Akiyama's Addition Bolsters a Now Stacked Division!
by irepdaronx on Feb 24, 2009 9:30 PM EST
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PrintAs alot of you may already know the UFC announced the signing of top 10 middleweight Akiyama today. With some other recent aquisitions in the division such as Dennis Kang, and some heavier fighters making the move down like Bisping has done and Wandy will do; a once depleted division looks very strong to say the least!
Joe Silva now has a legit pool to draw from to give Silva competitive fights at middleweight, and I still believe he should really clean out the division before he moves up to battle the lions at 205. Marquardt has looked incredible since he lost his title shot and Maia's flawless bjj performances remind me of Royce dominating clueless opposition which is even more so impressive now that everyone in the game trains atleast some bjj. Both Marquardt and Maia have earned seperate title shots and I don't think the ufc should spoil one contender by pitting them against one another.
Henderson is coaching TUF against Bisping and the winner of that def will get a shot aswell. Yushin Okami has only lossed once in the ufc and has only been kept out of contention by injury so he is waiting on deck for his shot aswell. So you got Marquardt, Maia, Okami, and the Bisping/Henderson winner all waiting for title shots which in my opinion will be an extremley tough road for Silva to go through to retain his belt, he should stay at 185 and beat atleast this list before moving on!
On top of all those guys you also have upper tier guys like Akiyama, Belcher, Kang, Wandy, Palhares, Leben, Miller, Rosholt, Grove, Almedia, Cote, Sonnen, and a returning Loiseau to name a few looking for a nice win to give them a chance to be added to the list above for a crack at the gold. After years of being considered weak by many the ufc's mw division looks stronger than it's ever been and I personally can't wait for things to sort themselves out and look forward to some great scraps at 85 in 09!!
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He and GSP can get all greased up and throw down.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
by Brett Jones on Feb 25, 2009 10:20 AM EST up reply actions
Goran Reljic
was supposed to be dropping down to 185 after his impressive debut where he TKOd Wilson Gouveia, and he should definitely be on that list of middleweight talent. Of course, he also has to come back out of the woodwork and stop rescuing people stranded in the ocean.
I worry about Manhoef’s ability to pass a drug test. I don’t know that he ever has.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 25, 2009 2:34 AM EST up reply actions
I’d like to see Moussasi (spelling) in the division but he wants to go to hw! If the UFC is serious about continuing their global domination by being number one in Japan they should do MW gp there (shades of old pride!) Right now realistically if they wished it could look like this which is nutty: A one night 8 man tournament crowing a MW GP Champ which would set up a superfight against Anderson.
Rd 1
Marquardt vs Bisping Henderson vs Kang Okami vs Wandy Maia vs Akiyama
alternate 1: Sonnen vs Almedia alternate 2: Miller vs Palhares
I know my formatting is awesome but i’m just excited and overtired and need sleep wtf am i posting gp’s and shit im def stoned!
mmmhmmm...
PS
the reply button works wonders.. :)
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Feb 25, 2009 2:51 AM EST up reply actions
Akiyama,Belcher,Kang,Wandy,Palhares,Leben,Miller,Rosholt,Grove,Almedia,Cote,Sonnen, and a returning Louiseau to name a few looking for a nice win to give them a chance to be added to the list above for a crack at the gold
Akiyama: Not sold on him yet
Belcher: Been very impressive as of late
Kang: Huge disappointment, on the downward slope of his career.
Wandy: Unti he actually fights at 185, I’m not buying.
Palhares: One of the future contenders.
Leben: Will be out of the UFC or dead within the year if he doesn’t get his act together.
Miller: Love the Miller Bros, they should have their own video game.
Rosholt: That dude is atrocious, he isn’t even worthy of being considered a gatekeeper.
Grove: One trick pony.
Almeida: Needs more fights, losing to Cote took him down a lot on the “ladder”
Cote: Lets see if he can even fight again before discussing his place in the MW division.
Sonnen: Big mouth, not good enough skills to back it up… he’s King of Cage bound for sure.
Louiseau: Same as Kang, downward slope of his career.
Louiseau, Sonnen, Rosholt, and Kang are merely card fillers in my mind and will play no real role in the Middleweight picture. Guys like Belcher, Miller, and Palhares could be beasts in the future.
cant say i agree with all that
Akiyama: stopping Manhoef and Kang isnt enough to sell you that he’s for real then what is?
Belcher: Alot better than I thought he was
Kang: Hit a rough patch yes but still has some great wins over top guys!
Wandy: Pretty sure hes gonna drop to 85 we’ll see for sure
Palhares: Your on the money he’s def a future contender I think
Leben: Has looked much improved but needs to get his mind right
Miller: Could be a sleeper to win the gold one day
Rosholt: 3x ncaa d1 champ! He’s lost once how is he atrocious? He has holes in his game but hes young still!
Grove: Thought he’d be better
Almedia: Tough durable guy but that loss did hurt him
Cote: He’ll fight again just hopefully never for another title
Sonnen: Big mouth yes but tough matchup for many
Louiseau: Needs to believe in himself again, if he starts he could be back in the hunt for sure
Akiyama: Win vs Manhoef wasn’t all that impressive. Manhoef is a fierce striker, but he is also a careless striker…. I watched that fight and he got caught in the same manner he did against Mousasi. Manhoef needs to learn patience so anyone with a great ground game can take him if they can take his striking onslaught. Plus, Akiyama did lose to Misaki and I’m still miffed that outcome was overturned.
Belcher: We are in agreement.
Kang: He had great wins IN THE PAST. His best days are behind him.
Wandy: The fight w/ Franklin will be at a catchweight if it happens, I won’t believe this until he is actually in a bout at 185.
Palhares: We agree.
Leben: Dude is a mess and he keeps taking steps forward, then taking even bigger steps backward.
Miller: The Millers are great for MMA, show what real fighters should be.
Rosholt: He got lucky against Osternick, very lucky… like Paulo Thiago lucky. Just cuz he is a Division 1 WRESTLING champ, doesn’t mean he is going to be good at MMA. His striking is god awful, he needs to follow King Mo’s example and work harder on where he lacks. I saw no improvement in him at all between his fights w/ Osternick and whoever the hell knocked him stupid last… guy’s name is escaping me at the moment. He was brought up to the big leagues way too soon. He has potential, thats about it.
Grove: Not a dedicated athlete, just works when he wants and it shows.
We’re on the same page w/ Almeida, Cote, Sonnen, and Louiseau.
by Gunslinger20 on Feb 25, 2009 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
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