July 8, 200917 yr I just don't see that happening. Maybe early on in the first round or two, but eventually I see it going to the ground and this is a Championship fight. You may be right. But, Alves has pretty good takedown defense and he's one of the few guys with the size and strength to match up with GSP. I read somewhere that he typically cuts around 25-30 pounds to make the 170 pound weigh-in. GSP is and should be the favorite, but Alves looks like the only guy in the division with a legitimate chance against him. This fight is similar to Anderson Silva/Dan Henderson. Henderson seemed like the best chance of making 185 interesting...after Silva dispatched of him it became obvious that there was nothing left for him at Middleweight. Same goes for GSP...if he handles Alves easily, there's nothing left for him at 170.
July 8, 200917 yr Brocks wrestling isn't even better, he's just bigger and stronger IMO. I'm not sure if anyone has ever stopped a GSP takedown :lol:. One thing that makes GSP's takedowns so effective is his elite striking ability...he can put you to sleep just as easy as taking you down and grinding out a victory. Few fighters have that combination of talent...most of the time guys with great ground games and takedowns aren't that dynamic on their feet. Some may have solid standup, but few have the ability to end fights in a matter of seconds. Randy Couture is a good example...he's solid on the feet, but not a threat to finish a fight in the blink of an eye.
July 8, 200917 yr One thing that makes GSP's takedowns so effective is his elite striking ability...he can put you to sleep just as easy as taking you down and grinding out a victory. Few fighters have that combination of talent...most of the time guys with great ground games and takedowns aren't that dynamic on their feet. Some may have solid standup, but few have the ability to end fights in a matter of seconds. Randy Couture is a good example...he's solid on the feet, but not a threat to finish a fight in the blink of an eye. GSP hasn't shown any elite striking lately. He destroyed Matt Hughes on his feet, and he looked to have improved his striking against BJ Penn, but I don't know if that's what makes his take downs so effective. After his loss to Serra, it seems like he decided to start taking his fights down almost immediately. His next fight after Serra KO'd him, he repeatedly took Koshcheck down (impressive enough) and GnP'd him to a decision. Then he picked Hughes apart standing, and took him down at will and submitted him. Then he fought Serra again and wanted no part of Serra's standup, and took him down repeatedly and ended the fight on the ground with knees to Serra's body. After that, he repeatedly took down Fitch (very impressive) and repeatedly passed his guard (more impressive) and punished him to a decision victory. The only TKO I can think of (recently) that he's had standing was St.Pierre/Hughes 2. He head kicked Hughes. Don't get me wrong, his stand up is good, but his freakish athletic ability is what makes his wrestling so good, not his "elite" stand up.
July 8, 200917 yr Brocks wrestling isn't even better, he's just bigger and stronger IMO. I'm not sure if anyone has ever stopped a GSP takedown :lol:. Brock is one of the best high school and collegiate wrestlers of all time, am I missing something here? GSP is the best for his weight class, but when it comes to the big guys, Lesnar's wrestling skills are unmatched. His size does help, but trust me, he knows what hes doing on the mat.
July 8, 200917 yr Brock is one of the best high school and collegiate wrestlers of all time, am I missing something here? GSP is the best for his weight class, but when it comes to the big guys, Lesnar's wrestling skills are unmatched. His size does help, but trust me, he knows what hes doing on the mat. So was Josh Koscheck. Pound for pound, GSP is the best wrestler in MMA IMO.
July 8, 200917 yr So was Josh Koscheck. Pound for pound, GSP is the best wrestler in MMA IMO. He's amazing for someone who didnt come from a wrestling background.
July 9, 200917 yr Lesnar - TKO, Round 1 Alves - TKO, Round 2 Fitch - Decision Henderson - TKO, Round 2 I'm taking Alves in the upset. I'm taking Alves too. To quote an old friend, "It's time."
July 9, 200917 yr GSP hasn't shown any elite striking lately. He destroyed Matt Hughes on his feet, and he looked to have improved his striking against BJ Penn, but I don't know if that's what makes his take downs so effective. After his loss to Serra, it seems like he decided to start taking his fights down almost immediately. His next fight after Serra KO'd him, he repeatedly took Koshcheck down (impressive enough) and GnP'd him to a decision. Then he picked Hughes apart standing, and took him down at will and submitted him. Then he fought Serra again and wanted no part of Serra's standup, and took him down repeatedly and ended the fight on the ground with knees to Serra's body. After that, he repeatedly took down Fitch (very impressive) and repeatedly passed his guard (more impressive) and punished him to a decision victory. The only TKO I can think of (recently) that he's had standing was St.Pierre/Hughes 2. He head kicked Hughes. Don't get me wrong, his stand up is good, but his freakish athletic ability is what makes his wrestling so good, not his "elite" stand up. And, I'm not saying its the only thing that makes his takedowns good. But, it adds another huge problem for his opponents to deal with. Whether he's used it lately or not, I've seen it enough to know he's capable. As for BJ, GSP was just to big and strong. His domination of Koschek and Fitch was far more impressive to me.
July 9, 200917 yr And, I'm not saying its the only thing that makes his takedowns good. But, it adds another huge problem for his opponents to deal with. Whether he's used it lately or not, I've seen it enough to know he's capable. As for BJ, GSP was just to big and strong. His domination of Koschek and Fitch was far more impressive to me. He didn't use any "elite" striking against koscheck or Fitch. He used superior wrestling and GnP. He stopped having a lot of confidence in his striking after the Serra KO IMO. If the fight with Alves stays on the feet, Alves will KO him IMO.
July 10, 200917 yr Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir: UFC Heavyweight Title Unification Lesnar by TKO round 2. Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves: UFC Welterweight Title Rush by TKO round 4. Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago Fitch by decision. Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping Bisping by decision. Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher Akiyama by decision. Under Card Mark Coleman vs. Stephan Bonner Bonner by decision. Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller Danzig by TKO round 2. Jon Jones vs. Jake O'Brien Jones by decision. Dong Hyun Kim Vs. TJ Grant Kim by decision. CB Dollaway Vs. Tom Lawlor Dolloway by sub round 1. Matt Grice Vs. Shannon Gugerty Grice by TKO round 1.
July 10, 200917 yr He didn't use any "elite" striking against koscheck or Fitch. He used superior wrestling and GnP. He stopped having a lot of confidence in his striking after the Serra KO IMO. If the fight with Alves stays on the feet, Alves will KO him IMO. OK...his striking is average. He's no threat if you keep him standing. :thumb:
July 10, 200917 yr OK...his striking is average. He's no threat if you keep him standing. :thumb: Not my words...but his striking isn't elite IMO. His wrestling is...
July 10, 200917 yr GSP looks like an elite wrestler when the guys are smaller than him or about the same, Alves is going to be bigger than him at fight time so we shall see.
July 10, 200917 yr Not my words...but his striking isn't elite IMO. His wrestling is... He was viewed as one of the top fighters in the UFC before he switched to his new wrestling style...at that time he was viewed more as a striker. He was 13-2 before he started turning every fight into a wrestling match. His striking is elite. He's just a smarter fighter now, and more confident on the ground perhaps. He knows that he has a size and strength advantage over pretty much every opponent he's going to face...taking the fights to the ground nullifies the opportunity for a flash KO (like Serra), minimizes the damage he'll take in any particular fight, and wears his opponents down. It makes it even more unlikely that he'll lose, IMO. He's taking fights to the ground because its the smarter thing to do given his size, strength and ability...not because he can't outstrike guys. One analogy would be football...if a team can pass or run and beat you, running is safer. Why take an unnecessary risk? JMO
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.