The arrival of Marcelo Garcia in New York in 2006 proved to be a turning point in Griffiths' competitive development. Training extensively alongside one of the sport's most celebrated grapplers sharpened his technical game and raised his competitive ceiling considerably. The results spoke for themselves: in 2007, Griffiths claimed his most significant title to that point, winning the Pan American Championship at brown belt — a performance widely attributed in part to the elite training environment Garcia helped cultivate at Studio-X.
The harmony at Studio-X, however, came to an abrupt end later that year. When Garcia's contract came up for renewal in October 2007, the academy's ownership and Garcia failed to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement. Fabio Clemente chose to maintain his alliance with Garcia, and both departed the gym. Griffiths, a close friend of the Studio-X co-owner, elected to remain with the academy in the wake of the split.
The situation escalated sharply on November 19, 2007, when Studio-X's ownership filed a lawsuit at the New York Civil Supreme Court against Clemente in the form of a restraining order. The move drew widespread condemnation across BJJ internet forums of the era, with many in the community alleging it was a calculated effort to threaten Garcia's U.S. work visa status — a concern that carried genuine weight given his immigration standing. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed as frivolous, but the controversy left a lasting impression on the broader BJJ community's memory of that period.
Amid the fallout, Griffiths received his black belt from Kenny Florian in December 2007 — just weeks after the dispute reached its peak — marking a significant milestone even as the reverberations from the Studio-X affair continued to be felt across the sport.