State of the welterweight division: Rumble Vs. G.S.P.
by MmaJ on Nov 3, 2009 1:00 PM EST
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PrintState of the welterweight division:
Rumble Vs. G.S.P. Editorial by: Jason Boulianne
The U.F.C. welterweight division has been waiting for a messiah to challenge the reigning champ Georges St. Pierre (19-2-0). The current condition of the division, could be compared to a desert waste land, with G.S.P sitting a-top the Luxor. With dominant victories over the likes of Matt Hughs (44-7-0), B.J. Pen (14-5-1), Jon Fitch (23-3-0), and Thiago Alves (22-5-0) just to name a few. Many question who will give the champ a worthy challenge. Currently, the upcoming match between Mike Swick and Dan Hardy is set to determine the next official opponent for the French Canadian. Honestly, does anyone really think that either of these two stand a chance? Anything is possible, as we all learned from the first Matt Serra bout, however I can't see either match drumming up any substantial hype or credibility. Neither has earned enough accolades in there perspective divisions to warrant a title fight, which leads to the question: Who is the next threat to the welterweight crown? The answer to this was made clear to me after watching U.F.C. 104.
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-2-0) knocked out Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-4-0) in just 21 seconds in another, very impressive victory. The win, seemly, was over shadowed by the fact Rumble did not make weight, coming in at a bulky 176 lbs. To look at Johnson you might think the guy might be a middle weight or even a light heavy weight. Rumours have Anthony at 225 lbs. pre and post weigh-in, which makes a cut to 170 lbs. un-fathomable to most professional fighters. In the post fight interview Joe Rogan asked Rumble if he planned to go up to middle weight, in response, he quickly dismissed this for the time being stating: " I'll move up in the future...". He claimed the extra weight was due to injury to his knee during training. In any case, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is an immense 170 pounder with a sizable reach and a background in wrestling, which makes him a viable threat to anyone in the welterweight division. Certainly there were many middle weights who had there notices sent. Watch out for Rumble. For the time being, however, 170lbs. is his home and we can only speculate at his future distinction in this division.
Breaking down G.S.P. vs. Rumble:
Could Johnson really give G.S.P. a run for his money? I believe yes, if not yet, definitely in the near future. With Johnson's 78" reach and devastating knock out power, we still have yet to see our champ take his lumps and keep on tickin, with the exception perhaps of the first B.J. fight. The question is, does Rumble have the wrestling to stuff the best wrestler in MMA? That remains to be seen. Anthony's wrestling has looked sharp, and one could assume the path of least resistance would have to be G'n'P for Georges. The tell tale signs of what could be, might take place in the rumoured fight between Josh Koscheck (14-4-0) and Rumble, at U.F.C. 106. In my opinion, this will be a great fight, and could be a huge indicator of Anthony's wrestling abilities and there limitations. So I guess we'll have to wait and see, one thing is certain, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson could be our next great fight, for the welterweight championship of the world.
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Give him some time, is all
The Kos fight will prove a lot if he wins, as well as bump up his name value. After that, I’d like him to square off against the Condit/Daley winner sometime in Spring ’10, and then maybe we can start talking title shot in the second half of the year.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
Not yet...
Personally, I would like to see these fights first:
AJ vs. Thiago Alves
AJ vs. Fitch
Alves just for the carnage that could prevail with the best two strikers and two biggest fighters in the division.
Fitch just to see how he does against a dominant wrestler who will grind him down.
There is no more dominant wrestler then Kos, on paper anyway. My issue with wanting those matchups is that I’d rather see GSP face a new guy then re-matches and if Fitch or Alves beat AJ it just puts them closer to another fight with GSP.
If AJ manages to beat GSP somehow we’d get those fights anyway.
See, I’m not sure on how dominating Kos’s wrestling is; GSP outwrestled him in their fight, and additionally you can look at their respective fights with Thiago Alves and see a difference.
Kos/Alves was marked by Kos getting the holy hell kicked out of his legs and not taking Alves down, whereas GSP/Alves was marked by GSP taking Alves down more-or-less at will. I don’t know if Kos’s ability to get Anthony Johnson down will necessarily be indicative of GSP’s ability to get AJ down.
I agree with you guy's...
You guys make good points…I do realize he’s not ready yet. Just getting excited, where there isn’t much cause for excitment lately, in the w.w. division. I could see it being a barn burner. I’d like to see some of the match up’s above as well. Thx for reading guy’s.
he needs to prove he can make weight on a regular basis it would be awesome to have a champ who cant cut down and make weight again
While I agree
I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt, at least for the time being. It really is hard to cut a ton of weight if you get a knee injured (as Johnson allegedly did before the Yoshida fight), and the only other time he missed weight was when he was called in on short notice to fight Clementi.
I think Rumble needs another solid win or two before he’s given a title shot. TIme to give him someone like Hughes, Kampmann, Fitch, etc
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Nov 3, 2009 5:26 PM EST up reply actions
To me:
The perfect way to solve a few WW problems starts with Kos. vs rumble; then if rumble wins; then he fights the winner of hardy vs swick; if rumble wins both of these fights he has; got some good fights one against a good striker (hardy/swick) and one against a good wrestler (kos). he has broken the 3 kings of non contenders (ATT) and has some name value to make a fight with GSP bigger…
i love me some dan hardy but i don’t think he has enough to beat swick rumble and GSP yet (ever?)..
Johnson has made 170 consistently up until his last fight. Not the 1 pound grace either, he has consistently made 170lbs. Unlike Alves, who has already had his title shot and has consistently come in at 171 and up in his non title bouts. On top of that Alves has been suspended for use of diarhetics to cut his weight.
I am blinded by a sea of green.
Not True.
Rumble usually comes in at 171. Last time he made 170 was July of 08.
In addtition, he came in at 177.5 when facing Rich Clemente.
Of his last six, he has missed weight twice and hit 171 twice.
So he missed weight twice...
It’s unfair to call him out on the two 171s. That’s legal, and he takes advantage of that. God bless.
"All I guarantee is Violence" - Wand
At the present moment, I think Johnson would be more of a draw and more of a challenge than either Swick or Hardy.
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