So after the Gus fight I thought about Shogun and his place in the division.
He is in his 30's now and is unlikely to improve his game significantly from this point on, he's had multiple surgeries on his knees and it seems many of his weapons have been taken from him by the aforementioned injuries and age.
He has taken serious damage throughout his career and lately in particular, his style had reverted from a multifaceted striker to a very one dimensional slugger. He is over reliant on his big overhand, lacks the wrestling to consistently defend the takedown or fully implement a top game. His grappling is still dangerous but he lacks finishing ability with his subs and often leaves himself open on the mat, his cardio remains a major weakness and he is a step behind most modern fighters with his strength and conditioning programme it seems.
He could stick around as an upper level gatekeeper for a while IMO but I dont think we'll see him contend again, he's gone the way of Fedor and let the game pass him by, he's accomplished alot and given us great moments but he wont remain competitive unless he makes some serious changes.
Thoughts?
