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[CtGreat]

Originally Posted by Sniggles

List of cherry-picked bouts (IMO):

Thales Leites, Demian Maia, James Irvin, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar

Forrest Griffen was a cherry picked bout? Are you aware that he was LHW CHAMPION just 1 fight before Silva faced him?

[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by CtGreat

Forrest Griffen was a cherry picked bout? Are you aware that he was LHW CHAMPION just 1 fight before Silva faced him?

Yes I am aware.

Anderson knew what he could do to him and that it was a perfect matchup for him. Don't you think that Anderson has trainers advising him of whom he would matchup well with in the LHW division?

It's my opinion which is not fact obviously.

Anderson fought three slow and lumbering light heavyweights. Did he fight a wrestler or an amazing striker with good footwork?

No.

He fought 3 men who's power were equal to his yet he had an massive speed advantage.

Of course you'll say, well it's a given that the smaller fighter had more speed. Well... they were both pretty close in size.

[Adambomb]

Originally Posted by Sniggles

List of cherry-picked bouts (IMO):

Thales Leites, Demian Maia, James Irvin, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar

Silva didn't want to fight Leites or Maia & has said as much. You could probably throw Cote in there as well. They offered little challenge so he mocked them.

The LHW fights were definitely picked so Anderson would have a stylistic advantage. I won't dispute that, but Griffin in particular was supposed to offer more of a challenge than Silva's previous opponents at 185 had. At least Forrest was a former champion.

[Sniggles]

Leites and Maia were circumstantial opponents because Anderson dodged rematches with Quartz and Hendo.

Why?

Well, the why is what we bicker about.

[kalebarker]

I actually wouldn't mind if Bisping got the title shot with a win. Weidman should get it, but there is an argument for Bisping over him. As good as Wiedman looked against Munoz, Munoz is no Belfort. Weidman still doesn't have a win over anyone at the top of the division. Bisping will if he Belfort.

[Sakara=Excitement]

Originally Posted by CtGreat

Forrest Griffen was a cherry picked bout? Are you aware that he was LHW CHAMPION just 1 fight before Silva faced him?

Griffin wasn't cherry picked due to his lack of talent, but it was a fight that reading through the interviews and putting it context, was made because of Griffin's willingness to bang, or at least be in exciting fights. Remember this fight was made in response to UFC 97's shit show of a main event.

Cherry picked to me has a dirty connotation behind it but Forrest was brought in to stand with Silva.

Comments like this from Dana:

UFC 101 Preview: Anderson Silva and Dana White Have a Philosophical Difference - Bloody Elbow

"I don’t know what’s going to happen when Forrest fights Anderson Silva but I know this, Forrest going to go after him," said White, barely containing his giddiness at the prospect. "Silva is going to have to end the fight."

And Soares:

Soares: Silva vs. Griffin at UFC 101 is "the type of fight we want to take" | News

"I think Forrest Griffin is a big light heavyweight, and I think it's going to be a great fight," Soares said. "He's a guy that makes it exciting. He leaves everything out in the octagon, and that's the type of fight we want to take."

It's all you heard in the pre-fight. How this fight was made because Forrest will come after Anderson, and sure enough he did. So much pressure to stand and bang with an extremely dangerous man, no wonder he was popping Xanax before the fight.

Forrest Griffin admits to taking Xanax night before epic UFC 101 loss to Anderson Silva - MMA Fighting

[v3xi]

MW division has been garbage for a while. How can someone be #1 p4p that beats up cans.

Anderson has this thing called eyesight. He watched Forrest's fights and knew it would be an easy win. Anderson does not want challenges.

[Lesnar_FTW]

Originally Posted by CtGreat

Fuck me....I don't not want Jones and Silva to fight each other....

"Don't not want"? Does that mean you want to see Anderson and Jones fight ?

[Adambomb]

Originally Posted by Sniggles

Leites and Maia were circumstantial opponents because Anderson dodged rematches with Quartz and Hendo.

Why?

Well, the why is what we bicker about.

That is totally wrong. Leites defeated Marquardt to get his title shot.

Maia was a last minute replacement for Belfort. That fight took place in April 2010. Hendo signed with Strikeforce in December 2009.

[AnchorPunch]

Originally Posted by Adambomb

You see fighting Bones as a cherrypicked bout? Isn't Bones a far more distinguished and seemingly more difficult opponent than Weidman?

The title should be defended regularly, but if there isn't a distinguished #1 contender then forcing a champ to fight inferior & opponents is both bad business & bad for the sport. How are fights like Silva-Maia, Silva-Leites, or GSP-Hardy a good thing?



Their last 2 fights are the only ones that mean anything. How are Weidman's previous bouts worth anything more than Bisping's? Winning streaks are irrelevant when they come against sub-par competition. It's not like Tom Lawlor, Jesse Bongfeldt, & Alessio Sakara are any better than Mayhem Miller, Jorge Rivera, Yoshihiro Akiyama, & Dan Miller. In fact, I'd say that on average Bisping has faced far superior competition over the last 3 years. Bisping has only lost one of his last 6 (7 if he beats Vitor) & that was against Sonnen in a razor close decision.

I totally agree that the titles don't get defended often enough (I think GSP & Carlos Condit were posterboys for that). However, I'd much rather see Anderson in competitive fights than defending his title against far inferior opponents that haven't distinguished themselves like Maia & Leites. If the competition doesn't appear to be available at 185 then Silva should be allowed fight elsewhere.

I'm a huge Silva fan, but my beef here is not that anyone's waiting for a legit contender, but that:

1. Silva is actively involved in the process. That always bugs me. It bugs me when employees at my work try and pick their jobs while simultaneously moving up the ladder, it bugs me when champions do it. There's a clear definition of the job and this isn't part of it.

2. More importantly: There's no active criteria for defining the legit contenders. If DW made it clear, contenders were given a chance and knew the rules, then fine. It's a little wonky, but at least it's fair and at least it clearly defines what the belt is or isn't. And it stops this crap where we all sit around waiting for someone to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are a contender. That's just too high a bar and one that isn't used in other divisions with other champions.