ABC Fight Corner

[fightbackhxc21]

Machida i think is going to the the Anderson Silva of that weight bracket.

One thing that raelly bothers me are bandwagon folks. I have been following Machida for awhile now and always loved his fighting style and now that hes working his way up people are like hes my new favorite fighter.

Does this ever bother anyone else regardless of the sport?

Or am i just irritable lol

[HardCory]

Originally Posted by fightbackhxc21

Machida i think is going to the the Anderson Silva of that weight bracket.

One thing that raelly bothers me are bandwagon folks. I have been following Machida for awhile now and always loved his fighting style and now that hes working his way up people are like hes my new favorite fighter.

Does this ever bother anyone else regardless of the sport?

Or am i just irritable lol

Machida has grown on me over his last two fights, but I won't be claiming he's my favorite. I do hope he runs through this division because it hasn't had a solid champ since Chuck Liddell. I can't really see anyone right now because able to beat him, but only time will tell. Anyhow I hate front runners, there's so many Phillies fans, and Steelers fan in Reno right now makes me sick.

[HardCory]

Mav, I know you named Fedor as the best lb for lb fighter in the world. I'm interested in what your Top 10 lb for lb fighters in the world list would be.

[klosey]

Originally Posted by will-work4andro

i am also picking BJ Penn...i think it's going to be great to see a man with 2 belts...i'm also picking Fedor over Arlovski in the Affliction card this weekend.

Feder is usually a safe bet

[maverickBU]

Originally Posted by HardCory

Mav, I know you named Fedor as the best lb for lb fighter in the world. I'm interested in what your Top 10 lb for lb fighters in the world list would be.

Oy, these are tough, cause so much of it is subjective and MMA is so much of a "what have you done for me lately" type sport. But for a current P4P, I'd go with something like this:

1) Fedor Emilianenko
2) Anderson Silva
3) GSP
4) Miguel Torres
5) Lyoto Machida

Those are about the only 5 right now that I feel comfortable saying are and will be dominant for years to come. Not necessarily undefeated, but they will be at the top of their divisions til time or their own choices stop them, not competition.

On a side note, I get BJ's pure talent, and that's why he has so many fans, but I don't get why he's on everyone's P4P lists. A jiujitsu ace whose done really well translating it to MMA, but he's 13-5-1 with wildly overestimated striking. His recent "impressive" wins are all over recently exposed one-dimensional fighters (see Sherk, Stevenson, aging Pulver). I need to see a dominant win over Florian to even consider im in my P4P top list.

[misterjaydubyoo]

Originally Posted by maverickBU

Oy, these are tough, cause so much of it is subjective and MMA is so much of a "what have you done for me lately" type sport. But for a current P4P, I'd go with something like this:

1) Fedor Emilianenko
2) Anderson Silva
3) GSP
4) Miguel Torres
5) Lyoto Machida

Those are about the only 5 right now that I feel comfortable saying are and will be dominant for years to come. Not necessarily undefeated, but they will be at the top of their divisions til time or their own choices stop them, not competition.

On a side note, I get BJ's pure talent, and that's why he has so many fans, but I don't get why he's on everyone's P4P lists. A jiujitsu ace whose done really well translating it to MMA, but he's 13-5-1 with wildly overestimated striking. His recent "impressive" wins are all over recently exposed one-dimensional fighters (see Sherk, Stevenson, aging Pulver). I need to see a dominant win over Florian to even consider im in my P4P top list.

Spot on. If GSP can win this fight against Alves, I actually may bump him up to be even with Silva (granted Silva wins). Silva's next opponent is Forrest. While Forrest is a game opponent, there is no argument that he is not the most talented person in the world. He relies on hard work, and heart, which is why he is likeable. however, as long as Silva shows up, he should have no problem whatsoever with Forrest. I think that Alves is basically a MW, and if GSP can handle him, I am ready to see a superfight between him and Silva.

As for BJ, you are absolutely correct. He should not even grace the conversation, much less the list of the world's top p4p fighters. I think I am going to go ahead and predict that Florian defeats BJ. I have never liked Florian, but he has been growing on me. It cannot be denied that he has drastically improved, and seems to work very, very hard (from what I have gathered in interviews, and from watching him improve).

