Poll: Which Fighters Did Stipe Beat in Their Prime?

[DalchaLungiambula]

Miocic got poked in the eye and then slipped on a puddle in the sequence where Struve finished him. Probably had too much class to ever complain about it publicly. Struve was winning the round in fairness, but I still think Miocic would have beaten him with a legitimate finish as the fight wore on/ or won by decision.

It's kind of laughable that people use the fact that Overeem couldn't use steroids as the reason for him not being in his prime. It's kind of an artificial "prime" in that case then, isn't it.

Overeem was looking as good as ever when he met Miocic. He had found a style that protected his chin while utilising his high skill level.

Cormier was prime, Werdum was prime, Hunt was arguably close enough to his prime (was one fight removed from a title shot), Overeem was as close to any "prime" he's had in MMA, and Miocic ended Arlovski's streak which had seen him lose only 1 of his past 12 fights.

So really, since 2015, the only fighters he's faced who were considerably "off" their prime were JDS, who is still a damn beast, and NGannou who was like a baby rhino still wet behind the ears with birth juice.

The real question that needs to be asked about Stipe is, "was he a better fighter than Cain?", and in my opinion the answer is a resounding no.

 

[Grenades]

Miocic got poked in the eye and then slipped on a puddle in the sequence where Struve finished him. Probably had too much class to ever complain about it publicly. Struve was winning the round in fairness, but I still think Miocic would have beaten him with a legitimate finish as the fight wore on/ or won by decision.

It's kind of laughable that people use the fact that Overeem couldn't use steroids as the reason for him not being in his prime. It's kind of an artificial "prime" in that case then, isn't it.

Overeem was looking as good as ever when he met Miocic. He had found a style that protected his chin while utilising his high skill level.

Cormier was prime, Werdum was prime, Hunt was arguably close enough to his prime (was one fight removed from a title shot), Overeem was as close to any "prime" he's had in MMA, and Miocic ended Arlovski's streak which had seen him lose only 1 of his past 12 fights.

So really, since 2015, the only fighters he's faced who were considerably "off" their prime were JDS, who is still a damn beast, and NGannou who was like a baby rhino still wet behind the ears with birth juice.

The real question that needs to be asked about Stipe is, "was he a better fighter than Cain?", and in my opinion the answer is a resounding no.

You had me until the Cain thing. But good post and too bad we didn’t get to see Stipe and Cain square off.

 

[Portland8242]

It really blows my fucking mind how little credit Stipe gets for his win in the rematch over DC. DC's fans just can't put their salt aside, it's pathetic. I keep reading how "DC cost himself the fight, didn't stick with the wrestling, he's past his prime and Stipe got lucky" and a bunch of other BS to avoid giving Stipe credit for his incredible rallying win. Putting the eye-poke BS aside (which was ridiculous) Stipe survived an extremely tough round 1 and managed to keep himself in the fight for round 2. He turned the tide in round 3 (won it on 2 judges scorecards) and came out looking incredible in the 4th (even Joe Rogan who's very biased to DC admitted Stipe looked like "champion Stipe" that round 4) with a great finish.

 

[gono btw]

It's true. I still think Fedor is the Goat HW as of now, but once he started consecutively fighting top guys he lost to Werdum. Look at the rankings of the Fighters Fedor fought after he won the Pride HW strap. He fought 9 top 10 and 9 non top ten fighters before he lost the lineal HW belt to Werdum.

Fedor beats Nog and Captures the Pride HW title
Egidijus Valavicius- Not even ranked in the top 250
Kazuyuki Fujita- #35
Gary Goodrich- #12
Yuji Nagata- Not even ranked in the top 250
Mark Coleman- #10
Kevin Randleman - #7
Naoya Ogawa- #65
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira- #2
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka-#14
Cro Cop- #4
Zuluzinho- #115
Mark Coleman - #3
Mark Hunt #7
Matt Lindland Not ranked at HW, but #7 MW.
Hong-Man Choi- Not ranked even in the top 250
Tim Sylvia- #7
Andre Arlovski- #6
Brett Rogers- #7
Fabrico Werdum- #9 (loss)


After losing lineal HW title and has gone 8-5 since
Bigfoot Silva- #10
Dan Henderson- Not Ranked at HW, but #7 LHW
Jeff Monson- #31
Satoshi Ishii- Not ranked at HW, but #47 LHW
Pedro Rizzo- Not Ranked due to inactivity but ranked #22 before being pulled.
Singh Jaideep- Not even Ranked in the top 250
Fabio Maldanado- Not even Ranked in the top 250 but ranked #37 at LHW.
Matt Mitrione- #21
Frank Mir- Unranked due to inactivity
Chael Sonnen-#22
Ryan Bader #5
Rampage Jackson #49

bah... this assessment lacks basic context, tho.

