Augusta man is ready to rumble

Forrest Griffin is the first to admit he's a man of contradictions.

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The soft-spoken 25-year-old Augusta resident is a University of Georgia graduate with a degree in political science and an unabashed Cary Grant fan who, until recently, patrolled the streets as a Richmond County sheriff's deputy. Well-spoken and thoughtful, he smiles easily and laughs often.

But his face, criss-crossed with scars and scrapes, the odd angle of his once-broken arm and his broad boxer's hands and shoulders tell another story, a story of brutal beatings both administered and received. It's a dichotomy that took Mr. Griffin all the way to Las Vegas, where he trained as one of 16 contestants in the new Spike TV reality series The Ultimate Fighter.

The show, which premieres at 11 p.m. Monday, follows the chosen 16, practitioners in a variety of disparate fighting styles and martial arts, as they literally battle for two six-figure contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. With a small, accepting shrug, Mr. Griffin acknowledged, and accepted, the broad brush viewers might paint Ultimate Fighter participants with.

"The knuckle-dragging gorilla," he said. "There is a side of me that is definitely that guy. I mean, I'm not sophisticated by any means, but that doesn't mean I can't have tastes outside of McDonald's."

Once a serious fighter, Mr. Griffin had all but retired from the sport when a last-minute call came, inviting him to Las Vegas. Although the decision meant resigning from the sheriff's department (he hopes to return), he felt missing the opportunity would only lead to regret.

"I was coming off a year layoff," he said. "I really had no advance notice. I think I might have been a replacement for someone. But I figured it was one of those things that if I didn't do it, I would regret it forever."

Approaching it not as a contest but as the chance to train with some of the finest fighters in the world, Mr. Griffin went to Vegas with a less-than-accurate picture of what the experience would entail.

"When they sell you on the concept, they tell you it's the best trainers in the world and that you'll be in Vegas, baby," he said. "They played that whole Vegas aspect up a lot. Then we get out there and discover boot camp. You aren't a prisoner, but it wasn't what I was expected, either."

One surprise - contestants were confined to the Ultimate Fighter abode and forbidden from solo excursions. Mr. Griffin said the close quarters engendered the experience with a certain guy-ness.

"It's a reverse socialization process," he said. "There are 16 dudes with that knuckle-dragger in them, and if you put them in that situation, they'll devolve. We all turned into cavemen. It took me two weeks after I got back to return to normal."

Although Mr. Griffin returned to Augusta in October, he's being quiet about the results.

"They told me I'd be liable for $5 million," he said.

Mr. Griffin did say he hopes Ultimate Fighter will help him return to the ring. He said being a fighter, pure and simple, remains a part of who he is.

"I'm not a martial artist," he said. "To me, martial arts is a 45-year-old fat guy in pajamas, and that ain't me. A big part of what I do is boxing, because that's what people want to see - a knockout. And when I fight, I wear shorts, just regular shorts. That's who I am. I'm a fighter."

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.