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Originally Posted by jrube
Now are these two fighters equal in MMA skill, cardio, strength? I would say in their respective weight classes... yes!
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I would catagorically say no. They aren't.
It was very nice to see the emergence of GSP's jab, but that's not fixing all the holes in his game. Silva can end the fight standing or on the ground, from either submissions or strikes. GSP can end the fight on the ground. That's not even remotely equal.
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Originally Posted by jrube
So does GSP have a real chance to beat Silva at 185lbs? Not a punchers chance, but a real legit chance at winning this fight? Or does GSP's performance suffer fighting at a heavier weight? Would GSP still be quick enough to get those take downs to control the fight? Or would the long arms and missile like strikes of Silva be too much for GSP to deal with?
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I think it's important to realize that GSP has never fought an elite fighter who is bigger than him. He's never fought a focused and in-shape elite striker. He'd be facing both of them combined in Anderson.
Anderson has dismantled big strikers, BJJ experts and better grapplers than GSP. Georges simply has nothing to offer that he hasn't seen before.
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Originally Posted by Steve88
i love gsp i really do but... silva is just such a horrible fucking matchup for him
gsp needs to stay at 170 and give up the moving weight classes garbage or i'll have a goddamn stroke when he gets completely dismantled by silva
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Great post. I also think people are overlooking the depth in the WW division. There are a ton of great tests left at 170; GSP hasn't even [successfully] defended the title, never mind cleared out the division. There are at least 4 fights that should happen before he considers moving up in weight class, unless he want's to forfeit the belt.
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Originally Posted by Antiprez
I think it'd be a bad fight for GSP. His size, strength, and speed advantages would be nullified by Anderson. His wrestling ability, while stellar, doesn't guarantee him a submission attempt. We saw in Kos vs. GSP that GSP can be stuck in place and have his submissions stopped. Silva stopped Lutter who has pretty solid BJJ (some might even say Micheal Jordanesque  ) from finishing a submission with a busted up leg, none the less. Silva also would punish GSP for any missed shoot ins, which is something that GSP has yet to face. Sure he took down Serra, Kos, and Hughes at will, but those guys don't have the brutalizing knee strikes and clinch fighting experience that Silva has. Silva also has better knockout power and has so far shown how concrete his nerves can be. He has also successfully defended his title. |
Nice Goldie reference, and good points.
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Originally Posted by Antiprez
GSP's biggest advantage is the competition he gets to face. Anderson Silva's division is weak and mostly consist of three really good guys and a handful of decent fighters. GSP has to work and adapt for all of his fights where Silva seems to get by just doing what he does best. As odd as it sounds it seems like that could work in GSP's favor.
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I disagree that Anderson's division is weak...I just think he's more comfortable wherever the fight goes. If he needs to stand, he stands among the best; if it goes to the ground, he's just as comfortable. Silva is talented enough to make very good fighters look pedestrian, and great fighters look good-at-best.
I think GSP has needed to adapt to his competition more because he doesn't have the complete skill set yet. But I think a lot of people--certainly detractors and even his fans--are overlooking the fact that GSP is still developing and is pretty young. Given time, he can develop a more complete standup game and answer a lot of questions.
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Originally Posted by thecoylewis
They need to make this happen before GSP-Fitch. I know Fitch is the #1 contender and he should get his title shot, but this would be awesome to see. I would rather see this than Silva-Okami and Fitch-GSP combined.
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???
Seriously? That's just crazy talk.
Regardless of what you'd like to see, GSP hasn't even successfully defended his WW title--he's done absolutely nothing to earn a title shot at LHW yet. Skipping over very valid contenders to justify a superfight [one that would be short and very one-sided] is a horrible idea.
Currently, Silva will get the chance to avenge his last loss in Okami and probably a rematch with Henderson. Henderson says he wasn't 100% and I agree with him; although I'd still take Silva 7 out of 10 in a rematch.
GSP needs to at least try to sort out the mess the WW division is in. Fitch has more than earned a shot. Serra and Hughes could very well set up rubber match for Serra--although not if he fights the way he did Saturday. Sanchez, Alves, Parisyan, Swick and Davis all represent great fights with GSP and an opportunity to develop and showcase skills before he jumps into the shark tank at LHW.
But minimally, Fitch has done more to earn a WW title shot than GSP has done to earn a LHW title shot.
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