Fedor surely cant drop 3 spots because his fight got cancelled, thats a bit harsh. I thought your pre UFC 101 list was bang on, thats probably my list (pre & post UFC 101) tho I expect Shogun to replace Machida once he`s done with him.
Aye, was thinkin that today - it was a little harsh Still have to put Anderson and GSP over Fedor - based on activity/recent resume Cant possibly see how anyone can argue with that Im as bad a Fedor nuthugger as the next man, but come on
Why's that? The top 4 really pick themselves, then Brown and Machida are just about as obvious and not quite in with the top 4. The bottom 4 is a tossup in a lot of ways.
Yeah its just some of the bottom four i disagree with but as you say in some respects thats a toss up so it could be down to just personal choice.
I agree with what you say on Penn, he showed a warriors heart in stepping up to give the fans a dream fight vs the undisputed WWT no1, the champion, GSP, Georges wouldnt do any better vs the Spider likely... then what, GSP drops down the POUND FOR POUND table, Penn is the greatest LWT in history bar none, that is undisputable IMO, he just choked out an excellent Kenny Florian who was in the form of his life going into the fight. Penn is a born fighter & warrior, he`s not afraid to please his fans & he has the balls & skills to back it up.
I know GSP has avenged the Serra loss but its still fairly recent and leaves a ugly vision in my head, when has Machida been in trouble like that and caught tapping ? Silva to me isnt as well rounded as Machida his wrestling game leaves him on his back quite a bit and IMO Machida is flawless the best fighter in the world just Fedors 6 year run kinda forces him into number 1. Although honestly I think the top 4 could go anyway.
Great point on Machida, the man is an Ox. The way he swatted both Rashad and Thiago like they were lightweights was a sight. Hes got a very strong base, although no one has consistently tried..I have a feeling the man cant be taken down. For me as a fighter he is the best but on paper he needs to defeat a couple of more contenders. Silva being on his back really aint that a big deal if he can stall you in his guard (which is excellent). The reason its hard for me to assess a Silva/Machida match is because I think Silvas striking is superior, I dont think anyone can defend it. I agree on the GSP assessment, as dominant as he is..He is similar to Fedor in a way that he can be vulnerable. Fitch bruised him up abit. In the context of their respective weightclasses, Id put BJ ahead of him just because in 155, as with the case with Florian..you just cant see Florian winning...While with the Alves fight...it was still intriguing "what if Alves connects with the kicks?"
Yeah im pretty sure Machida cant be took down or atleast not more then once. I remember before he fought Tito I said if Tito can get his hands on him he has a chance because Tito is probablly the stronger man. Well 1st round Tito gets a clinch then it takes no effort for Machida to get underhooks and hit a beautiful throw on Tito into side control, trap and arm and rain down shots but the buzzer went off. Look at them standing sweeps he hit on Thiago Silva thats masterful stuff. His standup grappling is outstanding. Silva can stall you on the ground but not always go look at the Travis Lutter fight he was mounted and in some serious trouble. What if Demian Maia where mounting him ? Its not a spot he needs to be in.
Hmmmm well Hendo couldnt do nothing with Silva on the ground. Silva just wrapped his limbs around him like a spider and even Hendo could do nothing Agree about Machida being incredibly hard to take down Silva could probably explode on him and knock him down, but cant really think of any others (not seen much of Shogun so cant comment)
I think we may never see Silva mounted again like the Lutter fight. That was the wakeup fight for Silva and then you started hearing his serious BJJ sessions with the Nogs and other former BTT guys. Im not quite sure he was in serious trouble against Lutter, he was never hurt just out of position. I think the Maia fight will go the way of Leites fight. Leites is better than Travis and you cant even compare the two fights anymore. Silva has improved tremendously on the ground..that was 3 years ago..Silvas a pro, he knows what he needs. Then again if Maia gets on top, anything can happen but if Maia being on top cannot do anything to Silva..Silva has to be the greatest ever.
Machida certainly does look very hard to take down; would have been interesting for Rashad to try more, although I don't really think he is the right guy to do it; Machida didn't respect his striking at all. Rashad also seems to really prefer the double or single leg shot, which I'm not sure is the way to get him down. I think it will take somebody who offers something standing to Machida, which is no easy task, or somebody a little more varied and creative with their takedowns. One guy who I posted about possibly being the guy would be Arona, he has some varied and relentless takedowns with great power, and great technique thanks to Gohlar. Also Arona is very good at pulling guard, watch his fight with Rampage; Rampage wanted to avoid the ground like crazy, is very strong, and wanted out of Arona's guard, but couldn't do it until the slam. Arona also has nasty leg kicks which might just really hurt Machida who puts a lot of weight on his lead leg. I've head Vera mentioned, he does have very good striking, a wide variety of takedowns due to his folkstyke and Greco-roman background. I have my doubts about the overall quality of Vera, but his fight at 205 looked like a huge improvement, even if the competition wasn't great. Rampage certainly has great power and better technique than most mma strikers, but I think he would go out there and basically do what Rashad did and try to strike with a better striker who has been doing it his whole life. Rampage has immensenly powerful takedowns/slams, and showed decent technical ability as well against Hendo, but a lot of that may have been size; Hendo also just gets taken down far more then his wrestling would lead you to think. Babalu is another interesting option, his striking is not really that good, but he has been able to get by with it against better strikers. I think what Babalu offers is good strength/power, very good and varied technical takedowns, the willingness and ability to pull guard in lieu of a takedown, and most importantly he can finish a fight very quickly on the ground, from top or bottom, which could be crucial.
