Favorite HW that almost made it to the top but didn't

[HHJ]

He beat Werdum albeit in a questionable fight, but SF arguably had a better HW division than the UFC then especially when Werdum would go on to beat Cain and Overeem beat JDS.

So what if it did? none of those fights had anything to do with the strikeforce title. That period lasted what? This was a short period in time.

 

[BigMuffler]

There comes a time to admit Overeem aint all that great,and never really was to begin with. He's pretty good,but never great.

I'm not a particularly big fan of Reem but I think he is great in terms of skills, very inconsistent though but on his day he is "great". He has like at least close to a 50% chance to beat basically anyone but can also lose to anyone.

 

[BigMuffler]

So what if it did? none of those fights had anything to do with the strikeforce title. That period lasted what? This was a short period in time.

Didn't the Werdum fight have to do with the title?

Edit: oh wait, now I remember. It was in the GP so it was nontitle even though Reem was champ lol.

 

[Der Eisbär]

Carwin.

The primate in me just wanted to see him dominate the top realm with first round knock-outs.

Alas

Lesnar fight should have been stopped.

 

[crofighter]

CroCop

Lost 2 championship fights in pride, and lost a #1 contender's fight in the UFC.
never managed to become World HW Champion.

I lol'd so hard...CC is one of your favourite HWs?.....is that why you bash him whenever you can?......actually, you wrote this just to point out that CC was never officialy #1, luckily i know you, in other words this is just another bashing post of yours...Just shows you the level Mirko haters are at...pathetic...

 

[HHJ]

Didn't the Werdum fight have to do with the title?

Edit: oh wait, now I remember. It was in the GP so it was nontitle even though Reem was champ lol.

Exactly. Once Reem Re-entered the picture,he faced brett rogers,and then the title was never used again. Its a worthless title.

 

[DesiredUserName]

Again,same w reem,if the guy cant fight without his drugs,then dont fight,go do movies or something instead.

Not a doctor but my understanding is that by Bigfoot not using certain drugs he puts his future health in jeopardy. Are you saying that's not true? or are you saying you're a purist and don't care?

 

[fatlipjesus]

The reem


Surprised he hasn't been mentioned

Probably cause everyone else could actually read the OP.

 

[HHJ]

Not a doctor but my understanding is that by Bigfoot not using certain drugs he puts his future health in jeopardy. Are you saying that's not true? or are you saying you're a purist and don't care?

I believe he puts his health in jeapordy by not using certain drugs. I just dont think that the sport should make allowances for him and not others. Maybe its not meant to be. He isnt a normal human being,and the difference is like night and day when it comes to being on or off the stuff.

 

[JKS]

Allistair Overeem!

But Overeem is far from my favorite and I dont like him, so I will take any opportunity to mention he never reached champion level in the UFC or Pride

But he still has a shot

 

[hedidhisownstunts]

Who is your favorite HW who was at one point considered a top contender, but never truly reached the pinnacle of the sport? For example -

Bigfoot
Carwin
Gonzaga
Aleks
Sergei

Preferably stick with guys who are no longer relevant and not ones who still have a shot.

Mirko Filipovic for sure is the easy stand out.

His fight with Fedor took forever to book and he had so much momentum. I really expected a changing of the guard. Then he got his shot in UFC, but never really performed at that level again.

 

[TheWalrusNo9]

Stop being a hater

He's been clean for years and he's still knocking fools out cold

You think he is clean?

 

[Cooliox]

I lol'd so hard...CC is one of your favourite HWs?.....is that why you bash him whenever you can?......actually, you wrote this just to point out that CC was never officialy #1, luckily i know you, in other words this is just another bashing post of yours...Just shows you the level Mirko haters are at...pathetic...

CroCop was absolutely one of my favorite fighters during the Pride era. I was looking forward to CroCop VS Couture more than any other fight after he got to the UFC, and my jaw dropped to the floor when Gonzaga KOd him.

Then, after seeing him to lose to Kongo, leaving the UFC, and specifically after the Overeem NC where Reem was manhandling him relatively easily before the fight was called off due to repeated low blows...I started reading deep into the matter, researching... one does not spend that much time looking up info on something that one does not find to be important.

I don't know why you'd consider my sharing of the info I found during my research, to be fighter bashing. I'm sharing words from his manager, his peers, business associates, and even Croatian fans.

That side of the coin made sense of most things CroCop related to me, from his handling of his manager, his plays to earn double pay by threatening to pull out one day before the fight with "back injury"... his continued success in Japan despite not even managing to beat top10 opponents in the UFC, his favorable booking in Japan...his USADA bust... etc

Everything I have said has been backed up with sources, and obviously his Win-Loss and performance itself tells the other half of the story. Just because you have not managed to accommodate the truth, it doesn't make me a hater. It just means you've remained ignorant in the face of facts, and that's your call to make.

