Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammer
I think the UFC HW's were underrated. Arlovski and Sylvia you mention Calis, but if you include Couture, Gonzaga, Monson and Vera they arn't so bad. PRIDE had the better division though, sure. I'm not a huge fan of big nog. I don't question his BJJ skills obviously, but his takedowns arn't so hot. I could see Vera or Arlovski beating him possibly, although nog would be favourite. I'd fancy Cro Cop in a rematch.
If you look at genuine elite superstars in PRIDE I would mention Fedor and Shogan. In the UFC GSP, Hughes and Penn when at LW are the fighters that stick out to me. I think the MW (185) division is really up for grabs now. I can't see a dominant fighter.
For the coming year I'd love to see Penn fight Sherk for the title. Vera move down to 205lbs. Arlovski fight Cro Cop. Fedor to come to the UFC. Franklin fight Silva again.
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Fair enough, I'd agree that they don't get enough respect. I just think at the time of the merger you had the top 5 in the world all fighting for Pride, and then the UFC guys started filling it in. I do like Vera a bunch, I'd like to see him actually fight a good veteran fighter to see how he does, but hell I'd be happy with him fighting at all now.
I'm all for Vera moving to 205, I think he'd be very good. I'd really like to see Gomi against Penn or Gomi against Sherk. Just bring Gomi back, sure he's overrated as well but the guy is fun to watch, and those would be good fights I think. I just saw that Mach Sakurai is supposedly signed to fight Diego at 74. I'm a big Sakurai fan as well, but that'll be a very tough fight for him style wise.
I think my top dream match for the year would be Fedor vs. Barnett. I don't think there's a HW out there with a better shot than Barnett at dethroning him. (That's a small shot also btw). I would enjoy seeing Shogun vs. that Sokoudju guy who Henderson is training and has won two pretty impressive fights. I'd like to see Lindland back in the UFC and fighting at 185. I just think 185 is really lacking right now. I just don't see Silva or Franklin as a true champion. I wonder if there's any chance of Hendo going staying down there if he loses to Rampage? Probably not, Hendo can do pretty well at 205. I'd like to see GSP beat Hughes again, or Penn beat Hughes again.
So many options now with the merger.
Oh I actually just read that Takada from Pride said there will be a Pride card in October I think. I wonder if it'll still have some of the top Pride stars or if it'll become a Japanese minor league for the UFC?