Opportunity Knocks Twice for Gonzaga

[BigBanda]

Source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...4564&zoneid=13

When Gabriel Gonzaga stepped into the Octagon for the first time to face Kevin Jordan, both fighters were complete unknowns to the MMA world.

After a performance that was downright painful to watch, Gonzaga did manage to pull off a knockout late in the third round, earning him a victory in the UFC, but not gaining many new fans after the lackluster performance.

What many people didn’t know about Gonzaga going into the bout was that just weeks prior, he had lost a child. Not once did the Brazilian fighter make excuses or drop out of a fight that could mean a secure future for his family.

While UFC color commentator Joe Rogan mercilessly ripped both Gonzaga and Jordan for their performances during the bout, fans had much of the same opinion. Shortly thereafter, Gonzaga was relegated to the preliminary fights prior to the pay-per-view broadcasts.

In his second performance, Gonzaga, who currently trains out of Marco Alvan’s gym in Massachusetts, showed fans that he was much more than the fighter they saw six months earlier in his debut.

The 6’3” heavyweight followed that up by taking out another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter in Fabiano Scherner; this time by TKO in the second round. He then went on to show his submission skills by tapping out previously undefeated Carmelo Marrero with an armbar midway through the first session in their bout.

Gonzaga wasn’t necessarily rewarded for his efforts by the UFC moving him back onto the main card, but instead he was thrust into a main event fight with Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, a fighter widely seen as the most dangerous striker in all of MMA.

The odds seemed impossible for Gonzaga to overcome and it almost looked like he was being set up as a sacrificial lamb being sent to the slaughter against the former Croatian special forces unit member.

Instead of rolling over in defeat, Gonzaga instead pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA and UFC history by knocking out the perennial top five heavyweight by a devastating head kick late in the first round.

Going into the fight, it seemed the only person outside of Gonzaga’s camp picking him to win was UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, who said from the beginning that he believed the bout was a bad match-up for Cro Cop. Afterwards, it seemed like the ageless champion was nothing short of Nostradamus.

Now the prolific champion will get his chance to see if he can figure out what Cro Cop could not when he faces Gonzaga on Saturday night.

Gabriel Gonzaga brings a world-class jiu-jitsu game into the fight with Couture and has obviously shown that he has stand-up to compliment his ground fighting.

The Brazilian has been on an unbelievable ride over the last few months, taking out the former Pride Grand Prix champion and now getting a shot at UFC gold.

Currently, most oddsmakers have Gonzaga as a very slight favorite over Couture, although it seems it will likely be a toss-up come fight night in Las Vegas.

Can Gonzaga pull off another huge win that could catapult him to possibly being considered one of the top 2 or 3 heavyweights in the world while putting a heavyweight title around his waist?

It’s almost certain that Gonzaga faced the toughest adversity a fighter could ever come to grips with – losing a child – in his first bout in the UFC and a title fight should be easy compared to that.

Gabriel Gonzaga will get his chance to prove he belongs in the upper echelon of the heavyweight class when he faces champion Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 74 this weekend.

[Dork8503]

i really hope that no one puts him top 3 if he beats Randy

[Intellectual]

Originally Posted by Dork8503

i really hope that no one puts him top 3 if he beats Randy

rep'd

[BigBanda]

Originally Posted by Dork8503

i really hope that no one puts him top 3 if he beats Randy

If it happens you know that they will. They do that all the time in the rankings. I'm counting on my boy Randy to pull through though.

[Dork8503]

I guess beating Randy just puts you up their over Barnett and Nog. I still dont think Gabe should be ranked higher then Mirko. Shouldnt be ranked higher then Werdum either, because Werdum will kick that ass again.

I am going to pray even more so i do not have to see him in top 3

[UFCfanatic]

Originally Posted by Dork8503

Werdum will kick that ass again.

I have to disagree. I think gonzaga's standup has improved a great deal since that fight. he has gotten better every fight so far. Werdum would get beat if they ever fought again

[Dork8503]

Originally Posted by UFCfanatic

I have to disagree. I think gonzaga's standup has improved a great deal since that fight. he has gotten better every fight so far. Werdum would get beat if they ever fought again

Werdum would beat him on the ground. Since when did his stand up improve that much to beat Werdum. In the mirko fight he caught a kick took him down gave some elbows an landed a kick.

Werdum has better ground game an a good enough chin not to get knocked out. Werdum still beats him, Werdum has improved since their fight too.

[UFCfanatic]

Originally Posted by Dork8503

Werdum would beat him on the ground. Since when did his stand up improve that much to beat Werdum. In the mirko fight he caught a kick took him down gave some elbows an landed a kick.

Werdum has better ground game an a good enough chin not to get knocked out. Werdum still beats him, Werdum has improved since their fight too.

gonzaga dominated crocop for the entire (yet short) fight. also, werdum didn't look too improved in his last fight at all. i guess only time will tell but gonzaga IMO is the real deal. top 3? not yet for sure. potentially? maybe.

[twankydawg]

Originally Posted by Dork8503

I guess beating Randy just puts you up their over Barnett and Nog. I still dont think Gabe should be ranked higher then Mirko. Shouldnt be ranked higher then Werdum either, because Werdum will kick that ass again.

I am going to pray even more so i do not have to see him in top 3

I agree Dork. It's ashamed that he's ranked higher than CC in most rankings. He fought a CC who was just a shadow of his former self. I'd take CC in a rematch all day. He will get exposed against Couture.

[neonatural45]

this fight shouldnt change the rankings much at all, they are right next to each other right now so the winner will stay the same and the loser should move down 2 or 3 places