People do not remember, but Lyoto Machida fought Rich franklin at one point (KO'd him...Franklin has a weakness for knees). While the fight was at 205, I think, I could see Lyoto making MW if needed. Hence this is the reason I also agree with you putting him in the p4p list. He has started compiling a nice list of wins (Franklin, Tito, and Rashad with devasting fashion might I add, and BJ Penn), and has just defeated two undefeated* fighters very, very easily. I know him and Silva are training partners, but what a matchup that would be!!

*I never considered Rashad undefeated. I am stubborn, and while the judges scored it a tie, Rashad lost to Tito. Dana White hates Tito, and they made sure to take it out on him for this fight. Grabbing the cage? Come on. How about all the times Rashas did it in the same fight to avoid takedowns?

[DaveV]

Originally Posted by fightbackhxc21

Machida i think is going to the the Anderson Silva of that weight bracket.

One thing that raelly bothers me are bandwagon folks. I have been following Machida for awhile now and always loved his fighting style and now that hes working his way up people are like hes my new favorite fighter.

Does this ever bother anyone else regardless of the sport?

Or am i just irritable lol

I've never seen a Machida fight but I'm not big on his style (from what I hear) anyway. I like the wrestlers. Hughes, Rampage, Lesnar.

[maverickBU]

Originally Posted by misterjaydubyoo

Spot on. If GSP can win this fight against Alves, I actually may bump him up over Silva.

I'd need more than one defense for that. I agree that GSP's competition is of a higher level, but Silva's got 5 consecutive title defenses and a record 9 consectuve wins in the UFC in a sport that allows no room for error (as Chonan showed him in his lackluster Pride days). All he needs to do is dismantle an opponent again and he'll be firmly back in his P4P position.

Originally Posted by misterjaydubyoo

While Forrest is a game opponent, there is no argument that he is not the most talented person in the world.

While I totally agree with you, you need to tell that to the sherdog staff that has him listed as #8 P4P in their latest P4P list. I don't think he should be on it, and I think he is for the reasons you listed he is likeable.

Originally Posted by misterjaydubyoo

I think that Alves is basically a MW, and if GSP can handle him, I am ready to see a superfight between him and Silva.

Who isn't?! I know the phrase gets thrown around a lot in promotions, but THAT would be the greatest MMA matchup (notice I didn't say "fight") the UFC has ever seen.

Originally Posted by misterjaydubyoo

As for BJ, you are absolutely correct. He should not even grace the conversation, much less the list of the world's top p4p fighters. I think I am going to go ahead and predict that Florian defeats BJ. I have never liked Florian, but he has been growing on me. It cannot be denied that he has drastically improved, and seems to work very, very hard (from what I have gathered in interviews, and from watching him improve).

If there was a "most improved fighter" award for the last 3-4 years, Florian would be a top contender (also Patrick Cote off the top of my head).

Originally Posted by misterjaydubyoo

People do not remember, but Lyoto Machida fought Rich franklin at one point (KO'd him). While the fight was a t 205, I could see Lyoto making MW if needed. Hence this is the reason I also agree with you putting him in the p4p list. I know him and Silva are training partners, but what a matchup that would be!!

He also decisioned BJ. Franklin put him on the map, though, as Lyoto was supposed to be a tune-up fight for him. Kinda like the Crocop v. Gonzaga or Forrest vs. Shogun situations. Unfortunately, Machida and Silva will NOT fight at this point, they've made that clear. But then again, Wanderlei and Shogun said they'd never fight when they were at Chute Box together, but now, who knows.

[maverickBU]

Originally Posted by DaveV

I've never seen a Machida fight but I'm not big on his style (from what I hear) anyway. I like the wrestlers. Hughes, Rampage, Lesnar.

Why would you comment on a fighter you've never seen?! And Rampage has been doing very little wrestling these days, almost nothing but boxing.

[DaveV]

Originally Posted by maverickBU

Why would you comment on a fighter you've never seen?! And Rampage has been doing very little wrestling these days, almost nothing but boxing.

Because I know he is more of a martial artist than a wrestler. Rampage did a lot of slamming back in his Pride days.

I'm just a casual fan of MMA anyway.