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- Feb 6, 2007
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Title says it.
I always liked how back in the day champions would often give a give a shot to guys who beat them in the past but may not be on their level anymore. The guy who won the first time would to skip the line regardless of his ranking at the time of the rematch.
I felt like it offered the champs relatively easier tune-up/busy matches that also tied up some loose ends to their perceived title reign dominance and overall legacy. Also helped to pad the record in a good way, IMO.
A few examples that come to mind would be Big Nog vs Dan Hendo (though Hendo was dangerous then and would become even more dangerous later on) and Fedor vs Tsuyoshi Kosaka in Pride, or maybe BJ vs Jens Pulver in UFC (can’t recall if BJ was champ then, but he was definitely still relevant).
All this to say, I like Ricky Simon a lot as a fighter but I don’t really see him getting to the top of a pretty stacked division. He’s coming off a great win but he’s scheduled to fight Jourdain who is even further down the rankings. If he can string a few more good wins together and Merab finishes wiping out all the top 5-10, I would enjoy seeing this, maybe as a co-main to a bigger fights.
Ricky 99% gets radolled, but he’s one of those dudes I love watching and I’d love to see him get a shot even if he didn’t necessarily earn it. Would also help to extend Merab’s streak and build momentum for bigger fights when new contenders start popping up.
Of course, this is all if he doesn’t lose to Sandhagen or win and then go up to 145.
Anyyyywhoooo. Sorry for long read. Thanks to those who took the time. I understand if TLDR, and certainly don’t expect it to be a popular opinion.
I always liked how back in the day champions would often give a give a shot to guys who beat them in the past but may not be on their level anymore. The guy who won the first time would to skip the line regardless of his ranking at the time of the rematch.
I felt like it offered the champs relatively easier tune-up/busy matches that also tied up some loose ends to their perceived title reign dominance and overall legacy. Also helped to pad the record in a good way, IMO.
A few examples that come to mind would be Big Nog vs Dan Hendo (though Hendo was dangerous then and would become even more dangerous later on) and Fedor vs Tsuyoshi Kosaka in Pride, or maybe BJ vs Jens Pulver in UFC (can’t recall if BJ was champ then, but he was definitely still relevant).
All this to say, I like Ricky Simon a lot as a fighter but I don’t really see him getting to the top of a pretty stacked division. He’s coming off a great win but he’s scheduled to fight Jourdain who is even further down the rankings. If he can string a few more good wins together and Merab finishes wiping out all the top 5-10, I would enjoy seeing this, maybe as a co-main to a bigger fights.
Ricky 99% gets radolled, but he’s one of those dudes I love watching and I’d love to see him get a shot even if he didn’t necessarily earn it. Would also help to extend Merab’s streak and build momentum for bigger fights when new contenders start popping up.
Of course, this is all if he doesn’t lose to Sandhagen or win and then go up to 145.
Anyyyywhoooo. Sorry for long read. Thanks to those who took the time. I understand if TLDR, and certainly don’t expect it to be a popular opinion.
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