Beyond the Octagon

Sometimes, it's hard to tell whether Ultimate Fighting Championship star Forrest Griffin is joking or being serious, because his vocal tone doesn't change either way. With that in mind: He tells me he's planning his eventual exit from the sport.

He's thinking of A) retiring to Idaho or the Philippines, or B) staying in Las Vegas to pursue being a part-time cop.

"I just want to make my money and disappear," he says.

"My body's got another five years. In the financial breakdown, I need approximately eight fights to get the amount of money I need to disappear comfortably forever. I've done the research on the financial inflation. I'm not too bad with money. I had two business classes (at the University of Georgia). So I've got that going for me."

He likes living in Vegas and feeling its heat. But he doesn't do Strip shows or nightclubs.

"I watch a lot of movies. I eat nice dinners -- me and the wife. I tell you, I don't do that much. And I like not doing much. It works for me. I'm not into anything. I'm like this crazy little hermit. If I had more money, I'd live out in the middle of nowhere" -- for instance, his own private Idaho.

If he leaves Vegas, what will he miss?

"I'll miss Albertsons, because they're awesome. Like: 'What do you want to promote?' 'Well, I really like the grocery store down the street. It's got everything. You just go in there and they have it. Like, food. Awesome.' "

If he stays in Vegas, he'd like to get SWAT certified and certified in special weapons, tactics and advanced training. He was working as an officer in the Atlanta area, but quit to fight full time. His career track back then was much different.

"I started out as a nursing major. I had calculus and chemistry the same semester, and that's when I discovered my passion for political justice. I was like, 'Oh, political science! That's a lot better than chemistry, because chemistry is (expletive) hard.' ''

Once, during a police job interview, he laid out his reasons for being a cop: to help people, even if it was arresting them "for doing something stupid," or assisting them with property damage reports so they could get reimbursed. But he also wanted to carry a gun, drive fast and dig on free coffee.

There is a difference between how Griffin could take down a UFC opponent and how he could take down a criminal suspect.

"In (mixed martial arts), you can't stomp people in the face. Sometimes, you have a weird spot on the ground, and you're like, 'Man, I could really knee this guy in the head. That's a move. I should do that.' "

Being a cop is really stressful, he says. Yet, he finds UFC more daunting.

"I remember going to a 'shots fired' call, and not being the least bit scared. The most scary thing about going to a shooting in progress -- shots fired -- was not getting there in time, because I sucked at directions, getting lost on the way.

"But you don't even have time to think about it. And then later, you think, '(Expletive) man, somebody coulda shot my ass.'

"Whereas in fighting, you sit in the back and you're like, 'I'm gonna go fight somebody in front of a lot of (expletive) people.' "

Doug Elfman's column appears Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. E-mail him at delfman@ reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.