Figuring out the UFC WW title picture
by Matthew Roth on Feb 8, 2010 2:52 PM EST
Email
PrintSo this past weekend saw Paulo Thiago and Matt Serra come out victorious and Mike Swick and Frank Trigg coming up short. Now Joe Silva and company are left with new questions for future contenders. With upcoming fights between John Fitch/Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck/Paul Daley, and Matt Hughes/Renzo Gracie, the title picture is still pretty confusing. Add in the fact that Martin Kampman and Carlos Condit both need fights and you have a pretty murky WW class.Paulo Thiago emerged this week as the biggest winner and is currently 3-1 in the UFC.
What I would do to clean up this mess is the following:
Serra vs. Swick in a fight for relevance. Serra has the KO power that Swick lacks at WW and the grappling to not get caught in a swickotine.
Paulo Thiago vs. Koscheck/Daley winner for #1 contender. Josh Koscheck may be the last person in the division with the wrestling chops to beat GSP and he's been improving in every fight. Paul Daley is currently 2-0 in the UFC and looks to have turned the corner with takedown defense. Paulo Thiago looks to be a beast and is currently the closest to a contender that Zuffa has.
Fitch/Alves winner vs. Serra/Condit winner for the #1 contender.
Hughes/Gracie vs. Swick/Serra winner if Hughes wins or if Swick wins. You'd either get Serra/Hughes II, Gracie/Swick with the story of teacher taking revenge on Swick, or Hughes/Swick which is the AKA fight.
Just some thoughts regarding this division. While there may not be a single person able to beat GSP, there are still interesting match ups to build a true contender, something that in my opinion Dan Hardy is not.
Let me know what you think.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
20 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
ehh
I think Koscheck/Daley winner will have earned the title shot outright.
I’d rather see Thiago against the Fitch/Alves winner for the next number one contender (after Koscheck/Daley winner)
That makes a good amount of sense, given that the Fitch-Alves winner will have a long wait from their UFC 111 fight if they didn’t have a #1 contender fight while GSP took on Kos-Daley later this year.
If Daley wins, they’ll likely rush him into a title shot like they did for Hardy. Koscheck still has that pesky loss to Alves on his record where he was completely outclassed. If I remember right, that was on short notice. If Alves beats Fitch and Koscheck beats Daley, I would imagine a rematch between Alves and Koscheck has to happen before either is pushed into a title shot. Or if they want to give Koscheck an easier road, rematch him against Paulo Thiago like they’d planned to do.
Also remember, Diego Sanchez is coming back to 170… he will undoubtedly get some marquee fights pretty quickly if he gets past Hathaway.
I'm assuming Koscheck/Daley winner will get the nex shot at GSP
If Alves wins I wouldnt mind seeing him vs. Thiago for the next # 1 contender but I dont really have any desire to see Fitch vs. Thiago again so soon.
Also I dont think Serra is going to be fighting on a regular basis like most fighters. I think he will be fighting every 9 months or so.
I just think it’s strange that Hardy wins a close decision over Swick and gets a title shot while Thiago decisively finishes Swick and is at least 1 fight, and probably more than that, away from being the #1 contender. I feel like Thiago is going to have to not only win his next few fights but also get lucky with someone dropping out of a fight in order to get his shot like Machida did at LHW. I mean based on the matches he’s received thus far its not like the UFC seems to really like him.
Thiago's problem
is that the Fitch loss, and by extension Fitch’s loss to GSP, is still a touch too recent. Leaves that tinge of doubt in people’s mind.
yeah people forget that Fitch fight… I wonder how he feels about Thiago being called the AKA killer after he handled him so clearly.
Hardy won all 4 fights he had in the UFC before his title shot. It wasn’t against top flight competition, but 4-0 sounds a lot better than 2-1.
This is pointless
GSP would murder the whole WW division at this point.
what we should be talking about is who would be champ after GSP leaves to the MW division.
"And shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, Power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine patris, et filii...et spiritus sancti."
The answer is simple:
GRAND PRIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep firing Assholes!
I don't know what I'm talking aboot.
PHISH FAN SHOULD MAKE A SERIES OF FANPOSTS ABOUT IT!
twitter.com/thisredengine
by Matthew Roth on Feb 8, 2010 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
OMG
If the UFC ever held a grand prix for any weight class I would die from excitment
"And shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, Power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine patris, et filii...et spiritus sancti."
by KingAtRock on Feb 8, 2010 11:07 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I wish the video game would allow this.
twitter.com/thisredengine
by Matthew Roth on Feb 8, 2010 11:19 PM EST up reply actions
IDK if I would agree with an open weight GP.
but I would love to see a WW or LHW GP
"And shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, Power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine patris, et filii...et spiritus sancti."
As a fan
great idea. I would love to see Serra vs Swick. this is a great fight for fight fans. Both fighters have their own strengths and weaknesses in this fight, and it would be hard to predict the outcome. It would be a great second to last fight on a free card and it would be a perfect third to last fight on a pay-per-view. Hell, who am I kidding, this fight might not be important to the standings but a great fan fight.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
