Official UFC Thread - Part 5

[I'm Batman.]

Fight of the Year right there.

 

[Donnie Darko]

That was great, but I can't call anything fight of the year until after Aldo-Pettis.

 

[I'm Batman.]

That fight sucked. GSP protected by the crowd again.

 

[DaveMoral]

^ How so? He out did Nick in every way because Nick doesn't change up his game plan. I like Nick, I like watching him fight, and I know he showed a bit of what he could do with his hands to GSP. But GSP took to him and outclassed him as a fighter.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I didn't see GSP outclass Diaz at all. He beat him but I didn't witness a smackdown. GSP was peppered with combinations in the third round and appeared hurt by them. Diaz also managed to stuff GSP's takedowns in the later rounds.

It's a shame really. Nick's strategy to slow GSP down was going according to plan but he never took advantage of GSP whatsoever. Diaz never got his offense going. GSP, however, did with his jab and late-round takedowns. It was remarkably idiotic for Diaz to stand and let GSP land those jabs (those count towards the scoring system Nick).

Overall, we saw the flash of potential Diaz had but the guy isn't going to champion, ever. His arrogance holds him back.

 

[Donnie Darko]

It's ok. He retired again. Diaz is the Brett Favre of the ufc.

 

[B]

Good card tonight.

Ellenberger made a massive statement to the rest of the WW division by knocking out a guy that is a very big WW in Nate Marquardt. He made a strong statement, but at the same time Hendricks is undoubtedly the number 1 contender.

Hendricks vs Condit was a fantastic back & forth fight, Hendricks rightfully won I feel he landed the more substantial blows as well as taking Condit down powerfully at will. Condit needs to channel his aggression sooner & put guys on the back foot sooner as he did put Hendricks in some bother by not offering him the chance to launch forward with that destruction ball he calls a left hand.

GSP vs Diaz was pretty much what I expected. GSP took him to school & fought a well rounded MMA fight. Peppered him with jabs, crosses & leg kicks on the feet then just when Diaz thought it was a kickboxing fight he took him down & molested him on the ground with pepper shots. All in all GSP was just the more effective striker & grappler.
I wish he'd thrown more of those knees though when he was in back side control, especially in the first 2 rounds to soften Nick up as he was just more or less lying there trying for that kimura all the while eating the shots GSP was hitting him with to the face while GSP swapped side to side to defend against the submission & sweep.

Diaz honestly does himself no favours, says in the press conference that he is a mixed martial artist, then cried & called GSP a ***** in his corner because he couldn't stop the takedown.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I realize alot of fans don't want to give Diaz any props but, sorry, that wasn't a 'schooling'. Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes, Jake Shields, Matt Serra, etc, those were beatdowns. What GSP did tonight was just beat Diaz -- not dominate him. Had GSP schooled Diaz, he would have gone 16 for 16 in takedowns and avoided damage. That didn't happen tonight.

 

[TheVileOne]

Diaz is at the press conference, I dunno doesn't seem like he definitively wants to retire. Diaz sounds like he's willing to fight some of the guys at the press conference.

 

[B]

I realize alot of fans don't want to give Diaz any props but, sorry, that wasn't a 'schooling'. Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes, Jake Shields, Matt Serra, etc, those were beatdowns. What GSP did tonight was just beat Diaz -- not dominate him. Had GSP schooled Diaz, he would have gone 16 for 16 in takedowns and avoided damage. That didn't happen tonight.

You must either hate GSP or love Diaz because to anyone with eyes, that win was as dominating a victory as the rest of his previous fights.

GSP won 5 out of 5 rounds convincingly, outstruck & outgrappled Diaz & all in all completely shut down one of the most active fighting fighters in MMA to the point where Diaz had next to no offence in this bout.

I mean if fighting a complete MMA fight & teaching a guy he needs to be more well rounded isn't a schooling then I don't know what is. It wasn't a vicious beatdown in the sense, but it was defiantly a lesson & seeing as lessons are primarily taught in school, it was a schooling.

 

[E-Man]

GSP beat Diaz in every single way. FightMetric is off sometimes, but if someone wants stats here they are. GSP stood with Diaz for nearly half the fight and outlanded him by a huge margin. I know people will say **** like, "ZOMG but look at GSP's face," but outside of a little bit of success in the third GSP caused more damage. Hell Diaz' face looked bad too, but whatever. GSP is still champ while Diaz is making excuses. That's 8 in a row for GSP. I can't wait for him and Hendricks now.

http://blog.fightmetric.com/2013/03/st-pierre-vs-diaz-official-ufc.html

 

[TheVileOne]

Hope everyone stays healthy and we can see that Hendricks/GSP fight.

