Jordan Griffin, Bad River Chippewa, gets Ultimate Fighting Championship contract
Indian Country Today
Griffin: “I made it, I can’t believe I am here. I can’t wait to visit everybody and celebrate.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White announced last night that four athletes were awarded contracts at the “Dana White’s Contender Series 15 event,” among them was Jordan Griffin, a member of the Bad River Band Of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
After the announcement of the contracts, which took place at The Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas and streamed on UFC Fight Pass, Griffin spoke with UFC President Dana White.
At 3:45 in the video, White said, “Representing your Native American heritage is so important to you. You’ve got the Bad River Tribe watching back home, what is your message to them?” To which Griffin flexed and laughed and said simply, “I made it, I can’t believe I am here. I can’t wait to visit everybody and celebrate.”
In a later interview with MMAJunkie, Jordan Griffin -- a 28-year-old Legacy Fighting Alliance vet and former “King of the Cage” champion with 13 stoppages in 17 career wins -- said he felt confident he would get a contract.
Screen Capture MMAJunkie video interview
“I was like, yeah, they’re going to let me in,” he told MMAJunkie. “I was just like, man, if they don’t let me in, that’s going to be wild. But I had a very strong feeling they were going to let me in because of the finish and my previous finishes.”
@SBBoxingNewsWe asked DWCS 15's Jordan Griffin about long road to UFC, and the waterworks began https://mmajunkie.com/2018/08/dwcs-15-jordan-griffin-ufc-contract-waterworks/ …
When asked about his long road to a UFC deal, Griffin fought back tears.
“I knew I was just looking for the opportunity, and I got it,” he said. “And I knew I was going to take it.”
Follow Indian Country Today’s associate editor and senior correspondent, Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk) on Twitter - @VinceSchilling
Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
(Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation)Founder & Editor in Chief
Spoken Languages: English
Topic Expertise: Federal trust relationship with American Indians; Indigenous issues ranging from spirituality and environment to education and land rights
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