For each weight class... how much of a shot do they have at UFC Gold? Gilbert Melendez? Tarec Saffiedine? Luke Rockhold? Jacare? Gegard Mousasi? Daniel Cormier? I think Gil is around a Gray Maynard level. Not sure he beats Bendo, but I think he has a chance to and is a favorite against virtually everyone else at LW. Tarec is not going to beat GSP, I don't think, but gives fits to the elite at WW and beats everyone else after the top 6 or 7. He is very young and is relatively new to MMA still. Luke Rockhold beats everyone not named Anderson Silva. Same with Jacare. Gegard has a lot to prove and honestly he needs to face Ryan Bader or Phil Davis first. If he can learn to handle wrestlers then he could legitimately go on to dethroning Jones. We have yet to see it though and he could still just be wrestlefucked. Daniel Cormier is the shizzzzzzz yo.
I do not agree Tarec beats everyone outside the top 6. DHK Alves Siyar Ellenberger Hathaway Kampmann Rory Macdonald Demian Maia Gunnar Nelson Mike Pierce Erick Silva Jay Hieron Tyron woodley Are all outside the top 6 or 7 and I'd give all of them a decent shot at beating Tarec. Tarec is a solid fighter but let's not forget he already lost to Woodley and arguably lost to Roger Bowling in his last fight.
They're going to get killed just like the UFC fighters did by the PRIDE fighters. Oh, wait, that never happened? You mean it's never about which organization you're from but about how you match up with a single opponent? Oh, then it will probably go 50/50 just like all other org vs org match ups.
They all have good chances to compete at the level they are currently on. Aside from Cormier and Melendez none of them are in title contention yet. Rockhold and Mousasi have alot of uncertaintly surrounding them, Jacare wont fight the champ if he gets to contention so i had to rule him out. Tarec will not be much of a threat to most of those guys at WW because he struggles with tough wrestlers. I could see him losing to a Rick Story type fighter based solely on style. They all belong in the big leaugues though, it will be interesting to see how they do with the ability to fight more often than with strikeforce.
Melendez could possibly beat Bendo, I wouldn't root for or bet on him though. The only other one is Cormier. He has a chance, but probably won't fight Cain. I'm a big mousasi fan, but I don't think he stands a chance against JJ.
This is an intriguing question. We now know Gil is getting a title shot and frankly he has a good shot at beating Bendo simply because Bendo is not really a finisher (yet). Rockhold and Gegard Mousasi are the question marks. Rockhold just hasn't faced enough top talent. I think he is at least two fights away from being considered a contender. One fight should be a rematch with Jacare and the other should be Vitor. Mousasi plans to fight at LHW and wants a top 10 if not top 5 talent. Some question his record, but he has some impressive wins so I say grant him his wish. I think Phil Davis would be compelling.
A decent shot? Tarec beat an off the juice Nate Marquardt. Maybe i'll be eating my words, but I can't see him cracking into the top 10 in the UFC.
I think Gil will win UFC gold. I think Cormier could be a SERIOUS title contender at LHW. The rest of the guys I would expect to be mid-level UFC fighters who will get some quality wins but never really sniff a title shot.