 

[Hamill-Joker]

I've always been in favor of #1 contender fights being five rounds and I would like to have like to have seen Condit/Hendricks go five rounds.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

You must either hate GSP or love Diaz because to anyone with eyes, that win was as dominating a victory as the rest of his previous fights.

GSP won 5 out of 5 rounds convincingly, outstruck & outgrappled Diaz & all in all completely shut down one of the most active fighting fighters in MMA to the point where Diaz had next to no offence in this bout.

I mean if fighting a complete MMA fight & teaching a guy he needs to be more well rounded isn't a schooling then I don't know what is. It wasn't a vicious beatdown in the sense, but it was defiantly a lesson & seeing as lessons are primarily taught in school, it was a schooling.

Neither. You and I just have different definitions for 'domination'. What GSP did to Diaz wasn't dominate. I consider what GSP did to Hughes in their third meeting or to Serra in their rematch or how GSP kept Hardy on his back for 21 minutes a schooling. Point blank, Diaz stuffed GSP, Diaz slowed GSP down, Diaz landed combinations to the body and head, etc. Objectively, no, that wasn't a dominate performance in my opinion. GSP allowing momentum deflates all of that.

GSP earned that UD but it didn't come easy like many fans predicted.

 

[misjuevos]

i always get tired of hearing about gsp's win streak on the shows. it sounds impressive, but sitting threw SOME of them were far from it. i'm not even talking about finishes, i'm talking about action. his top game on the ground is boring. i like jiu jitsu, so i am biased i know. i like when there are sub attempts.

sometimes gsp's top game reminds me of the old ufc when the old gnp'ers would grind out a win.

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

Is it really that hard to learn takedown defense?

 

[Project862006]

more i look at his resume gsp really is one of the all time greats unlike jones and silva's challengers the guys gsp is fighting are young,hungry and in the prime of their careers and had to put real work to get a title shot

fitch needed an 8 fight win streak - was 30 when he fought gsp
alves needed a 7 fight win streak - was 26 when he fought gsp
sheilds on a 15 fight win streak with wins over hendo,lawler,condit,daley - only 32 when he fought gsp
condit needed a 5 fight win streak over ellenebrger,diaz,dhk,rory - and only 28 when he fought gsp

and now hendricks who has a 15-1 record on a 6 fight win streak over koscheck,fitch,kampmann,condit,pierce to get a title shot and he is only 29

 

[B]

Neither. You and I just have different definitions for 'domination'. What GSP did to Diaz wasn't dominate. I consider what GSP did to Hughes in their third meeting or to Serra in their rematch or how GSP kept Hardy on his back for 21 minutes a schooling. Point blank, Diaz stuffed GSP, Diaz slowed GSP down, Diaz landed combinations to the body and head, etc. Objectively, no, that wasn't a dominate performance in my opinion. GSP allowing momentum deflates all of that.

GSP earned that UD but it didn't come easy like many fans predicted.

Fair enough we can agree to disagree on the wording. I don't believe it was an easy win for GSP by any means, but by my own definition winning 5 rounds for 5, convincingly & limiting such an active offensive fighter like Diaz to virtually having no offence is pretty much as dominating as you can get.

Diaz is a tough guy I never thought it was going to be a vicious beating even if I might have hoped GSP would beat some respect into him, I didn't expect a finish in this fight but I did expect GSP to do exactly what he did do & pepper Diaz with shots on the feet, mixed in with some takedowns & some more peppering on the ground.

Hendricks is a better pairing for GSP & should have got the nod ahead of Diaz for the 158 fight. However I expect GSP to work Hendricks, Hendricks isn't very technical on the feet, he has alot of major power in his hands so without question if he catches GSP on the button with one of those lunging hooks it's over, GSP will drop like a stone. However given that GSP doesn't have to worry about leg kicks I think he'll break out the Josh Koscheck blueprint & follow it quite closesly to beat Hendricks.

Hendricks stamina is something that could trouble him against someone like GSP, he looked pretty tired in the 2nd/3rd rounds against Condit.

 

[B]

more i look at his resume gsp really is one of the all time greats unlike jones and silva's challengers the guys gsp is fighting are young,hungry and in the prime of their careers and had to put real work to get a title shot

fitch needed an 8 fight win streak - was 30 when he fought gsp
alves needed a 7 fight win streak - was 26 when he fought gsp
sheilds on a 15 fight win streak with wins over hendo,lawler,condit,daley - only 32 when he fought gsp
condit needed a 5 fight win streak over ellenebrger,diaz,dhk,rory - and only 28 when he fought gsp

and now hendricks who has a 15-1 record on a 6 fight win streak over koscheck,fitch,kampmann,condit,pierce to get a title shot and he is only 29

Anybody that doesn't rate GSP as one of the All-Time Greats needs their head examined.

