A gatekeeper is someone who is not good enough to win the title, and is considered an obstacle for people who want to get to the top. Think of a gatekeeper as a test for what level people are at. Rich Franklin is the perfect example of a gatekeeper. Anderson Silva has his number in a fight so he can't get the title, yet he stops people from getting title shots against Silva by beating them. Good thing Franklin moved up to 205 since there is nothing worthwhile for him to do at 185.
rich is in a wierd possition hes not a gatekeeper because he dosnt lose at 185 to anyone other than the champ if anything he will always be a challenger. hes well above all but anderson. at 205 hes a contender rich is far from a gatkeeper. a gate keeper i would say is chris lytle. jmac. james irvin. thos are the names that are mediocer and wins over them usually mean your legit.
no chucks just washed up i dont think he beats another elite level top ten fighter the rest of his career.
When it comes to competition I am a perfect gatekeeper. I'm a complete obstacle. So yeah, it's anyone who probably won't win a title, but beating them could get the opponent a title shot, I guess.
Do you really think Franklin can beat Silva? Does anyone want to see Franklin-Silva 3 after the previous two fights? At 185 all Franklin can do until Silva leaves the UFC or weight division is to act as a gatekeeper for title shots vs Silva. If that wasn't the case, Franklin-Silva would have been coming up instad of Franklin moving to 205. You beat Franklin at 185 and you've got yourself a title shot almost guaranteed. I'm pretty certain Dana used Rich as a gatekeeper against Yushin Okami to prevent him from getting a title fight.
Not sure if Chuck is finished or if he can come back. Wouldn't call chuck a gatekeeper at this point since IMO you shouldn't move to title contention if you win over Chuck until he gets a few solid wins in a row. At the same time he can't serve as a gatekeeper for entry into the UFC since the level Lidell is currently at as a fighter is rather unknown. Beating a gatekeeper gives you a certain status/ranking and in Rich Franklins case, beating him would make you top contender at 185. Loosing to Franklin pushes you down the ladder again even if Franklin most likely will never get another title shot at 185 as long as Anderson Silva holds the belt.
Franklin is not a gatekeeper because he's the second best man in that division. A gatekeeper is good enough to keep the non-contenders out but not good enough to keep the contenders out. Franklin is good enough to keep them all out. Franklin is better than the contenders, but one step behind the champion. Someone mentioned Chris Lytle earlier. I think he's a good example of a gatekeeper. Heath Herring even. Guys that are journeyman fighters that can keep the pretenders at bay but aren't good enough to really contend (and no, I don't consider Heath's fight against a shot Nog a big push into contention).
If you wanna see a gate keeper just search for Chris Leben. THAT is a definition of gate keeper. Though right now he is sliding down to be something less.
No franklin is not a gatekeeper at all. he is a top level contender. does this mean that everybody who silva beats is a gate keeper? silva has everybodys number not just Rich's.
