The way I see the heavyweight division

[StumpyTomato]

Just a few thoughts I have...

- Cain and JDS are obviously the top two heavyweights in MMA right now. They've both run through all the competition in the UFC, minus their fights against each other. Anyone jumping up and down calling JDS over rated and a terrible striker is either a hater or just completely daft.

- It seems everyone is looking past Overeem vs Bigfoot (UFC included), which could go badly. As impressive as Overeem has looked, his opponents over the last few years weren't exactly top caliber (Gary Goodridge and a post sickness Brock included). The last time he went up against solid competition in MMA was at LHW, and he was finished in four fights out of five. Still, he's a beast, and an interesting addition to the UFC.

- There will NEVER be a heavyweight fighter as dominant as Fedor was. Sure, a good many of his wins were complete Japanese MMA Mismatches, but he still beat all the best heavyweights of the era in his ten year run. Some people completely ignore his 0 - 3 run in Strikeforce, and have plenty of excuses for it (33 should not be so far past your prime you get finished three fights in a row. I think he just finally ran into a better class of competition. Gonna get some s*** for that one...), and because of this stand by the "fact" that he would dominate any current heavyweight. However, in today's heavyweight division, the chances someone goes on a run like that again are minuscule. There's simply too much power in that division. If Fedor was around today, in his prime, he would not make it over the next ten years without a single blemish on his record.

- DAMN Junior can take a punch. Big Nog taught him well.

 

[Junbo79]

There will NEVER be a heavyweight fighter as dominant as Fedor was.

Not true. Shit, MMA hasn't even pulled the pascifier out of it's mouth yet.

 

[mrsinister]

- There will NEVER be a heavyweight fighter as dominant as Fedor was. Sure, a good many of his wins were complete Japanese MMA Mismatches, but he still beat all the best heavyweights of the era in his ten year run.

Except Couture, Mir, Brock, Barnett, and Gonzaga.

 

[StumpyTomato]

Not true. Shit, MMA hasn't even pulled the pascifier out of it's mouth yet.

I just can't see a Heavyweight making a ten year run without getting clipped. I'd be stoked if one did though, dominant heavyweights are always fun to watch

 

[Sakurabas Ear]

I agree TS except for Fedor running into better comp. He got old and his recklessness started to cost him, Werdum was where he made a mistake and you can see where it went from there. Fedor started to slow down around 2008 I'd say.

 

[Sakurabas Ear]

Except Couture, Mir, Brock, Barnett, and Gonzaga.

Joke?

 

[mrsinister]

Joke?

Did he fight one of those guys and I missed it?

 

[Sakurabas Ear]

Did he fight one of those guys and I missed it?

So Gabriel Gonzanga is GOAT material?

 

[xmiltsx]

Did he fight one of those guys and I missed it?

I think the joke is putting Gonzaga in that list.

 

[TonyMontoya]

Except Couture, Mir, Brock, Barnett, and Gonzaga.

Barnett for sure, the rest I wouldn't be so quick to call "dominant". Great fighters, definitely.

 

[mrsinister]

So Gabriel Gonzanga is GOAT material?

Good rejoinder, except that I in no way shape or form implied he was a GOAT contender. But he fought for the UFC title at 1 time he was a top HW at one time.

 

[tenniswhiz]

Just a few thoughts I have...

- There will NEVER be a heavyweight fighter as dominant as Fedor was. Sure, a good many of his wins were complete Japanese MMA Mismatches, but he still beat all the best heavyweights of the era in his ten year run. Some people completely ignore his 0 - 3 run in Strikeforce, and have plenty of excuses for it (33 should not be so far past your prime you get finished three fights in a row. I think he just finally ran into a better class of competition.

Werdum was in Pride. He lost to Big Nog and Sergei there.
He then came to the UFC and lost to Andrei Arlovski.
Fedor beat 2/3 of them. His little bro and Big Nog beat Sergei also.
Fedor then ran into a better class of fighter in Werdum?
Whatever pal.

Hendo was in Pride. He split wins with Wand, split with Misaki, lost to Lil Nog, lost to Big Nog, and should have lost to Ninja.
Hendo has always been a dangerous and elite fighter, but he didn't go for such a long stretch with a flawless record like Fedor did.
They were in Pride at the same time. Fedor was King and Hendo was not on that level.

Fedor didn't run into a better class of fighter. He was sloppy, reckless, and unprepared for his last 3 SF fights, and he got his ass beat as a result.

 

[LHWBelt]

Just a few thoughts I have...

- Cain and JDS are obviously the top two heavyweights in MMA right now. They've both run through all the competition in the UFC, minus their fights against each other. Anyone jumping up and down calling JDS over rated and a terrible striker is either a hater or just completely daft.

- It seems everyone is looking past Overeem vs Bigfoot (UFC included), which could go badly. As impressive as Overeem has looked, his opponents over the last few years weren't exactly top caliber (Gary Goodridge and a post sickness Brock included). The last time he went up against solid competition in MMA was at LHW, and he was finished in four fights out of five. Still, he's a beast, and an interesting addition to the UFC.

