“Everyone comes from different walks of life, everyone’s gonna have challenges, and it’s up to you to make the most of it and embrace it.”- Tyson Griffin
He may originally hail from Sacramento, California, but for all intents and purposes, featherweight contender Tyson Griffin might as well be considered a Las Vegan, considering that it’s been his base of operations for much of his five year career in the UFC. And as such, Griffin is looking forward to contributing even more to his adopted hometown.
“I wanted to do something more for the community and something that hit home was Boys Town Nevada and the work they do with families and kids without families,” said Griffin, who is preparing for a UFC 137 bout against Bart Palaszewski. “I wanted to find a way to give back, and me and my manager (Tom Call) came up with a fundraiser / raffle for my next fight. For $25, you can buy a raffle ticket and possibly win tickets to UFC 137 and get after party passes, and all the money is gonna go to Boys Town Nevada.”
Based in Las Vegas, Boys Town Nevada has positively impacted the lives of 20,000 children and families each year since launching in 1991 through a variety of programs to help those in need. For the 27-year old Griffin, the plight of the children in the Boys Town programs is one he is all too familiar with.
“Growing up, my mom and my dad were locked up, and we got sent through foster care a little bit and then to my grandma eventually,” he said. “I was in those kids’ shoes at one point and I could have been there longer, so I really like what they do. To be honest, I was too young to actually remember, so I can’t speak on being there firsthand (in a foster home). But being there only with my grandma and having to go visit my mom in jail and not knowing dad growing up and things like that, I realized that I still came out ahead and a lot of those kids may just need a little bit of support. And there are families there too that just need help in being a better family, and to me, that’s what stood out and what I think is lacking in today’s society - just better, closer families working together.”
And while this is the first time Griffin is doing a fundraiser like this, he’s no stranger to talking to young people, including those at Boys Town Nevada about his struggles coming up and how he overcame them. His story is an inspiring one, and he isn’t shy about sharing it.
“Everyone comes from different walks of life, everyone’s gonna have challenges, and it’s up to you to make the most of it and embrace it,” said Griffin, who is coming off a June win over Manny Gamburyan. “Don’t be scared of who you are and where you come from. I’m sure a lot of kids are embarrassed by their situation, but everyone has their own things to deal with. We’re all different, no one’s perfect, and no one’s ‘normal,’ as they say. This is life, so you’ve got to deal with it as it comes.”
With three-straight defeats on his record and facing a potential release from the promotion, Xtreme Couture's Tyson Griffin knew his back was against the wall.
Dropping to 145 pounds for the first time in his UFC career and facing recent title challenger Manny Gamburyan, Griffin delivered a much-needed unanimous-decision victory.
The bout served as the featured contest of Sunday's UFC on Versus 4 preliminary card. The seven-fight preliminary portion, which took place at Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center, streamed live on Facebook and preceded the evening's Versus-broadcast main card.
Gamburyan proved the aggressor early, looking actively for the takedown while mixing in strikes, as well. Gamburyan latched onto a standing guillotine choke that Griffin ultimately escaped, but "Pitbull" remained in control of the action in the first frame.
Tyson Griffin fans starved to see the explosive fighter compete will get their wish after more than a 7 month break. Tyson Griffin and Manny Gamburyan will square off in Pittsburgh Pa Sunday June 26th. Tyson took a little extra time to prepare for a first UFC contest at Featherweight. Tyson has fought at this weight one other time professionally. September 10, 2005 when he knocked out then undefeated Uriah Faber.
After a storied run at the UFC’s lightweight division that included 5 Fight of the Nights and 1 Submission of the Night Award. Tyson has made the decision to drop to 145lbs. once the UFC included the weight class. Tyson’s preparation included the normal tough training camp but also included a strategy crafted by Tyson that utilized his years of dietary and fitness knowledge. This strategy has allowed Tyson too confidently compete at 145lbs. Tyson Griffin in one victory over Manny Gamburyan would emerge as a top featherweight contender. The fight can be seen world wide via the UFC Fan Facebook Page.....
The UFC continues to give fight fans every bout on their upcoming cards, the latest being UFC on Versus 4 with all preliminary fights expected to air on Facebook this Sunday night from Pittsburgh.
KO Reps initially confirmed the news to MMAWeekly.com on Monday as they have six total fighters on the card including four on the preliminary broadcast with Joe Lauzon, Charles Oliveira, Nik Lentz and Charlie Brenneman.
The UFC has since listed the fights as being shown on their Facebook page.
The bouts expected for the Facebook stream include Tyson Griffin vs Manny Gamburyan, Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez, Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton, Daniel Roberts vs. Rich Attonito, Charlie Brenneman vs. T.J. Grant, Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira, Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice and Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto.
To watch the fights, just go to the UFC’s official Facebook page and click the ‘like’ button. From there, click on the live video feed on the left hand side of the page, and the video feed will be available.
The prelims will kick off at 4:55pm ET on Sunday, June 26 from Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center.