The WW division is & always has been a very strong division. To have remained champion for so long against so many dangerous guys is an excellent achievement.

I don't think the MW division is as strong as the WW or LHW division but even regardless of whether or not Silva fought GSP or Jones & he ended up losing to either, I think Silva is without question the greatest even though his division is arguably the weakest of the 3.

There is a reason they have weightclasses though & superfights are a good as well as a bad thing. GSP is too small to fight Silva I feel & Silva is too small to fight Jones, if superfights are planned for either they should be at catchweights to make things even a little more balanced. 177.5lbs for GSP vs Silva or 195lbs for Silva vs Jones.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

more i look at his resume gsp really is one of the all time greats unlike jones and silva's challengers the guys gsp is fighting are young,hungry and in the prime of their careers and had to put real work to get a title shot

fitch needed an 8 fight win streak - was 30 when he fought gsp
alves needed a 7 fight win streak - was 26 when he fought gsp
sheilds on a 15 fight win streak with wins over hendo,lawler,condit,daley - only 32 when he fought gsp
condit needed a 5 fight win streak over ellenebrger,diaz,dhk,rory - and only 28 when he fought gsp

and now hendricks who has a 15-1 record on a 6 fight win streak over koscheck,fitch,kampmann,condit,pierce to get a title shot and he is only 29

I actually agree with this. GSP has fought in the superior division [outrageously stacked]. GSP has constantly squared up against top-tier talent and beaten them all.

Condit
Diaz
Hughes (2x)
Penn (2x)
Koscheck (2x)
Fitch
Alves
Sherk

 

[Project862006]

and new dangerous ww are always showing up look at jordan mein he is only 23 and finished dan miller for the 1st time in his career then we got erick silva who should he improve get back to swing of things not to mention how great rory mcdonald is

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Fair enough we can agree to disagree on the wording. I don't believe it was an easy win for GSP by any means, but by my own definition winning 5 rounds for 5, convincingly & limiting such an active offensive fighter like Diaz to virtually having no offence is pretty much as dominating as you can get.

Diaz is a tough guy I never thought it was going to be a vicious beating even if I might have hoped GSP would beat some respect into him, I didn't expect a finish in this fight but I did expect GSP to do exactly what he did do & pepper Diaz with shots on the feet, mixed in with some takedowns & some more peppering on the ground.

The thing is I never expected Diaz to stall GSP's offense and bust his face in return. I was convinced that GSP would take him down and keep him down for at least 22 minutes (while landing over 250+ GnP strikes). Instead, Diaz nearly woobles the champ in the third round after showing signs of fatigue. GSP should have never been in that spot in the first place. He kinda scared me for a minute.

Hendricks is a better pairing for GSP & should have got the nod ahead of Diaz for the 158 fight. However I expect GSP to work Hendricks, Hendricks isn't very technical on the feet, he has alot of major power in his hands so without question if he catches GSP on the button with one of those lunging hooks it's over, GSP will drop like a stone. However given that GSP doesn't have to worry about leg kicks I think he'll break out the Josh Koscheck blueprint & follow it quite closesly to beat Hendricks.

Hendricks stamina is something that could trouble him against someone like GSP, he looked pretty tired in the 2nd/3rd rounds against Condit.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I don't see Hendricks coming close to landing that left hand on GSP or taking him down, for that matter. This basically is a third rematch for Koscheck. GSP is going to stuff every one of Hendrick's takedowns and jab him to him death. This one should be cruise-control for the champ. By the third round, GSP should be able to takedown Hendricks by will. His stamina appears mid-tier.

 

[Project862006]

to be honest i dont got much hope for johnny i was more impressed with condit

 

[DoomsdayApex]

to be honest i dont got much hope for johnny i was more impressed with condit

Condit, to me, gave GSP his biggest challenge to date. Prior that bout, I had never seen an opponent sweep GSP. By the end of the bout, he was exhausted and battered.

You gotta hand it to Carlos. That guy knows how to bring it -- big, big heart.

 

[Project862006]

more i see of gsp the less i see him beating anderson the fact that nick freaking diaz of all people was stuffing takedowns is eye opening and gsp has now got rocked in back to back fights