Maybe/Maybe not, but I'm not entirely sure it's the case for the fighters mentioned. Jose is an aging fighter in a division that has caught up with him. Aldo beat a surging Edgar post USADA, and that performance showed Aldo was clearly at a higher level than his then immediate contenders. Anderson? Failed twice. Anderson performed surprisingly well, for me, against Cormier post USADA. That performance makes me think the ability was real. This one is hard for me. I like Anderson Silva, but rumors have circled since the infamous box of needles appeared in a photo of Anderson's home roughly a decade ago. Weidman looked like a boss when he dethroned Silva. Weidmdan definitely looked human against Machida and Belfort Pre-USADA. I think too much was expected of Weidman after this Silva wins, and he never has been as good as the hype that followed. That said...Weidman has been competitive in every one of his losses and may fight his way back to the top of the division. Rockhold won arguably his biggest win, against Weidman, post USADA. Rockhold was ko'd by Bisping, but I feel that was due to poor strategy and not a drop in physical capability. Rockhold is better than Bisping every but outside of boxing range, and he elected to engage Bisping in a boxing match. RDA may have seemed off going 1-2 immediately after USADA, but has since gone 4-1 in a higher weight class. RDA, for me, has put to rest any questions I had about cheating and appears to have a type of opponent he struggles against. Covingtion, Ferguson and Alvarez have better wrestling games and can avoid Dos Anjos' smothering top game.
You made a lot of sense here. I think a slide in fight IQ has plagued Weidman since the two fights with Silva. In his run to the title he was a guy who had an inspired blend of grappling and striking. And within the grappling meta he combined a strong bjj top game with his wrestling credentials. He always followed a very clear game plan and it always paid off spectacularly. But against Machida he had some serious lapses in focus and he foolishly traded punches with Vitor. He was fortunate that non-TRT Vitor only had 90 seconds of ammunition. His poor fight iq in that fight presaged his eventual losing streak. Matt Brown is another guy I wonder about in terms of USADA. He did go on a slide around that time, but I wonder how much of that is chalked up to a hard career catching up with him. There were definitely rumors about him back in the day though...
That is a fair point or two that you raised there. Especially with the Aldo and Anderson being aged. It's the Weidman/Rockhold stuff that is troublesome
Fair point, I think the red flag for me personally was how fast RDA turned the corner from contender to Champ though
In a generic case I would agree, but in this case I don't, because I've been pretty much fascinated by RDA since he beat Ben Henderson so emphatically. I spent a lot of time trying to figured out that career turnaround, and when he went on to beat Pettis more information about that transformation emerged. RDA himself attributes most of the change to visiting Frankie Edgar and seeing how meticulously Frankie prepared for battle. It made RDA completely rearrange his approach to the sport, masterminded by a collaboration with Werdum and Cardiero. The second factor was his alliance with Nic Curson. Check out Curson's appearance on Rogan's podcast for full details. RDA definitely looks like a guy who is suspect, but his performances are commensurate with pre-USADA. Edson Barboza is another guy who I would typically raise an eyebrow at based on physique, but his level of performance has been basically stable as well: in short, demolishing very good fighters like Dariush while losing to the top guys. Compare that to Werdum, who looked differnet physiqually and was far less assertive after USADA. Ditto for Alistair, Vitor, and Mir. Glover Texiera is iffy as well. Throw in Tibau, Alves, and Erick Silva.