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Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre  Remember when Pettis came over post-WEC merger with all that "Showtime Kick" hype, but before he got the title unification bout, he lost to Clay and his momentum was pretty much derailed and that money match went down the tubes?
I feel as though ZUFFA won't want to run the risk of spoiling another title unification bout by having Gil against say, a Maynard(who I think tears Gil up), so my money is on Gil getting Bendo immediately so they don't lose that big bout, despite maybe not believing Gil is really a top contender in comparision to the elite UFC LWs at the moment.
As said above, Gil's last two fights have been underwhelming and I think he's dodging a big bullet in the underrated Pat Healy, whose style could really trap Gil in some quicksand. Healy is all about hustle and pace and Gil has come in looking doughie and somewhat lax in his last two(and I had him losing to Punk last time out...)
IMO, the LW division has gotten really, REALLY interesting as of late, when you factor in the SF moves, Cerrone/Pettis, the potential of Eddie FINALLY getting to the big show(I think Nate or Miller would be stellar debut matchups) and surging, under-the-radar LWs such as Khabib, Wiman, Grant and dos Anjos, there will be alot of cool matchups coming down the pipe in the first quarter of 2013 and I for one, am really excited to see what comes out of the deepest division.
I like Gil, but am tenative to say "give him a tune up fight" and recommend making hay while the sun shines on him... |
I totally agree, and I attribute Gil looking doughie and underwhelming lately due to a lack of motivation. He really doesn't want to fight underrated guys in SF anymore, he's made it clear publicly, and it's showing in his performances.
Give him a title shot right off the bat. It'll (hopefully) light a fire under his ass. Also, a champ vs champ fight always sells.
Personally, I think Thomson would also be a great acquisition for the UFC. The guy is very underrated. Also Noons, but he seems to have lost a lot of motivation lately. He looked like a killer in some of his SF fights, and maybe he'll find some motivation if they'd be willing to give him a shot. Same with Masvidal and Healy of course.
The division is going to be insanely deep; I predict a lot more guys will be moving to lighter weights since there isn't enough room for all this talent at LW.