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[Goremire]

Originally Posted by Y2JUBAE

I can't see him being the best because he beat Munoz or Maia. Vitor could have done that on his lunch break. If he can beat Vitor, he's the man.

You could say the same thing about Weidman beating 1x dimensional Akiyama, bloated and dehydrated Johnson and perennial choker Bisping. Weidman has unquestionably beaten better competition at middleweight than Vitor, but Weidman has to beat Vitor to prove himself? Why? Because of Vitor's reputation? Past achievements in different orgs and weightclasses? That undefinable "Vitorness" that constantly has him ranked around the top-5 at middleweight despite not beating a top-5 middleweight in the UFC, ever?

People run down Maia and Munoz but I've yet to see any of his detractors look at their rankings at the time Weidman fought them and suggest anyone - anyone - who should have been ranked higher than them.

I'm with AnchorPunch in that Weidman should fight again due to the injury layoff, but that's the only reason.

[H0SS]

Originally Posted by Bork_Lazer

How so? I made a case in another thread not too long ago as to why it isn't, just wondering what makes you say that it is?

Look at the top 10 at WW right now (guys like Condit, Hendricks, Rory, Fitch, Diaz, Kos, Ellenberger, etc), then look at the top 10 at MW (Weidman, Belfort, Bisping, Boetsch, Phillipou, Okami, etc).

WW is without a doubt the more talented division.

Moreover, look at GSP's recent title defenses (Condit, Shields, Kos, Hardy, Alves, Penn, Fitch, etc..) compared to Silva's (Sonnen x2, Maia, Leites, Cote, Hendo, Franklin etc).

While looking for a MW contender, we can't help but think in terms of "who hasn't fucked up too much recently..." I mean, you guys are arguing about whether anyone at MW deserves a shot.

Whereas you could give a shot to half the guys in the top 10 at WW without people saying they didn't deserve it. If anything, they would argue about who deserves it MORE.

That's the difference between MW and WW. (And 15 lbs)

[Y2JUBAE]

I could be wrong, I don't know. The MW division is pretty talented, it always looks like the weakest division, but that's due to how Anderson makes the top MW contenders look. Chris could be the man, but I just don't see it.

[Bork_Lazer]

Originally Posted by H0SS

Look at the top 10 at WW right now (guys like Condit, Hendricks, Rory, Fitch, Diaz, Kos, Ellenberger, etc), then look at the top 10 at MW (Weidman, Belfort, Bisping, Boetsch, Phillipou, Okami, etc).

WW is without a doubt the more talented division.

Moreover, look at GSP's recent title defenses (Condit, Shields, Kos, Hardy, Alves, Penn, Fitch, etc..) compared to Silva's (Sonnen x2, Maia, Leites, Cote, Hendo, Franklin etc).

While looking for a MW contender, we can't help but think in terms of "who hasn't fucked up too much recently..." I mean, you guys are arguing about whether anyone at MW deserves a shot.

Whereas you could give a shot to half the guys in the top 10 at WW without people saying they didn't deserve it. If anything, they would argue about who deserves it MORE.

That's the difference between MW and WW. (And 15 lbs)

I dont think we will ever agree, but the way I see it, if you match them up you will see that its hard to make an argument that one is better than the other...

Sonnen = Fitch
Okami <= Kos
Belfort >= Hendricks
Maia >= Hardy
Weidman <= Rory

Can you really argue that these 5 pair ups are not very evenly matched? The difference is, had GSP beaten Kos with a front kick in the first round, would you still think he is as good?

Same thing goes for Hughes v Ace (Franklin)... Ace's record was insane before the Silva fight, but its hard to say he is as good as Huges because of what Silva did to him, while Hughes actually beat GSP in their first fight, but that doesnt make Hughes a better fighter than Ace, at least not in my book...

[H0SS]

Originally Posted by Bork_Lazer

I dont think we will ever agree, but the way I see it, if you match them up you will see that its hard to make an argument that one is better than the other...

