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I used the word 'Practitioner' in another thread, and someone made an interesting comment on it.
That thread was questioning the best American.
With that being said, is GSP the best MMA Practitioner there's ever been?
The man reigned Welterweight, one of the more stacked divisions in UFC history. He fought power hitters, solid wrestlers, BJJ black belts, accomplished technical strikers and muay thai experts. He beat all of them.
He had no weaknesses, he could outstrike you on the feet, take you down and grapple-**** you, then whip your arm behind your head all in the same round.
Was he boring? Yes. Did I wish for him to lose in each fight I watched? Yes. Did I cheer for Hendricks like a madman? You betcha.
But when it comes down to it, boring as his style may have been, he won each and every time, minus the few losses he avenged of course. When he was grappling, wrestling and 'stalling' (for lack of better word), there is nothing that his opponent wanted more than to get up. But they couldn't.
When he hung on the outside, stepping into quick jabs and crosses, throwing long kicks to keep a smart range and land powerful strikes, there's nothing his opponents wanted more than to knock his head off. But they couldn't.
And when I watched Robbie fight Hendricks, I was entertained. But that was an ugly, sloppy fight. It lacked the finesse, the technique that made every GSP fight so impressive. It was exciting, but after the show was over it made me appreciate just how good GSP really was.
He was so insanely talented in all aspects of the sport, an all around perfect fighter. I think if you take any other fighter there's ever been, and morph them to the same weight as GSP, the man wins each and every time.
Perhaps, now that he's (potentially) retired, we can start giving him some of the credit he deserved. Without having to worry about his boring matches coming up, can we start to admit his greatness, or are we just gonna keep on sherdoggin'?
I'm not saying he's the greatest, Fedor and Silva seemed like invincible gods when they were on their streaks, in their prime. GSP always felt human, but that makes it that much more impressive. He wasn't magic, he wasn't some titan or machine. He was just a man who only knew how to win.
TL;DR:
GSP was seriously f***ing good, talented in all aspects of MMA. Hendricks v Lawler showed the talent gap in technique between WelterWeight and GSP. He's not the greatest, but perhaps he was the best? Fedor and Silva seemed invincible, GSP was just a man who knew how to win. With his technique and talent, was GSP the greatest Practitioner of MMA?
That thread was questioning the best American.
With that being said, is GSP the best MMA Practitioner there's ever been?
The man reigned Welterweight, one of the more stacked divisions in UFC history. He fought power hitters, solid wrestlers, BJJ black belts, accomplished technical strikers and muay thai experts. He beat all of them.
He had no weaknesses, he could outstrike you on the feet, take you down and grapple-**** you, then whip your arm behind your head all in the same round.
Was he boring? Yes. Did I wish for him to lose in each fight I watched? Yes. Did I cheer for Hendricks like a madman? You betcha.
But when it comes down to it, boring as his style may have been, he won each and every time, minus the few losses he avenged of course. When he was grappling, wrestling and 'stalling' (for lack of better word), there is nothing that his opponent wanted more than to get up. But they couldn't.
When he hung on the outside, stepping into quick jabs and crosses, throwing long kicks to keep a smart range and land powerful strikes, there's nothing his opponents wanted more than to knock his head off. But they couldn't.
And when I watched Robbie fight Hendricks, I was entertained. But that was an ugly, sloppy fight. It lacked the finesse, the technique that made every GSP fight so impressive. It was exciting, but after the show was over it made me appreciate just how good GSP really was.
He was so insanely talented in all aspects of the sport, an all around perfect fighter. I think if you take any other fighter there's ever been, and morph them to the same weight as GSP, the man wins each and every time.
Perhaps, now that he's (potentially) retired, we can start giving him some of the credit he deserved. Without having to worry about his boring matches coming up, can we start to admit his greatness, or are we just gonna keep on sherdoggin'?
I'm not saying he's the greatest, Fedor and Silva seemed like invincible gods when they were on their streaks, in their prime. GSP always felt human, but that makes it that much more impressive. He wasn't magic, he wasn't some titan or machine. He was just a man who only knew how to win.
TL;DR:
GSP was seriously f***ing good, talented in all aspects of MMA. Hendricks v Lawler showed the talent gap in technique between WelterWeight and GSP. He's not the greatest, but perhaps he was the best? Fedor and Silva seemed invincible, GSP was just a man who knew how to win. With his technique and talent, was GSP the greatest Practitioner of MMA?