 

[frye666]

You said it yourself. Some dudes can change their style to continue or even improve success. My point is age doesn’t determine a prime, winning does.

The counter point is this. Prime fedor vs old Fedor. Prime Fedor was able to take this....

old Fedor.............

Both Fedors are very dangerous guys. One is quite a bit different though. While Fedor is 8-10 in his last 10, and still can knock out a mule with a punch, he is WAY past his prime. He could get dusted with a good jab these days. One does not equal another. Prime Fedor was capable of beating much greater fighters than old Fedor, even though old Fedor is doing quite well.

 

[orca]

Stipe fans are clowns who act like their boy wouldn’t get wrecked in pride lol



dude Wouldnt even be able to wash A prime DC’s shoes much less Fedor

u mean nog and cro cop got humiliated in the ufc? fedors best top 2 wins..

yeah right

 

[Steve-French]

The counter point is this. Prime fedor vs old Fedor. Prime Fedor was able to take this....

old Fedor.............

Both Fedors are very dangerous guys. One is quite a bit different though. While Fedor is 8-10 in his last 10, and still can knock out a mule with a punch, he is WAY past his prime. He could get dusted with a good jab these days. One does not equal another. Prime Fedor was capable of beating much greater fighters than old Fedor, even though old Fedor is doing quite well.

That slam isn't as bad as it looks. I'm in know way trying to discredit him, what he did there is taught in Judo. Notice how he puts his arm down first. That absorbed the majority of the impact of the slam. It's still gnarly and bad ass, but it's not like he was slammed directley on hs head.

 

[orca]

Delusional

whats delusional about that? cro cop and nog looked like average hw fighters in the ufc.. no its not delusion its reality u cant accept

u think fedor wont get humiliated by cain and jds if he fought in the ufc after pride?


u guys claim he aint in his prime

lets say he is.1 year past your prime u dont get humiliated left and right by top competition

dc is even a better fighter than prime fedor but its hard to accept

 

[Taric]

Tbut it's not like he was slammed directley on hs head.

... he was clearly slammed directly on his head and neck

 

[Andreh]

Fedor lost to BUMFOOT, a MW Dan Henderson and a LHW... MALDONADO - only "won" because of... Russia.

Come on. Stipe is LIGHT-YEARS better than Fedor and this is not even debatable. Cringe imagining them fighting... Fedor would die, poor man...

 

[Grenades]

The counter point is this. Prime fedor vs old Fedor. Prime Fedor was able to take this....

old Fedor.............

Both Fedors are very dangerous guys. One is quite a bit different though. While Fedor is 8-10 in his last 10, and still can knock out a mule with a punch, he is WAY past his prime. He could get dusted with a good jab these days. One does not equal another. Prime Fedor was capable of beating much greater fighters than old Fedor, even though old Fedor is doing quite well.

I’m not disagreeing younger fighters are generally gonna be stronger, tougher, faster. My view in determining a fighter’ prime completely takes age out of the question and looks at success only. Results=determination of ‘prime.’
So just as an hypothetical, if Frank Shamrock made a comeback at 50-whatever he is, clears out the LHW and HW divisions with ease, we would say his prime was in his 50s, because that’s when he was most successful. Wouldn’t matter if he was 50+. That’s an extreme example but I hope you can see my point.

 

[g*r*b]

So how was Francis green when he’d been fighting pro for 5 years, but stipe lost to Struve in his “prime”, when stipe had only been fighting pro for 2 years at that point?

^^^^^THIS!!!^^^^^
It's amazing how many Stipe-sneerers can write intricate calculations in MMA Math yet somehow ignore that 5>2.

 

[Hatorade]

It really blows my fucking mind how little credit Stipe gets for his win in the rematch over DC. DC's fans just can't put their salt aside, it's pathetic. I keep reading how "DC cost himself the fight, didn't stick with the wrestling, he's past his prime and Stipe got lucky" and a bunch of other BS to avoid giving Stipe credit for his incredible rallying win. Putting the eye-poke BS aside (which was ridiculous) Stipe survived an extremely tough round 1 and managed to keep himself in the fight for round 2. He turned the tide in round 3 (won it on 2 judges scorecards) and came out looking incredible in the 4th (even Joe Rogan who's very biased to DC admitted Stipe looked like "champion Stipe" that round 4) with a great finish.

I don't think Stipe got lucky at all. He came in with a game plan and executed it to a tee. He was in great shape at 230lbs and was looking to take the fight to DC in the later rounds by attacking the body to further take the wind out of him. It worked beautifully and he won.

With that said, DC did sorta shit the bed in regards to sticking to his game plan and listening to his team, which certainly did benefit Stipe.

They are tied at one a piece right now, but I still fell like DC is the better fighter and will win the 3rd fight based on what I've seen in the first 2 fights.

