What if Anderson had retired after Bonnar?

It's not meaningless, it's a decent thought exercise.

Penn dominated from 01-09. IWon the WW belt and in '03 was ranked #1 in the world at both LW and WW. He ended up being only the 2nd or 3rd best WW of the era (debatable) behind GSP, but he still crushed at LW.

But a lot of fans discount his entire career due to his accomplishments (lack thereof) after 2011.

Can he be a GOAT candidate for his accomplishments only from 2001-2009? Can fans separate that out from the second half of his career? Should they? All interesting questions in a (admittedly) ultimately stupid debate.

There is no credible writing source (including Ring magazine) that completely erases the existence of post prime fights. It’s simply not weighed as heavily.

We don’t get to cherry-pick when our favorite fighters careers should end. It’s too easy to discount fights where they were defeated by a superior fighter or game plan. It’s unfair to delegitimize their vanquishers, even though they most likely weren’t at their best when they did so.
 
So ok then, I guess we shouldn't ignore how athletes in other sports peform when past their prime too right? Even if they break a ton of records they aren't the GOAT if they continue playing and start having bad results.

You didn’t read what I typed.
 
Convicted PED abuser hurt his legacy more than losing fights well past his prime. If you are a boxing fan you remember Roberto Duran as a legend, one of the best over. You certainly do not remember he lost 3 of his last 4 fights.
 
The shameful thing is not him trying to keep doing what he loves past his ability to be at the top, but people using it against him.
 
His late career adds to his legacy, taking DC and Izzy to the distance and beating some good fighters on top of that.

Retiring early is a punk move. Great fighters don't quit when things get tough.
 
I hate that losses at a late age affect people's legacies. In my opinion, that's silly and these don't take away from his dominance in his prime.

From 2006-2013, he was sensational. And was considered the best ever by many.

His late career struggles have changed the way people see him.
 
People lose context with Silva because of his age. He was done even when he was winning his championships towards the end. His last skid was when he was older than 90% of the ufc roster will even get to fight.
 
Silva was very good but fans seem to forget that this is a sport that evolves. Silva helped make the sport a lot more popular and drew in a lot more fighters. The fighters now are overall better than the fighters in Silva's day, especially as the talent from other parts of the world are brought in. The fighters from the Caucuses like Khabib, Khamzat, etc being an indication of things to come. They may not get as much name recognition but I think Silva's losing streak also coincided with the fact that the fighters overall were improving and leaving behind old timers behind.
 
He takes his dick pills in private and never gets popped. Goat.

Yeah people would be talking about how he's clearly the GOAT and there's no way he was ever on steroids.

Silva was very good but fans seem to forget that this is a sport that evolves. Silva helped make the sport a lot more popular and drew in a lot more fighters. The fighters now are overall better than the fighters in Silva's day, especially as the talent from other parts of the world are brought in. The fighters from the Caucuses like Khabib, Khamzat, etc being an indication of things to come. They may not get as much name recognition but I think Silva's losing streak also coincided with the fact that the fighters overall were improving and leaving behind old timers behind.

Indeed, and it should be pretty obvious when you look at his record and see names like Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites, Patrick Cote, MW Demian Maia, Travis Lutter, and Yushin Omami. Not exactly elite by today's standards.
 
Yeah people would be talking about how he's clearly the GOAT and there's no way he was ever on steroids.



Indeed, and it should be pretty obvious when you look at his record and see names like Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites, Patrick Cote, MW Demian Maia, Travis Lutter, and Yushin Omami. Not exactly elite by today's standards.

Franklin, Marquardt, and Maia are legit names, the rest are kind of ehh. Might give Okami some props as well, he’s a tough dude.
 
Clear goat imo

right now he’s debatable goat and top 5 at worst
 
Too bad he didn't have a family member dying as an excuse to quit without defending his belt more. But he already defended more than three times..WAY more at that point.
Wow what a shitty shitty thing to say as well as a really dumb take on Khabibs circumstances
 
Back
Top