Fans always ignore the writing on the wall until a popular fighter gets smashed. Roman Gonzalez is a prime example of this. The guy struggled in every single fight since stepping up in weight, finally gets stopped and people are blown away.
I think there's a lot of truth in people overlooking things. I agree with you on that.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind though about Gonzalez:
- lighter weight guys, especially the high-energy pressure fighters have shorter peaks. Late 20's for him is just about right for where he fades. Rungvisai wasn't a "better" fighter. He was a bigger one that could take a punch and not let a smaller guy have his way. Respect to Rungvisai for fighting according to his body type.
- Gonazalez moved up to his fourth weight class at a time in his career where he was slowing down. You could see it when he struggled as soon as he moved up.
- Gonzalez was winning but he wasn't perfect. He didn't like getting punched to the body, and you could tell he got frustrated when his opponents weren't showing signs of wilting.
Gonzalez is a legitimate talent. He was sliding down from his peak in a way that was not readily perceptible just as he was moving up in weight. The age, added weight, and larger opponents that could resist him (considering he was vastly above his original weight) are reason enough to explain what happened to him.
He dared to be great by going up in weight and it certainly wasn't in his best interest. I won't fault him for taking risks - that's what we love about fighters. Fighters that hide behind B's when A's are out there, just to protect their legacy are the real shame in our sport.