Grispi: ‘I Don’t Want To Retire Jens’

By Frank Curreri

For Josh Grispi, fear is an uncommon companion. But on a cold, November day last winter, he encountered the scare of a lifetime. The WEC featherweight contender was practicing takedowns with teammate Dan Lauzon, and it was Grispi’s turn to play “dummy.” Lauzon executed a hip toss, Grispi went airborne and came crashing down to the mat – headfirst.

Lying on the mat, Grispi gingerly tested his limbs.

“I could barely move my arms and I could barely turn my head around,” the lanky 20-year-old recalled. “It was one of the scariest things. I had so much pain. All I could think was, ‘Oh man, what’s going to happen? This is horrible. I can’t believe I just hurt my neck.’”

Lauzon stood over his teammate, profusely apologizing for the accident. Grispi soon regained feeling and movement of his arms, an encouraging sign that ruled out paralysis. He wanted to hop in his car and drive to a doctor’s office, but was too weak to do so. Someone else drove him to the hospital, where he underwent a battery of CAT scans and an MRI. The diagnosis: One bulging disc in Grispi’s neck and a second bulging disc in his upper back. The pride of Plympton, Mass., had also suffered a torn a pectoral muscle and swelling and fluid buildup in his lungs. Grispi, at the time weeks away from a WEC showdown against unbeaten Diego Nunes, was forced to withdraw from the bout. The promising featherweight, who is 12-1 and possesses one-punch knockout power, wondered how the injury would impact his MMA career.

“It stunk. I couldn’t even pick up a coffee cup,” he said. “Even walking my dog was hard. I was stuck at my house … freaking out sitting in a chair all day long thinking, ‘What can I do? This is horrible. I need to train.’ I’m really hyperactive – I have ADHD real bad and I have always trained since I was 13. I wanted to train so bad but I couldn’t do nothin’.”

Going to the gym to watch his teammates train only intensified Grispi’s urge to compete, which intensified his mental suffering at being unable to compete. Aside from engaging in regular physical therapy sessions, one of the Boston area’s most restless athletes was sidelined for eight weeks, forced to sit at home and try to entertain himself by watching The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and Will Ferrell movies like “Blades Of Glory,” “Anchorman” and “Stepbrothers.”

He returned to the gym in January, faster than expected. And what he lacked in conditioning, he compensated for with off-the-charts enthusiasm and gratitude to be back in the sport from which he had been deprived.

“My neck healed a lot quicker than I thought and all of the swelling went down,” Grispi said. “I still feel like I have the same amount of steam in my punches. My hands are probably a little bit faster now because I’m working on speed. I am actually better because I am so happy I can train. I’m doing every move that I can think of. I’m having a blast.”

If Grispi is indeed better than ever with his hands, that could spell big trouble for his opponents. Up next – Jens “Li’ Evil’ Pulver, a UFC legend with a wicked left hook. Though Jens has dropped five of his past six fights, prompting many to presume his skills are in a freefall, Grispi is expecting the “old” Jens to show up, the Jens who beat Caol Uno in 2001, the Jens who beat B.J. Penn in 2002, the Jens who choked out Cub Swanson in 2007. Teammates have told Grispi he will crush Pulver, as if it’s an easy fight.

“I hear that everywhere and I’m like, ‘You guys don’t understand, he’s fought Urijah Faber twice, Leonard Garcia, B.J. Penn, Joe Lauzon … those guys are all on winning streaks, and all of those guys are crazy fighters, you know what I mean, and are on top of their game. So I don’t know how guys can say that. Jens can still knock you out at any time. It doesn’t matter: It’s MMA and anybody can be knocked out or submitted at any time. So I don’t like when people say that about Jens because I think Jens is still a great fighter and he’s still dangerous. I am a big fan of his and I will never take that guy lightly.”

If he has his hand raised on June 7 in Sacramento, Grispi believes the victory will be bittersweet. He would be 3-0 in the WEC, and inch closer to a title shot. But critics, using the Pulver measuring stick, could also devalue his win.

“I bet everybody will say ‘Oh Jens is washed up’ or something stupid like that to put me back down a notch,” he predicted.

If Pulver loses, plenty of fans and pundits will hint it may be time for the 31-year-old to step aside and perhaps relocated to the broadcasting booth, where his keen insights, quick-thinking mind and likeable character make him a natural. From the way Pulver has been talking in recent months, a loss probably won’t make him hang up the 4-ounce gloves. But there’s always a chance.

“That sucks — I don’t want to retire him at all. I love the guy,” Grispi said. “I’ve been watching him since I was a kid. I don’t want to retire him. But if it’s between me and him I obviously am going to try and beat him up.”

Grispi says he won’t be overwhelmed by the moment and he intends to be his usual aggressive self against Pulver. He does intend to be more patient in his warm-ups, however, a byproduct of his spinal scare.

“You got to warm up and get your muscles working before you jump into anything,” he said. “I just need to be more cautious. Even just a simple throw, that can end your whole career or make it so you can’t walk or lose a limb or something. So I take it a little more cautious now.”

Though he feels close to 100 percent, Grispi said even if there were lingering effects from an injury, it wouldn’t matter come fight night.

“I feel like when I get in there, no matter what is hurting or going on inside my body, I’m going to try and get the other person on the other side of the cage,” he said. “It’s not something you can teach, it’s just how I am when I fight. No matter what, you will see the same Josh Grispi in that cage.”