 

[Cooliox]

PS We were talking about CroCop the fighter, and here I present to you CroCop the man:

http://www.24sata.hr/fight-club/cro-cop-fjodora-ne-postujem-moja-je-stvar-zasto-se-borim-341268

Translation of CroCop's textt:

"Greetings! After resting a bit, let me look back at the fight and some of the events that happened after the fight. Fedor commented on me and today I read a comment from his eminent brother. It's little to say that I truly respected and liked them both since the time when we fought together in Japan, bot that respect is now gone.
Alexander, who probably caused all the scandal and manfully beat up a 63 years old just so that he doesn't have to enter the ring with me, I won't comment too much because the sport is often looked down on because of guys like him, and besides, he doesn't deserve much of a comment. But Fedor was a grave disappointment. If Fedor fought in my city, I'd come to his hotel, take him out for dinner, have a talk with him, and if I had to tell him something I'd tell it to his face and not talk over newspapers. Afterall, we're "brothers in arms" and we bled together in Japanese rings, and had a fight that many consider as the best in MMA hisotry, and he not only didn't have the audacity to say hello, even before the fight in the lockeroom, but he commented on me that I'm this and that, this wasn't the Fedor that I used to know.
Every one of his loses fell hard on me, as if it were my own, and this same man then says publicly that he doesn't know what keeps me fighting, that I'm not in shape and such things. Everyone has the right for an opinion, but till I'm shedding my own blood, enduring the torture and pain, the decision is mine, it's my thing for how long I'll fight and why I fight.
About the fight, I'm sick because of the loss, but I'm glad that I broke the blockade in my head that I had about grappling through my entire career and I'm glad that I tried to go for a guillotine and after that for a triangle. Sadly, I wasn't able to get it around him, cause if I did he'd be choked out. If I was able to get both legs together, and it was close, I would have finished him and it would have been "Great job, champ!", "Awesome!", "You're in great shape!", but like this, it's just gonna be spitting all over me and this and that."

tl,dr
- Claimed Aleks purposely got into a bar fight to avoid the fight with CroCop
- Lost all respect for Fedor
- Says he was close to catching Oleinik in a triangle


Again, I'm simply posting facts. If you find it to be bashing then that's an issue on your end.

 

[BjPenn2017]

Kimbo Slice

 

[politozx7r]

You think he is clean?

Now ya

 

[Zedy44]

Sadly bigfoot's biggest defeat was the TRT ban. He was literally the one guy that actually needed that shit and you could see an instant change for him...he was completely lethargic in his fights post-TRT ban.

Reem is another one...I honestly disliked him when he came into the UFC. Didn't understand all the hype and I felt like he was underwhelming performance wise, particularly against travis brown when he walked into that front kick when brown was gassed and rocked. But lately he's stepped it up and I thought he went on a great tear to get that last title shot. He still has some time left to get it done if he wants it bad enough...

 

[TheWalrusNo9]

Now ya

I think he was right after he got busted, but I think he found a way around the system and is on something again. He looked a lot bigger vs Hunto.

 

[moreorless87]

Not a doctor but my understanding is that by Bigfoot not using certain drugs he puts his future health in jeopardy. Are you saying that's not true? or are you saying you're a purist and don't care?

I believe the big issue was that the lack of TRT ment Bigfoot went ahead and had his pituitary gland operated on. Choi did the same thing in 2008 and in both cases it seemed like this resulted in a big dropoff physically.

 

[DayV]

CroCop was absolutely one of my favorite fighters during the Pride era. I was looking forward to CroCop VS Couture more than any other fight after he got to the UFC, and my jaw dropped to the floor when Gonzaga KOd him.

Then, after seeing him to lose to Kongo, leaving the UFC, and specifically after the Overeem NC where Reem was manhandling him relatively easily before the fight was called off due to repeated low blows...I started reading deep into the matter, researching... one does not spend that much time looking up info on something that one does not find to be important.

I don't know why you'd consider my sharing of the info I found during my research, to be fighter bashing. I'm sharing words from his manager, his peers, business associates, and even Croatian fans.

That side of the coin made sense of most things CroCop related to me, from his handling of his manager, his plays to earn double pay by threatening to pull out one day before the fight with "back injury"... his continued success in Japan despite not even managing to beat top10 opponents in the UFC, his favorable booking in Japan...his USADA bust... etc

Everything I have said has been backed up with sources, and obviously his Win-Loss and performance itself tells the other half of the story. Just because you have not managed to accommodate the truth, it doesn't make me a hater. It just means you've remained ignorant in the face of facts, and that's your call to make.

Cro Cop is simply due to his style one of the PRIDE fighters who was most affected by change of rules. For some fighters there is no big difference, for some there is some difference, but for Cro Cop who's style was almost pure K-1 + takedown defence American unified rules, big space of octagon and wire fence are extremely negative for his stye.
If you are Cro Cop's opponent, you don't want to exchange strikes and go toe to toe with him, and you can avoid that pretty much by moving in large circular octagon, or by fence clinching and you bascially managed to do more than half of your way to victory.

For example, Mo and Aliakbari were rocked by Mirko's punches in RIZIN, but they had no space to escape and they were finished shortly after. If the fight was in cage, they would probalby escape easily by moving, running to the side and in cricle since there would be no corners and no ropes, the space would be much larger and open, and Cro Cop would be unable to catch them and to finish them.

Cro Cop sometimes took fights injured and Overeem fight was one of them. He took it unrecovered on a too short time after his knee surgeries where his knee completely dropped out, and he was wearing knee braces in that fight. That fight proofs nothing, like Nelson fight proofs nothing where Cro Cop entered with thorn biceps, against all advices of doctors and with only one good hand.