UFC 153 October

Anderson Silva is fighting Stephan Bonnar and i’m like WTF why is silva fighting bonnar?
it’s not like he needs the money…do like that they both stepped up, still odd choice
for a fight.

Bonnar has been looking for a way to retire for a while, maybe this big fight will be it! and Silva is just showing the people that he is better then jones by helpin the ufc

IDK what the fuck it is with the UFC.

Look, Silva is obviously, a fantastic fighter. But I can’t help but feel he’s practically been given fights that pose very little threat to him.

To date since his arrival to the UFC, Sonnen is the ONLY fighter who matches up well with Silva and provided a legitimate threat to him.

Every other fight has been a gimme fight for Silva. This is no different, the UFC seems to love picking guys who are going to charge forward and get countered to smithereens.

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:
IDK what the fuck it is with the UFC.

Look, Silva is obviously, a fantastic fighter. But I can’t help but feel he’s practically been given fights that pose very little threat to him.

To date since his arrival to the UFC, Sonnen is the ONLY fighter who matches up well with Silva and provided a legitimate threat to him.

Every other fight has been a gimme fight for Silva. This is no different, the UFC seems to love picking guys who are going to charge forward and get countered to smithereens. [/quote]

Who would be a good fight for Silva?

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:
IDK what the fuck it is with the UFC.

Look, Silva is obviously, a fantastic fighter. But I can’t help but feel he’s practically been given fights that pose very little threat to him.

To date since his arrival to the UFC, Sonnen is the ONLY fighter who matches up well with Silva and provided a legitimate threat to him.

Every other fight has been a gimme fight for Silva. This is no different, the UFC seems to love picking guys who are going to charge forward and get countered to smithereens. [/quote]

Sigh. Not trying to single you out, but the “Sonnen threatens Silva” talk is ridiculous. Sonnen caught Silva LITERALLY SLIPPING in their first fight, then hugged an overly amped Silva in rd 1 of their second bout. As soon as Silva calmed down, Sonnen was fucked. Couldn’t do anything but throw a hail mary spinning elbow and wait for the end. I still think Belfort has a chance, but there honestly isn’t anyone else at 185 who has a shot. I’d like to see him take on Jones, but personally don’t think the UFC is ready for their new champ to get embarrassed. Silva is truly in a class of his own. He’ll be unbeatable 'til age catches up with him.

Despite my having thought the idea was dead, there is renewed talk of GSP and Silva meeting at 180lbs. Georges is taking it as next assignment is next, think about future opponents later, but was in an interview talking a bit about it.

Silva said at a press conference that he doesn’t want to go outside 185lbs, his preferred range, but now this. Really, never mind Bonnar, he ought to go for jones, who himself should go for a heavyweight tilt what with the cutting necessary for 205lbs out of a guy who is 6’ 4".

First though, Gustaffson needs to be tested whenever he gets better before these hypothetical ideas.

Now that I mentioned Gustaffson, I am reminded I haven’t heard of Vladimir Matyushenko on a while. Is he still in the UFC?

[quote]DeadKong wrote:
Now that I mentioned Gustaffson, I am reminded I haven’t heard of Vladimir Matyushenko on a while. Is he still in the UFC?[/quote]

He cleans the toilets at Zuffa’s HQ.

As I said when the UFC’s competitors went down one at a time, a UFC monopoly is a bad thing. When that happens you get fights like Silva/Bonnar. And the suckers will line-up to pay for just about anything as they are hungry for action.

There are many problems with the UFC controlling virtually all of the top fighters. Bad match ups is only one of them. Less frequent fights, and fighters not being paid on the same level with other pro athletes.

I’ll end here, suffice it to say that Dana White is a money grubbing scum bag…and those are his good qualities!

Before I write what I’m about to write, I should say that in my mind there’s no doubt that Silva is on of the greatest fighters in MMA all time, and I’d put him at #2.

That said, I feel like he’s dominated one of the weakest divisions the UFC has. I think other than heavyweight, middleweight IS the weakest, and heavyweight is decent now, so middleweight might actually be the worst.

Compare the caliber of opponents Anderson has faced vs. the guys GSP has fought in winning or defending their titles. It’s not even close:

GSP: Matt Hughes (2 wins), BJ Penn (2 wins), Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck (2 wins), Jake Shields.

Silva: Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin (2 wins), Chael Sonnen (2 wins), Vitor Belfort.

Jon Jones has only had his belt for a year, but his wins over Shogun, Machida, Rampage (in great shape), and Rashad Evans are more impressive than any four wins that Anderson has had in the UFC. And aside from round one against Machida, Jones has been as dominant as Anderson has.

You can’t deny Anderson’s skill, and on that alone he is top 3 all time. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t benefited from a more shallow division than what GSP has at welterweight and what Jon Jones has at light heavyweight.

[quote]DN90 wrote:
Before I write what I’m about to write, I should say that in my mind there’s no doubt that Silva is on of the greatest fighters in MMA all time, and I’d put him at #2.

That said, I feel like he’s dominated one of the weakest divisions the UFC has. I think other than heavyweight, middleweight IS the weakest, and heavyweight is decent now, so middleweight might actually be the worst.

Compare the caliber of opponents Anderson has faced vs. the guys GSP has fought in winning or defending their titles. It’s not even close:

GSP: Matt Hughes (2 wins), BJ Penn (2 wins), Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck (2 wins), Jake Shields.

