Dana White was left furious by Forrest Griffin following his UFC 148 fight against Tito Ortiz, after Griffin fled the Octagon before the result was even announced.
Forrest Griffin is widely regarded as being one of the men who saved the UFC after his fight against Stephan Bonnar in The Ultimate Fighter 1 finale resulted in the sport blowing up overnight.
Griffin went on to become the UFC light heavyweight title a few years later, fighting the likes of Anderson Silva and Rashad Evans on his way to becoming a UFC Hall of Famer.
But it was a trilogy against Tito Ortiz that marked the end of Griffin’s legendary UFC career.
Forrest Griffin bolted out of Octagon before decision was announced
Griffin and Ortiz first met in 2006 at UFC 59, and ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ picked up the split decision win.
The two light heavyweight’s met again just three years later after Griffin lost his 205lb title, and he exacted his revenge on Ortiz, winning their rematch by split decision.
With them 1-1 after two fights, it seemed inevitable that they would go on to fight in a trilogy, especially after Griffin admitted he would like to fight Ortiz again.
Three years later the two 205lbers met for a third and final time in the co-main event of UFC 148, which was headlined by Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen 2, in what was Ortiz final fight in the UFC.
This time, Griffin put more of a stamp on the fight, winning by unanimous decision and winning a Fight of the Night bonus for the gory affair.
However, immediately after the fight, Griffin bolted out of the Octagon to make his way backstage, before the result had even been called out. UFC boss Dana White chased after him and dragged him back into the cage.
And then, after finding out he’d won the fight, Griffin went on to snatch the microphone off Joe Rogan and proceeded to interview Ortiz himself.
Dana White on what he said to Forrest Griffin
“Everyone in this room knows exactly what I said to him, so he turned around and ran back into the ring,” White explained in the post-fight press conference.
“I met him out back in the hall and said, ‘What are you doing? What is wrong with you? Are you mental?’ and he said, ‘I was really depressed’, and I said, ‘The next time you’re depressed about winning a fight, go back in the back and be depressed.’
“It was Tito’s last night… Stand there, get your hand raised or Tito’s hand raised, do your interview and go, if you’re bummed out, do it in the back.
“And if you’re bucking for Joe Rogan’s f—— job it isn’t gonna happen, that’s Joe’s job, leave the microphone alone until Joe comes over and talks to you,” White furiously continued.