The Future of the Welterweight Division?
by dreamers_12345 on Nov 26, 2009 1:55 AM EST
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The welterweight division, once one of the most talent-rich divisions seems to be running thin of true contenders to GSP's championship. I do not contribute this to the lack of talent in the division, moreover a lack of contenders that have the skill set to defeat the reigning champion. There is always a punchers chance, as was clearly demonstrated in GSP's fight with Matt Serra, but as he clearly demonstrated, that is not a mistake he intends to make twice. Each and every fight, GSP seems to get better and adds bulk onto his already huge frame for a 170lb fighter.
Dont get me wrong, im not on the GSP all the way train but it is hard to deny his place as one of, if not the top pound for pound fighters in the world in contention with Anderson and Fedor. His striking is fast and technical and was originally his signature style. His olympic calibur wrestling and jiu-jitsu followed making him one of the most well rounded fighters in the game.
I simply write this blog, not because of my awe for GSP but simply to express my frustration not even with the welterweight division but the future title contenders in the division. Dan Hardy? I'll give him his props, he's proven himself to be a good fighter, he has heavy hands and an iron chin but nevertheless, it all becomes null should GSP get of one his famous takedowns. I honestly see his future fight with hardy being a takedown and beatdown clinic with hardy being on the losing end.
I was actually picking Anthony Johnson to beat Koscheck by KO and I was forced to eat my own words there. I was expecting Johnson to pull off one of his quick KO's and was honestly pissed by Koscheck winning. I give Koscheck props for winning and doing it in "style" *cough cough* but he did win, so good for him. He has LEGITIMATE skills, not taking anything away from him and while he and GSP have both improved, GSP in my opinion would dominate as he did the first time.
Overall the point is simple. There is plenty of talent in the welterweight division but few contenders. I see GSP ruling the division for a long long time with his athleticism and work ethic. Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, Josh Kosheck, and Antohny Johnson are all the top contenders right now and yet all but one has lost to the current champion. I would very much like to see GSP move up in weight and fight Anderson Silva although such a fight has yet to be announced.
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GSP/Anderson will still be very 1 sided
The fight goes 1 of 2 ways:
1. GSP is able to use his wrestling to take Anderson down and pounds him out for 5 rounds like he did to Fitch and Alves and BJ to a lesser extent
or
2. Anderson proves to be too big and has better takedown defense than anticapated and the fight remains on the feet in which case Silva ko’s GSP.
I’m of the opinion that when a fighter dominates for so long it’s actually better for them to lose. Not for the fighter but for the fans. Remember when Rampage first beat Chuck then Dan but lost to Forrest who lost Rashad who lost to Machida, yes the belt was switching a lot but that is what made it fun.
And what’s funny is GSP has only had 3 fights since regaining the full title(not interim) but all 3 performances have just been so dominating.
I think
that Koscheck or Alves are the biggest threats to GSP, and even then i’m leaning towards Kos. His striking has improved quite a bit, and IMO he gave GSP the most competitive fight of his current ‘post- serra – hiccup’ run yet.
Granted, GSP has been working the strength training quite a bit, and he’s looked better and better each fight, but i’d say that Koscheck has improved every bit as much. That said, I still think GSP takes it 9/ 10 times.
GSP should (and probably will) dominate Hardy (who, to his credit, is a live underdog who is constantly improving, and does stand a chance with his concise but powerful counterstriking), and if what he says about packing on 10 lbs of muscle are true, then he’ll take some time to pack on even more muscle in a healthy way, and move up to MW (if Marquardt fails in his title bid, that is) to take on Andy.
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'09 is the year of the FW's.
and in answer to your question I think the future goes down like this
GSP defends the WW title 3 to 4 more times until early 2011 and decides to drop it and focus on the Olympics and the 2012 games. This opens the ww division up and allows GSP to do a dream of his.
After doing ok but not great at the 2012 games GSP returns to try and show the world that he is still the top of the heap in the ww division. Just a prediction.
I didn’t know GSP wanted to compete in the Olympics, but as he trains with the Canadian wrestling team it makes sense. I wouldn’t think his current contract would permit it, though.
