Hahaha this BS has already started.
Why don't we look the other way around. Cormier has evolved to be a much more complete fighter since the last time he was a HW. People give Blaydes (the no.1 contender at HW) no chance against DC in the other thread. Without the weight cut problems he will be in even better shape to perform.
He's beaten every elite heavyweight other than Cain Velasquez.
It depends on how you look at it ts. I am not convinced that the hw division has been a lot better than it is now, it has certainly been worse imo.
So lets get right to it. What hw champion in the ufc's history would you use to prove that Stipe is overrated?
What era in the ufc hw division had a superior roster?
Using the idea that the division will get better at some point and we will have a string of hw's that move like mighty mouse imo is a fairy tale but for shits and giggles lets go there anyway. That said, what are the glaring holes in his game that trouble you and will be exploited by these new phenoms? Cardio? Stand up? Grappling? Fight IQ?
We will see when he starts fighting more of these younger fighters just hitting their primes.
We've seen him mow through the old guard. But can he do it to the new guard?
We'll have to wait till he finishes fighting yet again another 40 year old before we find out.
As for the HW division , it has been fucking horrible for a few years now..... but right now it's just starting to warm up a bit.
Well there's 3 guys in the top 5 that he hasn't beaten so that's clearly not true. Then there's also Minakov and Ivanov outside of the UFC (Blagoi's now signed).
In fact he hasn't beaten many of the younger elite HW's at all.
He's 8-0 against older fighters.
He's 4-2 against fighters his age or younger.
I previously created a thread called "Is Stipe Miocic Overrated", and I mapped out my thoughts on who he had beaten and how they may be a little past it, I think it's now worth revisiting this idea.
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/is-stipe-miocic-overrated.3615989/#post-133703029
First off, you can only beat who's put in front of you, so with that said we all know that Miocic has a great resume. He's a good fighter, tough son of a bitch and has been very consistent as of late.
On the flip side, we all know how bad the Heavyweight division is and I think we fall in love with the names and memories of these fighters. Overeem used to be great, dos Santos used to be great, Werdum used to be great - but all these guys are completely over the hill at this stage.
I'll be very interested to see Stipe fight DC, and perhaps Volkov and Blaydes somewhere down the line. I feel like he has been very fortunate in terms of when he has fought these guys and also who he's fought in some sense also. Roy Nelson is a poor excuse for an athlete, a guy who could probably make Light Heavyweight with any semblance of a diet, Mark Hunt is a fan favourite but if we keep it real has no grappling skill, Arlovski is a slow, plodding, over the hill striker, Fabricio is over the hill, Overeem has no chin left, dos Santos looks like a shell of himself since USADA showed up and Ngannou has literally zero grappling skill also. Is it too much to ask for a well rounded fighter to show up for once?
Wouldn't it have been great to see him against Velasquez? I genuinely feel like that would have been the perfect match-up to see him in, and it looks like we'll never get that now.
I'll leave you with the records of the fighters he beat since he beat them:
Roy Nelson - 4-7
Mark Hunt - 3-3
Andrei Arlovski - 2-5
Fabricio Werdum - 3-2 (All 3 wins were over very mediocre talent)
Alistair Overeem - 2-2
Junior dos Santos - 0-0 (Fighting an unranked opponent in his next fight)
Francis Ngannou - 0-0 (Fighting Derrick Lewis next)
I think Stipe is a product of a very, very, very bad division.
We share the same views
Stipe in 2005 wouldn't be relevant
But against this graveyard of chins he looks like a world beater
However that said, it's not Stipes fault and he's head and shoulder better than anyone around right now
Including DC
Who he will finish
Bet the house
TouchéOf course he wouldn't... He was not even fighting as an amateur in 2005.
Touché