A special guest is coming to Northern FanCon this weekend who needs no introduction to fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin will be meeting and greeting fans Saturday at the annual entertainment expo at Exhibition Park, which returns for its ninth year.
Griffin, 45, is a former UFC light heavyweight champion who won the title in 2008 when he beat Quinton Jackson at UFC 86 in Las Vegas.
After winning the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, the former police officer from Athens, Ga., made his UFC debut on Jun 4, 2005 at UFC 53 in Atlantic City, N.J., against Bill Mahood of Prince George. Griffin won that fight 2:18 into the first round when he got Mahood in a rear naked choke hold to force a tap-out.
Griffin will be on the main stage at CN Centre for a live interview at 5 p.m. on Saturday and will be posing for photos and signing autographs. He’s also scheduled to make a VIP appearance at a UFC 288 pay-per-view watch party at Trench Brewing, 399 Second Ave.
Griffin has a degree in political science from the University of Georgia and is the author of two books - Got Fight?: 50 Zen Principles of Hand-to-Face Combat and Be Ready When The *@&^ Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse – both of which received positive reviews.
He retired from fighting in 2013 after compiling a 19-7 professional record in a career that spanned eight years in the UFC.
“He had a good run and fought a lot of big names,” said Northern FanCon executive director Norm Coyne.
The watch party requires a separate ticket but is open to FanCon ticket holder who buy a VIP pass.
