Max Griffin made it a point to show off his improved movement in his last fight, and he’s happy to see it recognized.
Prior to his TKO win over Ramiz Brahimaj where he almost severed Brahimaj’s left ear, Griffin (16-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) talked about how switching to southpaw widened his understanding of angles and distance.
Entering his bout with Brahimaj, Griffin looked to snap a two-fight losing skid, and he did exactly that when he put on one of his most refined performances to date, which was highly praised by former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
“I remember moving around in the fight a (expletive) ton, and I finally watched the fight last night, and Dominick Cruz, who’s Mr. footwork, had a lot of positive things to say about the footwork and how I wasn’t even allowing him to shoot,” Griffin told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was taking away even his ability to shoot, and Trevor Wittman was going on to say about moving it outside and that far side was making him hard to go that way, he’s tripping over himself.
“I’ve been working on my footwork. A guys’ only as good as his footwork, and I was pretty impressed when I watched back, like (expletive), that was some good footwork. So it’s just something to build on and get better at.”
Griffin, who goes by the moniker “Pain,” has been on the wrong end of a few close decisions, but was finally able to leave it out of the hands of the judges when he scored his first finish in four years.
UFC’s Max Griffin honored that ‘Mr. footwork’ Dominick Cruz noticed his improvement