Sonnen = Fitch
Okami <= Kos
Belfort >= Hendricks
Maia >= Hardy
Weidman <= Rory

Can you really argue that these 5 pair ups are not very evenly matched? The difference is, had GSP beaten Kos with a front kick in the first round, would you still think he is as good?

Same thing goes for Hughes v Ace (Franklin)... Ace's record was insane before the Silva fight, but its hard to say he is as good as Huges because of what Silva did to him, while Hughes actually beat GSP in their first fight, but that doesnt make Hughes a better fighter than Ace, at least not in my book...

I'm not sure if I understand you correctly, because I don't know how to interpret those arrow/equal signs.

As much as I love Rich Franklin, Matt Hughes is undoubtedly more accomplished in his division and career.

And I love Sonnen, but Fitch is better rounded, more accomplished, and would probably have reigned as the WW champ for quite a while if GSP wasn't in the picture. The same could not be said for Chael.

The rest of those guys, we could mix and match, but as a whole, the MW would certainly lose because of guys like Cote, Lutter, and Leites. Hell, Jake Shields holds wins over two of Anderson's former MW contenders (Okami and Hendo).

Like I said, the MW guys are talented... but WW is a little deeper.

[AnchorPunch]

Originally Posted by Bork_Lazer

I dont think we will ever agree, but the way I see it, if you match them up you will see that its hard to make an argument that one is better than the other...

Sonnen = Fitch
Okami <= Kos
Belfort >= Hendricks
Maia >= Hardy
Weidman <= Rory

Can you really argue that these 5 pair ups are not very evenly matched? The difference is, had GSP beaten Kos with a front kick in the first round, would you still think he is as good?

I don't agree with some of your rankings, but even so, I'm not sure why handpicking an arbitrary group of 5 really means much. I'd say you have to look into the depths of the division as well - where does one division keep the talent and where does another drop off.

I would say that much of the depth to WW is pretty new though and it was a shallow division for a couple of years there. It's really picked up recently and I think, subsequently, MW is picking up too.

Good time to be a fan.

[roaddawg]

Originally Posted by dbader08

But with all that said I agree Weidman is a bad match up for him and I would be pulling for him if they fought, I've been high on him since his first fight in the UFC.

Every wrestler says they are a bad match up for him. Essentially any fighter that can successfully smother fuck their way to victory is a threat. Who knows though their age difference is a big disadvantage for Silva and I suppose anything can happen.

I personally predict both GSP and Silva to drop their titles in one of their next 2 title defenses. Noone can stay on top forever and its about that time.

[dbader08]

Weidman will be the best wrestler he's faced though, besides Chael, and we all know that Chris's BJJ is much better than Chael's. Plus I don't think Chris will become a mental midget when faced with adversity like Chael and Okami.

Would not surprise me to see GSP and Anderson lose soon though, tbh.

[CtGreat]

Originally Posted by dbader08

Weidman will be the best wrestler he's faced though, besides Chael, and we all know that Chris's BJJ is much better than Chael's. Plus I don't think Chris will become a mental midget when faced with adversity like Chael and Okami.

Would not surprise me to see GSP and Anderson lose soon though, tbh.

I'm calling it right now. If an when Silva faces Chris, he will beat him with the exact same strategy he used to beat Bonnar and Sonnen the second time. Stand against the fence, weather the storm, and bust his opponent up as they're trying to get close.

[AnchorPunch]

Originally Posted by CtGreat

I'm calling it right now. If an when Silva faces Chris, he will beat him with the exact same strategy he used to beat Bonnar and Sonnen the second time. Stand against the fence, weather the storm, and bust his opponent up as they're trying to get close.

I agree that Silva beats Weidman but I'm curious to see which Silva shows up... With Weidman talking smack but not so over the top that it's clearly a game (unlike Sonnen); with Kenflo now on national television talking about Silva... Man, I wonder if we're going to see some Silva/Maia-esque antagonism in the cage.