Could Guy Mezger hang with today's middleweights or welterweights?

[Bocgam]

He put together a scrappy win over a young Tito ortiz. He also had two close split decision losses to Rogerio Nogueira and Arona. Between those and the weirdness of that Sakuraba match, he really didn't seem to be treated fairly by Pride.

AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT HE WAS A PANCRASE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Doubt it. Got to love the shirt Tito had after the rematch. " Gay Mezger is my Bitch". Hahaha

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

He put together a scrappy win over a young Tito ortiz. He also had two close split decision losses to Rogerio Nogueira and Arona. Between those and the weirdness of that Sakuraba match, he really didn't seem to be treated fairly by Pride.

AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT HE WAS A PANCRASE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION.

This "weirdness of that Sakuraba match" is a myth.

Tough fight to score...

 

[XThe GreatestX]

Mmm maybe

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

He put together a scrappy win over a young Tito ortiz. He also had two close split decision losses to Rogerio Nogueira and Arona. Between those and the weirdness of that Sakuraba match, he really didn't seem to be treated fairly by Pride.

AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT HE WAS A PANCRASE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION.

Legit fighter, underrated... Borderline HOFer, imo...

 

[Reach4theSky]

The only guy from the old school, I feel comfortable saying could hang with today's fighters is Young Vitor..

All natty too!

 

[Vil7]

In terms of his skillset yes I think he could. He had solid kickboxing, a good submission game, & underrated wrestling. I think the #1 question is how would the stricter USADA drug testing have affected him.

 

[VERBAL-FEDOR]

He put together a scrappy win over a young Tito ortiz. He also had two close split decision losses to Rogerio Nogueira and Arona. Between those and the weirdness of that Sakuraba match, he really didn't seem to be treated fairly by Pride.

AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT HE WAS A PANCRASE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION.

Prime Guy Mezger would pound out Bisping within 2 rounds.

But that does not mean he could hang with the MWs of today.

 

[Vil7]

The only guy from the old school, I feel comfortable saying could hang with today's fighters is Young Vitor..

All natty too!

What was he like 20 years old in that pic? Unbelievable. I remember watching him fight early on & thinking he was perhaps the best fighter I have ever seen. I was shocked when Couture beat him.

 

[flyingscissorsheelhook]

Criminally underrated fighter. He also gave Chuck and Wand really hard fights in Pride. He was easily the best fighter in the Lions Den for a significant period of time.

Could he hang with today's guys? Shit, I dunno, time makes fools of us all. He was extremely well rounded for his day though. Some tricky strikes and solid wrestling.

 

[Cold Front]

He also had two close split decision losses to Rogerio Nogueira and Arona. Between those and the weirdness of that Sakuraba match, he really didn't seem to be treated fairly by Pride.

I believe he also knocked down Chuck Liddell in their fight before Chuck knocked him out in the second round. That was back when Chuck was young and dangerous.

Guy was a greatly unappreciated fighter. He was always in a fight against any competition. But he didn't have the best chin and he eventually got caught by the better standup fighters.

 

[faustian]

This "weirdness of that Sakuraba match" is a myth.

Tough fight to score...

Lol. The fight was supposed to go to judges' scorecards if no one finished in the 15 min regulation, then out of nowhere they implemented a winner-take-all overtime on the fly. Pretty convenient for Saku since Mezger clearly won the 15 mins

Here you go:

The contract that Mezger signed stipulated that the fight would be one 15-minute round with no overtime. The other fights on the card had the same stipulation. The fight mostly consisted of Mezger controlling the fight by stopping Sakuraba's takedown attempts while landing strikes from the outside. The round ended and Mezger expected the fight to go to the judges, but Pride officials wanted the fight to go to overtime. This resulted in one of the largest and most publicized controversies in MMA history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Mezger#PRIDE_Fighting_championships

 

[Reach4theSky]

What was he like 20 years old in that pic? Unbelievable. I remember watching him fight early on & thinking he was perhaps the best fighter I have ever seen. I was shocked when Couture beat him.

Ha..same. Vitor was off the charts when he came in. He's the first guy I seen go in and kick guys asses like in the movies..

I was an instant fan..Still am..

 

[TIMELESS TRUTH]

This "weirdness of that Sakuraba match" is a myth.

Tough fight to score...

Lol you didn't debunk that myth at all! Saku was harmless, nullified, and ineffective in that fight. The ending was obviously very strange to anyone with a brain.

 

[TheTravelApprentice]

He might be able to take MM.

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

Lol. The fight was supposed to go to judges' scorecards if no one won in the 15 min regulation, then out of nowhere they implemented a winner-take-all overtime on the fly. Pretty convenient for Saku since Mezger clearly won the 15 mins

Clueless u are.

Or u didnt watch the fight.

1st 5 mns : Saku completely dominated Guy, mainly with head-kicks (Bas & Quadros were a lil bit biased in their commentaries, sayin´ they were [partially] blocked...)

then: 4-5 mns where Saku tried his single-leg take-down, didnt really get it but put Guy on the defensive

Obs: Guy didnt even counter these TD attempts with punches on the ground. Hence, technically, Guy cant be considered the winner of these 4-5 mns

Last 5mns: Guy completely dominated Saku with jabs.

+ IIRC : the weight dif. [influence in the judges´ decision]

 

[DaPunkMinowaMan]

Lol you didn't debunk that myth at all! Saku was harmless, nullified, and ineffective in that fight. The ending was obviously very strange to anyone with a brain.

U´re an idiot repeating others´BS.

 

[P4p Islam]

Lol. The fight was supposed to go to judges' scorecards if no one finished in the 15 min regulation, then out of nowhere they implemented a winner-take-all overtime on the fly. Pretty convenient for Saku since Mezger clearly won the 15 mins

Here you go:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Mezger#PRIDE_Fighting_championships

I remember thinking Mezger clearly won.

 

[cambo78]

No, but I'll always give him some major credit for his fights with Hendo and a prime Arona; I thought it was a draw (solely based on PRIDE's way of scoring)

 

[TIMELESS TRUTH]

U´re an idiot repeating others´BS.

Lol Be honest, you didn't even watch the fight did you?

What did Saku do AT ALL in that fight genius? When was his best moment?