L'il Nog - leaving Machida and Silva out, which ufc lhw's would you back to beat him?

Shogun already beat lil Nog 5 yrs ago. But if they fought again it might be a competitive fight again, with the edge to Shogun. He's regained old form and IMO is the best 205er. He'll prove this once again when he beats Machida for a 2nd time but that's another story.

lil Nog vs Evans is a 50-50 fight, but I think NOG would show Evans what a real black belt looks like and expose Evans ground game IMO. Renzo Gracie was 100% correct when recently referencing to Evans "black belt" by saying "Evans earned it in the locker room".

lil Nog vs Rampage is also a good fight. Edge to Rampage, he might stop Nog. I can see him doing it with one of his hooks. Probably off a counter.

lil Nog vs Franklin is another good fight. Edge to Nog, he may sub Franklin, but Rich is not to be taken lightly. He did beat Wand and fought a close fight with Henderson. Rich is a work horse, he'll definately give lil Nog a hard time. lil Nog doesn't have the style advantage over Franklin like Spider did, and doesn't possess the one punch wonder like Belfort. Franklin would be a live wire.

lil Nog vs Couture is a little interesting. It may resemble Couture vs big Nog a little bit. 50-50 I think. I favor lil Nog. I don't know if he'll outclass Randy on the ground like big Nog did but I think lil Nog is a better grappler. Could be good though.

lil Nog vs Vera is a better fight than people may expect. Vera is VERY dangerous on the feet and can possibly clip him, but Nog can also potentially sub him. However Vera has a Greco backround so if Nog can't take him down, he's gonna be forced to stand. Very good fight. I'd favor Vera.

 

I think everyone at 205 could beat everyone. Packed division. Great to see who comes out on top. Best 205'er ever can be established.

 

Rua - Close fight last time and a great fight. Id always favor Rua over Lil Nog but I think on any given night Lil Nog could beat him.

Rashad - Lil Nog by stoppage he is a much better boxer and is a much better grappler. Rashad has always been very overatted, his chin is suspect at best and he rarely throws punches.

Rampage - I think Rampage could win this by KO. Lil Nog will have a difficult time taking it to the ground and standing ill always favor Rampage in the exchanges, Sokoudjou KOed Lil Nog and im sure Rampage could and would.

Franklin - Franklin would be competitive but I cant give him any real advantage in any area. Id lean towards Nogueira by a decision but possibly a knockout.

Couture - This one is tough, Couture was competitive by Big Nog until the KDs. Couture will be the same size as Lil Nog so will he handle punches better ? Id favor Nogueira though I think he has crisper standup and will have a signifcant advantage on the ground.

Vera - I like Nogueira here simply due to a higher workrate. Vera only throws when there is a big opening and IMO that loses him fights.

 

I actually quite like Rashad's chances if he goes in with the mindset to outwrestle him.

 

Do you think Rashad can do enough on the ground though ? He passed Thiagos guard like it was nothing but from what ive seen Lil Nog is a better BJJ fighter and has a much better bottom game.

 

Rashads not shown his BJJ game but with now being a blackbelt I think he is well versed in avoiding subs. Obviously the Nogs are elite bjj guys but I think Evans might be able to avoid the subs but maintain control.

 

It would be a challenge, but I think if he could do what Fedor did to big Nog in their third fight and keep getting a takedown, doing a little work, and then getting back up he could pull it off.

 

I think I agree with all your predictions tho I might lean towards Couture over lil Nog as opposed to vice versa.

I think everyone can beat everyone on any given day at 205 lbs tho, I rank Rua & Machida as the top 2 (Rua as no1) & they should be firm favourites over the rest except maybe Anderson but he hasnt been there that long, I`ll need to see more of him at 205.... if he handles the weight fine Id favour him over even Machida in a close one... Id favour Rua over both of them tho.