He's going to have to be. The UFC is relying/going to rely on guys like him to rebuild the HW division (after the last of the established old guard retire - Stipe, Jones).
Jarl
You seem to be forgetting that the UFC is a business (or perhaps you are a minor). Those are the only two HWs that have name recognition and put butts in the seats at the moment. Once they are gone, the UFC will, indeed, have to rebuild that division. My point stands.
Jarl
I was part of the "Strickland has nothing for Izzy except a face to punch" crew.
But, I swore up and down that Stipe had no path to victory over Werdum...and he made it look real easy (and went on to be a great champ). That has to be my worst.
Jarl
LOL at people still thinking Jones agrees to fight another no-name HW for no benefit, no prestige and a lesser payday. Stipe is the last possible fight for Jones, unless they brought someone like Brock or DC back.
Jarl
Moving up in weight class and defeating larger opponents is more impressive than getting challenged by smaller opponents and winning a close one, IMO.
Jarl
Your analogy is incorrect, OP. MMA is very young as a sport; professional basketball is not. The correct version of your analogy is: Could the 1997 Bulls beat the 1958 St. Louis Hawks? The answer is yes.
Jarl
The game has just evolved too much. Those freakshow fighters would loose to almost every HW on the UFC roster today...with the possible exception of Semmy (who at least knew how to throw a punch). A more interesting question is: If Tom Aspinall jumped in a time machine and went back to 2003 in...
More experience = more precision, more intelligent gameplan, and better judgement when to throw. All of these thing are amplified by a LHW/HW's ability to finish a fight with one strike.
Jarl
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