Griffin rocks "Eye of the Tiger," as always.
Slow start, and some boos early which is odd because there were basically no boos the entire undercard. After some tentative standup Griffin throws Aurelio down. It's interesting on the ground. Griffin is throwing hard punches from a standing position but Aurelio is grabbing Griffin's arms and trying to lock in a triangle or armbar. This is a dangerous spot for Griffin, particularly early. Griffin evidently thinks so too as he pulls out and they are standing again. Aurelio has a welt under his eye. Griffin lands a hard body punch. Aurelio with a shot late in the round but Griffin blocks relatively easily. I don't think that's going to work for Aurelio. 10-9 Griffin.
Round 2. They exchange early. Griffin is getting much more aggressive standing, I think feeling much confident with all the sweat that will make submissions harder. They are clinching. Griffin slams Aurelio to the mat. Aurelio gets up and takes Griffin down, but Griffin stands right back up. The two men scramble, with Aurelio grabbing Griffin's leg but doing nothing. Griffin is now in Aurelio's guard, where Aurelio nearly locks a triangle. Griffin nicely works his way out of that and an omoplata attempt. Griffin jogs to his corner at the end of the round. 10-9 Griffin.
Thanks to my colleague Gary Herman, Yves Lavigne is reffing the main event. He tends to let fights go.
Round 3. The fighters are trading. Griffin is crisper and quicker with the standup. He throws some nice low kicks. Aurelio goes for a takedown but Griffin blocks easily. Griffin is now opening up more standing. Griffin is pulling away, but with the crowd booing Griffin goes for a takedown with a minute and a half . Clearly he wanted to stop the booing, because strategically there was no need to go for the takedown and risk getting subbed in the waning moments of the fight. Griffin avoids the armbar and triangle attempts and the round ends. Both Griffin and Aurelio run around the cage to show they've still got energy. Round is 10-9 Griffin and fight 30-27 Griffin.
The judges agree: 30-27 unanimous decision for Tyson Griffin. The Man Who Shall Not be Named is in the cage with Griffin following his win.
