in a recent thread on this site asking fans to rank all the UFC lhw champs from best to worst Forrest was last or second last for most.
he was a tough gritty fighter, similar to a Cote at MW. and Cote had his one run at MW which resulted in a title fight, unfortunately for him he had to fight Anderson. imagine if he could have instead fought someone else for the belt and grabbed that belt and then fell away to gatekeeper status like Forrest has.
and he was a Tailor made opponent for silva. Rogan admited it after the fight. easy win for the spider.
Because he is a damn MW, that's why. I don't care how dominant a fighter is, a move up in weight is no simple task. That goes for Jones too. If he moves to HW, he should start with lesser talent. I doubt the UFC allows that, but it would be the smart move.
wow.............. it's like you live in some alternate reality that no one can influence.
i'm sure someone else will handle this, my head hurts from this stupidity. just wow.
According to a few people including Irvin, 4 LHW's turned down the Silva fight before he accepted. I believe it was Rashad, Thiago, Jardine, and one more that I don't remember.
Inb4 Kneeuinthenutz and his asspain.
He was top 4 ranked at the time, so he was matched against top LHWs, which answers TS' question.:
Tailor made? That's your opinion, not fact. Fact is, Forrest was top 4 ranked.
The first fight I could understand he wanted to test the waters...he passed with flying colors and as a bonus I believe they cut the Sandman for his efforts after that. I really would have like to see Rashad Evans or another top guy against him. Why didn't it ever happen? ANd will it?
Rashad got offered the fight against SIlva. So did Jardine, Vera and Thiago Silva.
and he was a Tailor made opponent for silva. Rogan admited it after the fight. easy win for the spider.
I believe the 4th was Vera. I'm getting old and the memory is going. Silva and Ed Soares were actively seeking a fight with Chuck Liddell before he started losing. They also put it out there he'd fight Frank Mir.
I stand corrected. But in the pros picks, more picked griffin
According to a few people including Irvin, 4 LHW's turned down the Silva fight before he accepted. I believe it was Rashad, Thiago, Jardine, and one more that I don't remember.
Inb4 Kneeuinthenutz and his asspain.
Rashad got offered the fight against SIlva. So did Jardine, Vera and Thiago Silva.
They all refused and Anderson ended up fighting Irvin.
lol.
in the post you quote me I call Anderson arguably the greatest champ on balance the sport has seen. I am a GSP fan who has always said I rank Fedor and Anderson as the 1a and 1b of GOAT and GSP a tier below.
But I am a 'hater' in Anderson fan eyes why? because I also admit he had an area of weakness and will not pretend he did not.
Classic.
Oh and not every wrestling based fighter is the same. Hendo who lost to Anderson and Shields at MW was not seen as the type of wrestler to implement a 5 round grapplefuck game plan with a high level of cardio and pressure. he had evolved, on a similar path to BJ, into a guy who was mostly a striking threat but could give anyone a round or so of good grappling before gassing out.