Questions remain over Forrest Griffin's hand injury [UPDATE Part II]

News reports surfaced today concerning Forrest Griffins hand injury. It is now apparent that the injury was worse then previously described. Griffin will be sidelined until the fall at the earliest instead of the June date previously reported. 

There are still some unanswered questions though. When did the break occur? Did Griffin fight through the injury causing more damage? Was his corner aware his hand was broken? Does Rashad Evans have a metal plate in his jaw? Personally I didn't see any sudden difference in Griffin's fighting style during the fight, that is, until Evans took him down in the third round. WKR will watch the fight again and try to figure out when the injury occurred and update accordingly. 

[UPDATE]

After reviewing the fight (viewed here) several of the aforementioned questions are answered. It appears that Griffin did not injury the hand in the 1st or 3rd rounds. During the first round Forrest never landed a punch that appears to do enough damage to cause a broken hand. Griffin has never been known for his power. Also the footage of the corner gives the impression that everything is okay. It is also safe to conclude that the injury didn't occur in the third round, due to Forrest being on his back for the majority of that round. This leaves round two as the most likely time of injury.

The most obvious candidate, for the injury punch, is when Forrest lands a right hook at the three minutes fifty six second mark. This punch directly preluded the Thai clinch and subsequent Michael Jackson impersonation by Rashad. Also following this punch Forrest throws few right hand punches, relying more on left jabs followed by kicks. Forrest does attempt a few right handed punches but they are ineffective at best; that is until the fifteen second mark of the round two, where Griffin lands a right hand superman punch. 

Therefore it appears that the initial break occurred early in round two, with more damage being done to the hand at the very end of the round. Still everything appears alright in Griffin's corner and he made no mention of a potential injury in the post fight interview.

[Update Part II]

The reports from The Sun, that Forrest Griffin will miss most of 2009, are unfounded according to MMAWeekly.com. Griffin is still recovering from a hand break suffered in his title defense and hopes to return in the summer of 2009. WKR stands by the analysis of the fight featured above, though the severity of the injury is not accurate.