I think a lot of people see it this way, which is not really disrespecting Stipe. It's just believing that DC is still the better fighter despite the loss.

 

[Cylence]

At 38 years old?

Yeah, I believe so. You're going to find differing opinions on this, but I believe that it's not the years, it's the miles. Although Werdum did have over 25 professional fights, his clean hits taken in big fights were few and far between. You've got the JDS KO and the drop by Fedor, but that's about it. He never got into career altering wars that would have affected his longevity either. Always tried to troll fighters to the ground whenever he couldn't get the better of the stand up, like in the Overeem II fight.

After that fight, he hooked up with Rafael Corderio, and his striking improved absolute leaps and bounds. So, while he may have been ever so slightly past his physical prime as an athlete, he was certainly in his prime as a technician, which I believe was far more important for a fighter like him.

I just don't believe there's any magical prime age for a fighter. I think it depends on various things including longevity, damage absorbed, how you treat your body, how many big hitters you've fought. Things like that. A guy like BJ Penn was definitely past his prime by 32, Erik Morales was a shot mess by 29. Meanwhile fighters like Randy Couture and Bernard Hopkins thrived well into their 40's.

 

[krelianx]

He's fought several fighters in their prime, but almost all of his best victories were over past prime fighters.
He still has a MUCH better resume than Fedor if we're being honest though. It's not like he's fighting guys that can't defend an arm-bar or 300lb freaks with no athletic ability. Add to this, he would beat Fedor up.

I feel like Fedor is greater, but Stipe is better. It sorta like comparing Jim Brown to Adrian Peterson. Brown is historically the greater running back in terms of his legacy and impact on the sport, but in no way shape or form was he better than Adrian Peterson.

Right, because Herring, Arona, Schilt, Babalu, Nog, Mirko, Monson, Arlovski, Sylvia can't defend an armbar...

 

[frye666]

I’m not disagreeing younger fighters are generally gonna be stronger, tougher, faster. My view in determining a fighter’ prime completely takes age out of the question and looks at success only. Results=determination of ‘prime.’
So just as an hypothetical, if Frank Shamrock made a comeback at 50-whatever he is, clears out the LHW and HW divisions with ease, we would say his prime was in his 50s, because that’s when he was most successful. Wouldn’t matter if he was 50+. That’s an extreme example but I hope you can see my point.

I see your point of course. But the other aspect is that the old Shamrock would be easier to beat than the young Shamrock. Even with some new training and skills, the biological factors are still there. Take Herschel Walker. You could say he was evolving as an mma guy, but he was just damn old. You can learn how to do this or that, but you are still relegated to your body's abilities. Werdum is a bit of a weird example. He snagged Fedor in that sub. A past prime Fedor. He was as shocked as anyone that it worked. But just before that fight he was actually outstriking Overeem, but had no confidence in his ability and lost a decision he was very capable of winning. Werdum sort of came into his prime as a fighter just around the time he was coming out of his physical prime. And after the win over Cain he was sort of fooled about his own bodies capabilities. But that is just a bit of my own opinion.

And to each their own.

 

[ZOD66]

Fedor never had an embarrassing prime lost like miocic did to Struve

No he was just on steroids

 

[ZOD66]

ngannou kills him in a rematch

Stipe is old now but Fedor was on steroids

 

[cheesus]

whats delusional about that? cro cop and nog looked like average hw fighters in the ufc.. no its not delusion its reality u cant accept

u think fedor wont get humiliated by cain and jds if he fought in the ufc after pride?


u guys claim he aint in his prime

lets say he is.1 year past your prime u dont get humiliated left and right by top competition

dc is even a better fighter than prime fedor but its hard to accept

Do you realize Nog was good enough to win an interm HW belt ? And already had enough fights to call it a career, he had way more fights than Stipe does now.

Cro Cop already had an extensive amateur boxing / kickboxing bouts and was 20 or so fights deep into another mma career. His UFC run was abysmal to say the least, but that doesn't undo his previous accomplishments.

At the peak of their careers Nog and Cro Cop were the elite fighters in a different organization, the same time the other organization had guys like Justin Eilers and Cabbage Corriera for contenders.

Problem with idiots like you is you don't want to acknowledge athletes get old and not all of them peak or plummet at the same time.

 

[Shinobi]

I know that he beat ngannou but that version was green and Most people believe that he gets KTFO if they rematch.


Stipe has one of the weakest resumes ever for a Champion and people claim that he’s a better HW then Fedor.

Can't stand Ngannou's nuthuggers. The dude has a record packed with has beens and failed to beat Stipe. He already had his chance. If he faces Stipe again and loses i guarantee you his nuthuggers will be saying that NOW he is past prime. The right time would have been 1 year ago. Nuthuggers always have an hard time letting go of the nuts.


As far for Stipe, he made a career off beating guys that are past it.