- There will NEVER be a heavyweight fighter as dominant as Fedor was. Sure, a good many of his wins were complete Japanese MMA Mismatches, but he still beat all the best heavyweights of the era in his ten year run. Some people completely ignore his 0 - 3 run in Strikeforce, and have plenty of excuses for it (33 should not be so far past your prime you get finished three fights in a row. I think he just finally ran into a better class of competition. Gonna get some s*** for that one...), and because of this stand by the "fact" that he would dominate any current heavyweight. However, in today's heavyweight division, the chances someone goes on a run like that again are minuscule. There's simply too much power in that division. If Fedor was around today, in his prime, he would not make it over the next ten years without a single blemish on his record.

- DAMN Junior can take a punch. Big Nog taught him well.

Agree that their probably won't be a UFC HW do what Fedor did, it's just the nature of the division. Even in a dominating performance Cain got clipped quite a few times by a tired JDS. Who's to say JDS can't take him out in a rematch? Overeem can't keep it standing longer and put him on queer street like the first match? Barnett, Werdum, Cormier, etc. all will have claims to the crown soon too and HW is not a division a guy stays dominant long. Hell Pat Barry could get lucky and put his lights out, dude hits hard it's just a matter of game planning and ground game that hold him back.

 

[Sakurabas Ear]

Good rejoinder, except that I in no way shape or form implied he was a GOAT contender. But he fought for the UFC title at 1 time he was a top HW at one time.

Well I may have jumped the gun with the GOAT bit, Gonzanga wasn't terribly dominant, he put away Cro Cop back when it meant something but he never really did anything afterwards.

 

[bobsky]

There will NEVER be a heavyweight fighter as dominant as Fedor was.....still beat all the best heavyweights of the era in his ten year run

I agree

Do you really think any current UFC HW champ will get to fight HW's like the ones from Fedor's era, HW's the likes of:

- Coleman coming off of 1 win after a 2 year layoff
- Coleman coming off an injury win over Shogun
- Randleman (1-2 in his last 3)
- Hunt coming off a 2 minute sub loss
- Sylvia coming off a loss
- Schilt
- Rogers
- Arlovski
- Kohsaka
- Herring
- Goodridge
- Ogawa
- Nagata
- Fujita
- HMC
- Zulu
- Lindland

 

[defiler]

Except Couture, Mir, Brock, Barnett, and Gonzaga.

That's a joke right?

The only reason he didn't fight Couture and Lesnar was Mr White. Though calling Brock a dominant fighter or a legend is a far cry from reality.

He tried to fight Barnett, but Barnett screwed that up.

Mir was in the UFC during the Pride days.... you could just as easily say Mir never tried to fight Fedor


And Gonzaga has never bee n more than a 2nd tier gatekeeper, even though I always believed he had the tools to be a champion.... he never put them together though.




Fedor never ducked anybody, and fought all the best fighters he could. Its not something that can be said about all the rest of the c champions...

 

[Sakurabas Ear]

I agree

Do you really think any current UFC HW champ will get to fight HW's like the ones from Fedor's era, HW's the likes of:

- Coleman coming off of 1 win after a 2 year layoff
- Coleman coming off an injury win over Shogun
- Randleman (1-2 in his last 3)
- Hunt coming off a 2 minute sub loss
- Sylvia coming off a loss
- Schilt
- Rogers
- Arlovski
- Kohsaka
- Herring
- Goodridge
- Ogawa
- Nagata
- Fujita
- HMC
- Zulu
- Lindland

Prime Cro Cop and Nog could be top 5 pretty easily in todays HW division, and before you say Cro Cop was never that good, you've got to watch the fighter, not who he fights..Kind of like Anderson Silva post Henderson.

 

[defiler]

I agree

Do you really think any current UFC HW champ will get to fight HW's like the ones from Fedor's era, HW's the likes of:

- Coleman coming off of 1 win after a 2 year layoff
- Coleman coming off an injury win over Shogun
- Randleman (1-2 in his last 3)
- Hunt coming off a 2 minute sub loss
- Sylvia coming off a loss
- Schilt
- Rogers
- Arlovski
- Kohsaka
- Herring
- Goodridge
- Ogawa
- Nagata
- Fujita
- HMC
- Zulu
- Lindland

:
If you take the time to dissect the opponents the ufc heavies have faced, you'll find the same scenario.

Or even look at GSP or A Silva opponents list

 

[defiler]

Prime Cro Cop and Nog could be top 5 pretty easily in todays HW division, and before you say Cro Cop was never that good, you've got to watch the fighter, not who he fights..Kind of like Anderson Silva post Henderson.

Sadly enough, NON-prime nog is top 5 in today's HW division.

 

[Sakurabas Ear]

Sadly enough, NON-prime nog is top 5 in today's HW division.

a very good point sir