Which current LHWs could defeat prime Tim Sylvia?

[RiotWyatt]

Yeah because Randy had so much success against high level strikers.

Rizzo
Chuck
Belfort

All 10x the striker Manuwa is. Rizzo in his prime would be a top 10 HW today.

 

[Aluminati]

I have limited belief in continued MMA evolution after cross training became commonplace, sure there have been refinements to better manipulate the rules but the basic fighting techniques that come from boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, wrestling, BJJ etc. are pretty damn old to have suddenly improved significantly, the smaller refinements can't count for that much.

I disagree that the level of talent and athleticism between the two eras is even close to comparable.
I agree with you about the training fundamentals, but I'm saying that the basics are not where the improvements have been made.
The improvements have been in the finished product, the fighters, and why that is, I can only speculate.

The influx of LHW power based wrestlers, strides in the improvement of striking defense, and generally well-rounded nature of today's fighters would give Sylvia fits.
Someone like Cormier would absolutely ragdoll Sylvia. Sylvia's main exploitation was his jab using his reach. How would that work against Jones and how would he deal with the emergence of oblique kicks and their use by someone with his reach?

I tried checking out his record for who he beat, and try to compare them to a fighter that exists today.
Besides Tra Telligman, AA and Ricco Rodriguez, who were any of his wins? I get that these fighters were elite at that time.
What I'm saying is that someone who was considered an elite fighter in Sylvia's time (e.g. AA), skill and style wise, is cannon fodder for today's elite.
It's not just that fighters get old. They compile tape of their fight history, and their style itself is analyzed and weaknesses/gameplans are identified.
Previously, everyone thought that BJJ+Muay Thai was the GOAT style combo.
Boxing+Wrestling was once there too, now its all movement + specialized striking & grappling.
The previous era's styles have been analyzed to death for holes, and this generation's styles will soon be too.

What I'm saying is that the bar for everything has been raised.
Film study is vastly easier to do with the explosion of the internet and smart devices. Not only of opponents, but yourself.
There are more gyms, and more quality gyms emerging, rather than 2-3 teams having control of all of the prospects.
There are people you can bring in to camps to simulate facing someone with 78" reach, or someone who is a boxing-based southpaw who likes to counter punch.
These aspects of training are improving, and making a significant impact on the sport.

 

[Aluminati]

But his Thai boxing is on another level so.........

Yes, his MT is on point.
I'm arguing that he is not the most talented person to throw a punch on the basis that his punches are not exactly that good.
Nothing to see here, just a frantic pedantic arguing semantics.

 

[BigMuffler]

Previously, everyone thought that BJJ+Muay Thai was the GOAT style combo.
Boxing+Wrestling was once there too, now its all movement + specialized striking & grappling.

I'm not completely sure what you're saying here, but I might be inclined to disagree considering Woodley (boxing+wrestling) beat out Wonderboy just now, Stipe and DC are also boxing+wrestling champs. The idea that lots of movement is now a GOAT style component seems like it was a fad.

 

[Aluminati]

I'm not completely sure what you're saying here, but I might be inclined to disagree considering Woodley (boxing+wrestling) beat out Wonderboy just now, Stipe and DC are also boxing+wrestling champs. The idea that lots of movement is now a GOAT style component seems like it was a fad.

What I'm saying with this part is that previously training went from "canned" style A (until it was figured out) then to "canned" Style B, either on the defense or offense.
Right now, it is more prevalent to see someone who is specialized in individual techniques from multiple disciplines, rather than specializing in just one striking discipline.
Take for example, someone who used to be the poster boy for boxing and wrestling, Hendo.
In one of his last fights, he knocked out Lombard with a funky looking elbow.
He even set up his H-bomb later in his career using a soft leg kick.
These were not things he learned in boxing or wrestling.

And with the movement piece, I was talking about a greater focus being placed on footwork, distance, head movement inside of those disciplines.
Basically, the martial arts are more mixed as of late, and the fighters are adopting a more mixed approach, despite a heavy base in a variety of disciplines.

My conclusion is basically that you can't compare eras, because in order for that to happen, all other things would have to be equal, which they are not.
Would Jon Jones have been focusing on Muay Thai and Wrestling in the early days of the UFC?
Probably not, considering the gyms weren't there, and the idea of combining those two arts wasn't even really a thing that happened at that time.
Would someone like Conor have been able to handle the heat Gomi was throwing if his training, prep, and gameplan for his career was done by an Irish MMA trainer in 2000?
Who knows? I don't.

 

[Deleted member 501827]

So your saying Tim beat two good fighters in his 41 fight career? Wow what a world beater! You are dumb kid. Try again.

Jones, DC, Rumble, and Gus would have molested the maine-iac.

You dont know anything. Tim beat a lot of good fighters and all HWs too. His title defense streak still hasnt been beaten. I dont even like Tim but he was a dangerous fight for anyone. He would destroy Gus and Jones. He would gas out Rumble with his size with a slight possibility he could get KOd and DC would do what Randy Couture did to him. Its all styles matchups. Gus and Jones dont have the power to threaten him like Rumble does nor the wrestling ability and/or style of DC that would be effective. And Jones especially does horribly when his size is matched and Tim is way bigger, longer and better than anyone hes ever faced by a mile.

 

[Willek]

None of them.

 

[kaya]

I dunno how much that really counts for, Tim beat a prime Arlovski twice and how many of these guys would you favor over AA? I don't think I would favor that many, maybe just Jones, DC, Rumble. And then Sylvia has a much bigger size advantage than AA would.

He also TKO'd Ricco Rodriguez, who by many's opinion, had just beaten Big Nog in Pride.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

None. Sylvia is the best HW in UFC history. He defended the belt more times than any modern UFC HW like Cain or JDS or Stipe or Brock. If Big Tim was in his prime he would be UFC HW champ right now.. if Struve can beat Stipe with that long reach then Tim sure as hell can, his a better striker and more power than Struve