My point is simple. None of ufc's divisions have the equivalent of a Nadal vs Federer or Novak vs Federer type of competition. In other words , None of UFC's current champions have a dangerous competition. Anderson , Gsp , Jones , Junior..They don't have a legit nemesis. There maybe an exception in the Lightweight division. (because of guys like Benson , Edgar). And i guess the featherweight and bantamweight divisions aren't that bad. But when you look at their champs , none of them have a dangerous nemesis. Prime Shogun had (as stupid as it sounds...Marc Coleman , Rogerio) Matt Hughes had Dennis Hallman , St Pierre & Penn... Penn had Edgar , St Pierre... In his prime, Wanderlei had Jackson ,Arona & yes , even Yoshida In Nogueira's prime , he had Fedor (and i'd even add Rodriguez , especially when you take a closer look at their fights in adcc & pride) But i'd go as far as saying that even these guys...weren't the equivalent of a federer/Nadal or Novak/nadal , Novak/federer type of competition. But it's as close as it gets. Styles make fights. And right now , there's nobody in ufc's divisions to counterbalance the dominance of their champions. Not because their champs are untouchable fighting gods , but because a majority of the competition , including their contenders , are perfect (stylistically) for their champs. Now , i know that what i'm saying is "dog****" and doesn't make any sense. But it makes sense to me. :smoke ... The way i see it , the closest thing that comes to a "nemesis" can be found in Benson's division for the time being. (because of Edgar). When i see Anderson dancing around and taunting like crazy , i don't see a genius at work. But a bored as **** champion. If Anderson had his "Nadal"...or if Junior dos santos had his "Novak"...He'd either end his fights by split decisions or simply lose. And maybe win the belt back in the rematch or wait for another contender to beat the new champ...and hope to be stylistically compatible with the new guy. The same goes with GSP. And Jones. And Fedor had the same problem near the end of his career. I'd argue that Fedor was in a way , the "nadal" of Prime Nogueira. Fedor's potential nemesis could've been Arona. Prime Filipovic beat him up pretty bad (even though he clearly won by ud). But when i think of Fedor , i'm reminded of a quote i recently heard in the Dark knight rises. When Bane goes to Batman: "victory has defeated you"... In a way , victory is the enemy when you get used to it all the time. That's what almost happened to anderson vs Sonnen in their first fight. (it was a warning). Luckily , sonnen is a choker. (on roids , who never should've had the opportunity to have a rematch against Silva). But Dana didn't fire his ass because he knows as much as any fan that sonnen's wrestling is enough to give problems to Silva. + the WWE style bull**** is perfect for the ratings. (that's why he hired Brock Lesnar in the first place. + he physically looked the part and already had a huge fanbase). Victory is the enemy of all top fighters. It happened to tyson vs Douglas , to Lennox vs Rahman. To Fedor vs Werdum. (a guy who also submitted his brother alexander)...
Speaking of which , anderson cuts weight to fight at 185. But maybe he'd do great as a LHW too. Maybe he'd beat Jones , Shogun , Machida...Or maybe he'd get killed. It surely would be interesting though. But why would i try to even post in that other thread since what i'm saying in this thread is labeled as "dog****" anyway ? ... Tell you what , it may be "dog****" but i'm sticking to it ! :yep
Belfort is the most hot & cold fighter I`ve ever seen in all my years of watching MMA, normally I`m not a fan of such inconsistency but when Vitor Belfort is ON, he is without doubt one of the most exciting fighters ever to watch. His performances in some of his biggest fights have been nothing short of weak (Anderson, Sakuraba, Overeem & Henderson come to mind)... on the other hand if the Belfort that showed up vs Wanderlei, Lindland & Franklin shows up we could be in for a real treat... & from a personal point of view, hopefully a devastating KO upset (I won`t be putting money on that but I will definitely be rooting for it.)
Junior's been champion for less than a year. He's fought Cain once and faces a rematch. He has never fought Cormier or Overeem. And you're crying because he doesn't have a "Novak" (whatever that is). Bizarre.
I have no idea what your criteria is here... at all. So the mid-2000s were better because of the rivalries listed above... And just now is inferior because there are no such rivalries involving any of the champions... What is the criteria for what consitutes a rivalry though? Your examples don't make any sense. - How can Hughes have "had GSP", while you moan about GSP not having any rivals? If Hughes had GSP, didn't GSP also have Hughes? GSP beat him 2-1, but by your criteria do you need to lose the rivalry to have "had" the rivalry? GSP is an incumbent champion who did have a great rival in his championship career, but does he need to have one at all times during his reign to satisfy you? Condit or Diaz or Hendricks could easily become the guy he splits anothetr trilogy with, but will we wait til that actually happens again before we say MMA is in a good state? So MMA is weak when the champion is not involved in a win-loss series with someone, and strong when he is? - How did Wanderlei "have" Jackson? He beat the living **** out of Rampage twice when he was in his prime. How does that constitute a rivalry, but Silva vs Sonnen doesn't, or Cruz vs Faber doesn't? I could continue, but I won't... :dead
What i mean by that "bizarre" reference is that he's likely to keep his belt for a very long time. But it's not just Junior. The same goes for many of ufc's divisions
Because each fighter has a rival. Gsp used to be Matt Hughes' rival. And so was Hallman & Penn. But ever since gsp has upped his game , it is now he , who needs a serious rival...a Nemesis. It makes sense to me . No , just the rivalries. (were more interesting). But i think mma is still as interesting as it was before. (Though i prefer pride's format instead of ufc's production but that's an entirely different issue).. But i can think of great fights in today's era. Just recently , Shogun vs Henderson for ex. Well , if i had to select a correct order , i'd say : Arona Yoshida & Jackson. He did beat Jackson twice. but Wandy was knocked down on several occasions in the rematch. Yeah..i guess it's useless to count their third fight in the ufc since wandy is not the same anymore. Side note: i personally think Yoshida should've won their 2nd fight. Sonnen is one of the biggest choker in ufc (or maybe mma) history though. (Plus he was found guilty of taking roids.) It's kinda sad to think that this guy is anderson's rival. But maybe i wasn't clear enough in my previous message. Don't forget this part: I don't think ANY era gets close to a "nadal/novak/federer" type of competition in mma. Maybe one day.
I don't think you're talking nonsense. and I'm sure you have other qualities about yourself. Keep your chin up.
