In descending order...
Bonnar - In the time I've been a fan of his I've had to excuse his cardio (Bonnar/Griffin I ), quality of wins (Bonnar/Nichols, Bonnar/Schaffer, Bonnar/Jardine), his integrity and heart (the steroid issue), his takedown defence (Bonnar/Evans, Bonnar/Jones, Bonnar/Coleman), ability to adapt and grow as a fighter (Bonnar/Griffin II, Bonnar/Jones), and most recently his relevence in the UFC 205lb division (Bonnar/Jones, Bonnar/Coleman, Bonnar/Soszynski).
I honestly don't know why I bother supporting him anymore, he's cost me over $100 in lost bets (ok, that's in New Zealand dollars, so that's only like a buck-eighty American but it's a big deal to me) and I'm finding it harder and harder to perform the mental gymnastics necessary to keep justifying his losses. I'll probably keep supporting him but at this point it's more habit that anything else.
Swick - Man just can't get that number-one-contender spot. I thought dropping to welterweight was the best thing he could have done and his 33-second demolition of Goulet in December 08 made it seem that he was back to his explosive best. But after stringing together a number of wins, and when he was right on the edge of a shot at GSP he lost two winnable fights and is now middle of the pecking order at best. A crying shame as he's an exciting, damaging fighter when his head is on straight.
Cro-Cop - Arrival in UFC seemed to co-incide with an almost total loss of interest in fighting altogether. Got outstruck by Cheick Kongo - yeah, I know, there were plenty or groin shots that didn't help matters, but at the end of the day Cro-Cop is Cro-Cop and Kongo is Kongo, and that fight should have only ended one way. Oh, and the fact he's yet to land a decent head kick in 6 UFC fights is a crying shame.
Gonzaga - all the tools but just can't put it together when it counts. Not helped by having both a suspect heart and an innate dislike of being hit. A true waste of size, KO power and world class jits.
Vera - What makes a complete modern mixed martial artist? Ideally (on paper) you'd want fantastic technical striking, KO power, great wrestling credentials and great subs. Who ticks off all of these boxes? Brandon Vera of course. Why is he unable to capitlise on his many and varied talents? Good fucking question.
I'm honestly sick to death of his pre-fight predictions - incidentally, it's always slight variations on the same theme: ("I'm going back to my roots and I'm gonna blast this guy out"; "You're gonna see the 'old' Brandon Vera this time, I promise"; "I'm finally taking training seriously and I'm gonna be a world champion someday then retire") Yeah, ok, what-the-fuck-ever. He's the boy who cried wolf as far as I'm concerned.
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Goremire's rules for enjoyable MMA forum posting
Rule 1: REMEMBER that you cannot reason someone out of an argument they did not reason themselves into in the first place.
Rule 2: Albert Einstein once wrote a foreword endorsing a book rubbishing the theory of plate tectonics. History proved him wrong. Moral of the story? REMEMBER: We all say stupid stuff sometimes!
Rule 3: NEVER attempt to mediate in a flame-war between GSP and BJ Penn nuthuggers debating GSP/Penn II. It won't end well.
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