But if you are stupid, you will be beaten with a stick - Proverbs 10:13
The future of the Welterweight Division is in the hands of the Dustin Hazelett’s, Anthony Johnson’s, Ben Saunder’s, Tyron Woodley’s, etc. Thiago Alves is still young, so if he improves, then maybe he could give GSP a stiffer test. It is going to take someone who can stop the GSP takedowns to beat him, and I don’t know if anyone right now has that ability.
by chrisbboy82 on Nov 26, 2009 3:27 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Time to acquire Jake Shields
The only way to win against GSP is to beat him grappling. Shields is the only man who can handle this job
Shields is definetely in the top 3 WWs out side of the UFC. You could argue he could make top 5 in the UFC. To say though that he is the guy to beat him in grappling is a long shot. Shields probably has as good of ground control as Fitch and Koscehck. I also think that Thiago Alves has very equal ground game strength. All guys who Georges handled and did it impressively. Is Shields good? No way one could deny it but, could Shields beat Georges? Slim to none chance. Georges has much better wrestling game and top control. He is a greener black belt but in mma gloves that really doesnt matter. I doubt if Shields couldnt submit Miller no way in hell would he submit GSP.
Georges would probably just keep it standing agaisnt a guy like Jake. I don’t think Jake could take him down. It would look a lot like Fitch-GSP, but without Fitch’s durability.
I agree to a point...
It isn’t as though GSP has shown world-beating TD defense and quite honestly, Shields has dealt with strikers just as good as GSP, though maybe not as flashy. Paul Daley comes to mind. Robbie Lawler. He’s taken both guys down. ASdmittedly their TD defense isn’t world beating either, but therein lies the point. I think Shields has a GREAT chance of gertting it to the ground if he draws first wrestling blood, withstands some strikes or ideally evade them and find an opening. Not an easy thing to do, to be sure, but not impopssible. If he end sup on his back, his guard is absolutely fantastic. Maybe GSP LnP’s him to victory, but pounding him out will be a tough task. The fight has “epic” written all over it with a high chance of “boring” but IMHO Jake Shields is the man, if there is one on earth, to beat GSP.
And yes, I am already looking past Dan Hardy.
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Wait, doesn’t GSP have some of the best takedown defense in the UFC? Who else has consistently stuffed shots from Kos, Hughes and Fitch in the UFC’s WW division? What more do you need for world-beating TDD?
Yeah. The notion that Shields would take Georges down, under any circumstance, is tangent on nothing-fancy-crazy. Better wrestler than the guys you mentioned? Outlandish. I am amazed…
by ununkvadrium on Nov 27, 2009 5:49 PM EST up reply actions
You are nuts
GSP has the best take down defense in the world. There isn’t even a close second.
I dislike Matt Hughes. Shogun beat him like a dirty horse.
by MonkeyCHops on Nov 27, 2009 10:21 PM EST up reply actions
Koscheck is the guy to do it (if anybody can...)
Styles make fights.
Aside from GSP, Kos has the next best wrestling in UFC’s WW division. Kos has huge power in his hands, and don’t forget that head kick he nailed Hazelett with. Sure, GSP is the better technical striker, but he was the better striker against Serra and Fitch (who tagged GSP a few times), too.
Kos’ striking is much better than it was during the first fight, and he might be the one guy who could actually put GSP on his back. Above all else, Kos is an explosive athlete, something Fitch, Alves and Dan Hardy are certainly not.
I don’t think Kos would win…but he’s the guy with the best skill set to match up with GSP. Kos v. GSP is the only WW title fight I would watch and be asking myself the question, “WILL GSP win this fight?” Instead of “HOW will GSP win this fight?”
the question I’m asking myself is "why would a second fight be any different? gsp showed he could take down and control kos for 3 rounds.
Well
Koscheck has said that he trained virtually zero wrestling for that fight, because he never imagined GSP could outwrestle him. It’s not like it was a blowout in the wrestling department though, Koscheck stopped & landed some takedowns, GSP just stopped & finished more. And i’d say they about broke even on the feet, slight edge to St. Pierre.
If Kos shows up with the right mindset, I think he could give GSP a fight
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'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Nov 27, 2009 11:16 PM EST up reply actions
IMO leading into the fight there was no reason to think GSP would be so focused on the wrestling aspect of his game. Leading up to that fight he won the title from hughes with stand up and was coming off a loss due ot stand up so everyone including kos probably thought he would keep it on the feet more than he did.
That fight was really the beginning of the GSP super wrestler we see now
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