Silva: Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin (2 wins), Chael Sonnen (2 wins), Vitor Belfort.

Jon Jones has only had his belt for a year, but his wins over Shogun, Machida, Rampage (in great shape), and Rashad Evans are more impressive than any four wins that Anderson has had in the UFC. And aside from round one against Machida, Jones has been as dominant as Anderson has.

You can’t deny Anderson’s skill, and on that alone he is top 3 all time. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t benefited from a more shallow division than what GSP has at welterweight and what Jon Jones has at light heavyweight. [/quote]

And I could flip your argument and say that Jones beat all those dudes WAY past their prime [excluding maybe Machida] and that the guys Silva has beaten that you listed seemed unstoppable [save Sonnen] until Silva dismantled them. Every time someone comes along that people think can challenge Silva, he DESTROYS them, usually in quick, highlight reel fashion. He’s easily the 2nd best MMA fighter of all time, and is fast on his way to the top spot.

On topic - odd match to me as I don’t ever remember Bonnar being that much of a Champion contender

Off topic - Many UFC title fights have been relatively boring for a couple of years at least

also - I can appreciate the champion in any sport as the best of their time-frame, as it is hard to rise to the top and one can’t control their competition or lack thereof

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

And I could flip your argument and say that Jones beat all those dudes WAY past their prime [excluding maybe Machida] and that the guys Silva has beaten that you listed seemed unstoppable [save Sonnen] until Silva dismantled them. Every time someone comes along that people think can challenge Silva, he DESTROYS them, usually in quick, highlight reel fashion. He’s easily the 2nd best MMA fighter of all time, and is fast on his way to the top spot.[/quote]

Fair points, I guess it’s somewhat subjective.

I think it’d be a big stretch to say Rashad Evans is way past his prime, though. And that still leaves GSP’s title defenses, which are better.

Agreed on the last point. If Silva gets a couple more wins, especially if he gets one over GSP or Weidman, he’s a lock GOAT. GSP for obvious reasons, but Weidman too since the main criticism of Anderson is that he’s avoided a lot of top level wrestlers outside of Hendo and Chael.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
the guys Silva has beaten that you listed seemed unstoppable [save Sonnen] until Silva dismantled them. Every time someone comes along that people think can challenge Silva, he DESTROYS them, usually in quick, highlight reel fashion. He’s easily the 2nd best MMA fighter of all time, and is fast on his way to the top spot.[/quote]

I agree with this.

If the 185 division seems weak, it is because Anderson Silva wrecked it. I would also add that Nate Marquardt was pretty damn well thought of entering the Silva fight.

Really, Silva has fought a bunch of guys that “had the tools to beat him”.

“Better” grapplers - Sakurai, Newton, Horn, Lutter, Leites, Maia, Hendo, Sonnen

“Tough”/bigger fighters - Hendo, Franklin, Griffin

“Devastating” strikers - Hendo, Belfort

The fact he is expected to walk through a mid-level light heavyweight says a lot.

Regards,

Robert A

[quote]DN90 wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

And I could flip your argument and say that Jones beat all those dudes WAY past their prime [excluding maybe Machida] and that the guys Silva has beaten that you listed seemed unstoppable [save Sonnen] until Silva dismantled them. Every time someone comes along that people think can challenge Silva, he DESTROYS them, usually in quick, highlight reel fashion. He’s easily the 2nd best MMA fighter of all time, and is fast on his way to the top spot.[/quote]

Fair points, I guess it’s somewhat subjective.

I think it’d be a big stretch to say Rashad Evans is way past his prime, though. And that still leaves GSP’s title defenses, which are better.

Agreed on the last point. If Silva gets a couple more wins, especially if he gets one over GSP or Weidman, he’s a lock GOAT. GSP for obvious reasons, but Weidman too since the main criticism of Anderson is that he’s avoided a lot of top level wrestlers outside of Hendo and Chael.[/quote]

Agreed on Evans, though he hasn’t been the same since he got ko’d (zoning out on who got him). I honestly don’t see GSP standing a chance. In the context of this matchup, he’s a smaller Sonnen. He just doesn’t have the tools (with the size difference) to make it competitive.

[quote]Robert A wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
the guys Silva has beaten that you listed seemed unstoppable [save Sonnen] until Silva dismantled them. Every time someone comes along that people think can challenge Silva, he DESTROYS them, usually in quick, highlight reel fashion. He’s easily the 2nd best MMA fighter of all time, and is fast on his way to the top spot.[/quote]

I agree with this.

If the 185 division seems weak, it is because Anderson Silva wrecked it. I would also add that Nate Marquardt was pretty damn well thought of entering the Silva fight.

Really, Silva has fought a bunch of guys that “had the tools to beat him”.

“Better” grapplers - Sakurai, Newton, Horn, Lutter, Leites, Maia, Hendo, Sonnen

“Tough”/bigger fighters - Hendo, Franklin, Griffin

“Devastating” strikers - Hendo, Belfort

The fact he is expected to walk through a mid-level light heavyweight says a lot.

Regards,

Robert A[/quote]

Completely forgot about Marquardt. He was supposed to be the heir to the throne, and it took Silva less than a round to derail that train. I do think that out of anyone out there, Belfort has the best shot.

I like Bonnar, he is a tough dude, but he is going to get destroyed!