.
Do you think Max Griffin will finish Carlos Condit at UFC 264?