GSP would obviously be top of the list, especially post Serra loss. Always came prepared and with a flawless gameplan and executed it perfectly, it was only in later years cracks started to show.
Fight IQ is necessary to be a champ. They all have it in spades. You rarely see established champions having brainfarts in there. I wanna say GSP though. He's always tailoring his game specifically to his opponents, whereas a guy like Jones will often walk into a guy's strength just to prove a point. Seems to work for him though.
Agree with Troublesome10. But yes, I'd say GSP is the obvious choice. Beat most guys with grappling, but beat up wrestlers (Koscheck, Hughes) with striking.
Jones, DC, GSP, Werdum, Weidman, Aldo 1: Weidman - I can't think of any strategic errors in his career. Just superb at the more subtle aspects of MMA, distance and maneuvering.Maneuvered both Lyoto and Anderson into defeats and handled Vitor proficiently. 2: Aldo - He might be a bit methodical at times and not go for the finish, but that isn't necessarily a weakness. 3: GSP - Trying to jab vs Hendricks wasn't the best strategy perhaps, since Hendricks is a Southpaw who is good at handfighting (the fact that he still managed to win is indicative of how insanely good GSP is at jabbing). To be fair though, I can't think of any alternatives for him, since he has delimited himself so much on his technical arsenal in his post-Serra career. He has trained himself into a corner, basically. 4: Jones - Many of his gameplans are briliant. Like clinch-fighting vs a boxer like Glover, robbing him of all the best punches he can throw. The Gustaffson fight was a major flaw though, as he initally tried to box with a guy who is a much more sophisticated and nuanced boxer than him. Jones had the smarts though to shift from boxing towards a more Kick-and-Elbows oriented approach, which won him the fight. 5: Werdum - He has grown increadibly crafty in recent years - managing to pull tricks out of nowhere (like the fake-takedown into a flying knee vs Hunt. Faking being hurt vs Fedor). However, at several times in his carrer he has been left planless and therefore not known what to do (like vs Overreem or Kharitonov) 6: DC - I can't really think of any examples where DC has shown to have a great fight IQ. I think there should be a diffrent pool for "Gameplan" and "Creativness". Werdum might be increadibly crafty but he's not the best gameplaner it seems, for example.
There are so many factors that make it difficult to compare them directly. GSP always had the perfect plan against the opponent. But he also worked so hard on his athleticism and skills that he was just a better fighter than anyone he had faced. Aldo's style works perfectly against the current division. He is just so much more effective compared to bouncy manlets. I really want to see Conor fight because his style is just so much different. Werdum became very confident and well-rounded. His clinch and ground game are very dangerous and he has shown that he can put fighters like Cain out of their gameplan. The fight IQ and skills are definitely at the top. DC has mostly fought grapplers or slower fighters that matched well against him. He did well against Jones and Rumble IQ-wise. But he did lose to Jones especially in the takedown department and could have been finished against Rumble. I would love to see him against Gus. Other fighters on the list definitely have a better IQ. Jones is excellent at this. But he also has physical advantages, and like Aldo, can use dirty tactics to get advantage. Weidman so far has fought very smart, especially against Silva. I feel like I need to see him against a couple of more opponents to see if his fight IQ matches GSP and Werdum.
DC's fight IQ against Jones was nothing to brag about. Jones' IQ outside the UFC (or lack thereof) has cost him millions.
DC fought emotionally against Jones. That isn't good. GSP and Weidman have amazing fight IQ. Don't blame GSP for his last fight. Both his knees were shredded to bits and taped back together. He did what he could and won a decision and made the right call to retire. Career IQ.
1) GSP 2) Jon Jones 3) Werdum 4) Aldo 5) DC 6) Weidman It was pretty tough to rank them the bottom 3. None of them really strike me as having bad fight IQ, but Weidman takes the most risks, so I have him last.
Started taking more and more damage in his fights. Rocked by Diaz, rocked by Condit, Hendricks landed some good shots, Shields cut him up (yeah he was fighting with one eye) Not bad by a normal fighter standards but he wasn't the same fighter he used to be by the end of his career.
Fedor should be mentioned. He was outsmarted by Werdum but Werdum has the best fight IQ. No one is perfect. Even Werdum can be outsmarted.
