Is the Dearth of Challengers for Georges St Pierre the UFC's Fault?

So nice to go from a Snowden comment section to this unplowed earth.

The UFC could’ve passed on Jake Shields, you know. Said he was boring and Strikeforce’s champion can’t lick any of our guys and oh by the way if you wanna be a fucking fighter you can’t be decisioning people. Signing Shields was the act of a true sports league, one (at least occasionally) more concerned with legitimacy than publicity.

would you rather see Koscheck fight GSP, Shields, at the time Daley, Fitch, Alves

Daley had not done enough to earn a shot and because he couldn’t gt past Kos’s wrestling GSP would have mangled him. Sheilds wasn’t signed. Of the three remaining, I would have pick Kos.

Kampann and Shields have yet to face GSP and are CURRENTLY without much heat but both are on a roll. The fight between them creates a legit contender that WILL generate heat.

Alves and Fitch both lost to GSP and are CURRENTLY without much heat (alves due to inactivity, fitch due to decisionitis). The fight between them creates another legit contender that WILL generate heat.

Now if the timing works out, and I think it will, have the winner from each of those two fights pair up, and you have a #1 contender match with a lot of momentum behind it. Whoever wins this will have a ton of heat and momentum behind them going into a fight with GSP. Then you get both the sport and the entertainment in one.

it will be deeply unfortunate if Jake Shields can’t get past Martin Kampmann and get a title shot.

It might not be perfect what everyone is looking for, but if Kamp wins he is a deserving challenger and should put up a good fight.

If you can’t get by Fitch or Koscheck, you can’t get by GSP

Eventually we will see GSP lose to someone. In the meantime I think its tough for the UFC to find people with enough talent to face GSP and a couple other title holders. I mean from a business side I think the UFC is doing the only thing they can do…. try not to cheapen their titles like Strikeforce has. And eventually you will see someone who is GSP’s kryptonite come along and beat him. Its the way the game goes.

The worst fights we’ve seen from GSP have been his dominating wins over Dan Hardy and Thiago Alves where he was reluctant to trade on the feet and unable to finish on the ground.

Excuse me if I’m incorrect but didn’t GSP drop Thiago Alves with a punch?

if losing a title fight to the current champ disqualifies you from another title fight against him, then GSP would not be the current beltholder.

are Koscheck and Shields.

Is just a damn good fighter and he fights to win, not to entertain, and speaking for just myself, while I love to see people get KTFO and CTFO and kicked in the legs until the drop to a knee and plead with the ref to make the mean man leave them alone, I also love to see excellence. GSP is excellence. He fights SMART. He fights to negate his opponents’ strengths and make maximum use of his own. And he has completely dominated his division, and I think that’s the real problem — there is no one in that division who seems able to figure out how to beat him. I love watching him work his craft. He is a master. And I wish people would stop complaining.

It’s like people who complain when there’s a pitchers’ duel. I love to see two aces dominate each other’s line-ups. Most serious baseball fans love watching the K’s pile up and bases stay empty. I just… I just don’t get all this complaining about GSP and even Silva. Until someone beats these guys, we’re all being treated to displays of pure mastery. De gustibus non est disputandum, I guess. I love it. I wish others felt the same way.

Is not a one dimensional striker. He would have easily been submitted and never got to his feet like Daley if he was.

“Why don’t they bring somebody in that GSP can whip instead of trying to have him beat the best people?!?”

What exactly sounds “PRO” about that crap from the “PRO MMA” show?

Shields I agree presents some interesting challenges for GSP and would likely be an entertaining fight as GSP would keep it on the feet and avoid the ground.

Somewhat off topic, but I disagree. GSP will do to Shields the exact same thing he has done to more or less every opponent he has ever faced; perfectly blend striking, takedowns and positional control. Shields will have no answer for any of it. No way GSP chooses to only stand with Shields.

GSP BEAT THE BRAKES OFF OF THIAGO ALVES. Did you see Thiago’s face before the 5th round? after the fight? Jon Fitch? GSP beat the brakes off him. I agree, the Hardy fight was absolutely atrocious, ala Shields leg humping Miller….but don’t mention the Alves fight in that same breath.

So basically their argument is “they should give title shots to people that haven’t earned them, otherwise I’m booooored.” That’s kinda dumb.

OK, Shields has probably earned a fight with GSP, what with his success at both welter- and middleweight. But Anthony Johnson? At the time he fought Koscheck, he’d never beaten anyone of a higher caliber than Kevin Burns. And that fight—for which he missed weight—showed pretty clearly that he wasn’t ready for the top tier of the division. To which Holland and Pepe respond: “they should have never had Johnson fight Koscheck… they should have let him skip straight to a title shot!”

How silly.