The WW division didn't become a "shark tank" until the WEC and Strikeforce mergers which were 2011 and late 2012/early 2013. And GSP had 4 title defenses in that span.
There's a reason why guys like Fitch, Koscheck, and Alves were top 3 in the WW division for years and it wasn't because of their talent. It was because there was so much more talent in other orgs.
And Fedor beat all the top talent in Pride, then he went and beat the top 2 UFC HW's at that time in Affliction in less than a round combined. Like who else did you want or expect him to beat at that time?
Your middle paragraph is interesting. I kind of agree with it, but I also think you're seriously underrating prime Kos and Fitch. Fitch has some great wins (a la Shields), and let's not forget that Kos took prime Hendricks to a split that I think should have gone to him.
Next you say there was so much more talent in other orgs, it just made GSP's competition look good. What talent are you speaking of? Which of those top guys in other orgs did GSP either not go on to beat or undoubtedly would have been favoured to beat had they fought (like a Paul Daley, cus I really don't think there are many of em Georges didn't vanquish).
But yes, you bring up valid points in saying that Fedor beat Pride's top HW's then beat the UFC's top 2 HW's. Just as you pointed out that GSP beat the UFC's top WW's then beat other org's top guys when they merged. Which brings us to a stalemate. If you don't consider Fedor's record past the Affliction era...but how can't you?
After dominating Pride's HW division and decimating Timmy and Andrei, the very next year is when Fedor started to get finished. Was that a simple case of a precipitous fall from his prime? Possibly (age and mileage are certainly factors). But I think him moving back overseas and finishing a string of cans (and aside from the Maldonado fight not looking, at least results-wise, much different than his Japan run) lends credence to the argument that Fedor's level of competition had something to do with it as well. A prime Big Nog (Fedor's greatest win) is inferior to a prime Werdum imo. Werdum has better BJJ, and an avalanche of credentials to back that up. And I'd take Werdum's Muy Thai over Nog's boxing. Even Dan Henderson is a p4p greater fighter than Nog imo. Fedor was finished by both, and I think it's lazy/biased to say it's exclusively because of age.
In any event, even if you want to steadfastly blame other factors, GSP has exactly half as many such blemishes in his career, and those were both brutally avenged (granted Fedor hasn't been afforded the same opportunity). Despite age and two full-blown ACL tears and reconstructions/recoveries GSP has still never shown such glaring vulnerability and weakness against an opponent of the utter shit quality as Fabio Maldonado (who is well known as a brawling punching bag with half-decent hands but no punching power).
I think my embarrassingly long-winded post shows that in the GOAT discussion they are fairly tit-for-tat. In the end I do believe the majority of GSP's opponents had better legacies, better records, and were overall p4p better fighters that the majority of Fedor's opponents. This, plus GSP's superior record against both of their top opponents (and fewer shitty performances against their weaker comp), is what makes it pretty clear-cut for GSP in my book.
To some people, it is Fedor's thrilling finishes compared to GSP's lack-lustre decisions that tips the scales in the Russian's favour. Imo this is more a symptom of the sensationalist nature of human beings than it is an indication of greatness. If current events were reported to the people in an academic, peer-reviewed, and discussed manner, all the news networks would go out of business. It'd be boring as shit. Instead news companies make tons of money because they play on the sensationalism and impressionability of human beings, rather than their higher faculties such as rationale and critical thinking (those take work).
Now I know fighting ain't the fucking news, but I do think the analogy holds some merit. If GSP completely dominates his opponent, imposing his will every minute of every round, and doesn't let his opponent do anything they wanted to; who fought the better fight? Him or Fedor who let a journeyman with a .500 record damn near break his neck before managing to finish him in spectacular fashion? I'd go with GSP. Greatness isn't always flashy and sensational. I think Floyd Mayweather is probably the best example of what I'm talking about.
But wow, I put way too much time into this post. Once I got going and thinking about everything I couldn't stop until I'd seen it through though haha.
