UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

[roheblius]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

I think it'd be pretty interesting to have Bisping fight GSP at 185.

Think about the possible outcomes.

Bisping wins:
-GSP's star is pretty much undamaged since his loss would probably be a result of the size difference, so he can just move back down to 170 and lay claim to that division for the next 5 years.
-Bisping gets a notable boost by beating a name like GSP, even if he had the size advantage.

GSP wins:
-Bisping gets knocked down a peg or two, but the loss won't be too terrible because it'll probably say more about GSP than it will about Bisping. In other words, it's an excusable loss. Bisping won't be main eventing any time soon, but whatever.
-GSP's win would set up the obivous superfight between him and Silva.

Neither of those outcomes is really bad. The only real downside is a Bisping loss hurting the UFC in the UK, but at least it's an excusable loss, and the UFC is already working on building up other UK stars thanks to the Ultimate Fighter.

The biggest question mark would be if GSP would feel ready to fight at 185 in four months. That's more than enough time for a good camp, but ideally he'd probably want more time to put on some weight, but it's only Bisping, so it's not like he had to get as big as he wants all in one go.

The only way they'd risk GSP moving up in weight is with Silva. That's the fight people want to see. They wouldn't risk him moving up for a fight that's not really a big deal.

If GSP lost to Bisping, it'd hurt him. He wouldn't get a pass. Bisping isn't in his class, and because he's bigger, he'd actually have a chance to beat him. But it would hurt GSP a lot in my opinion.

I like the booking creativity though.

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

The only way they'd risk GSP moving up in weight is with Silva. That's the fight people want to see. They wouldn't risk him moving up for a fight that's not really a big deal.

Except the UFC gave James Irvin to Silva the first time he went up to 205. That was a fight that pretty much no one wanted to see.

[roheblius]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

Except the UFC gave James Irvin to Silva the first time he went up to 205. That was a fight that pretty much no one wanted to see.

Much different situation though. Silva wanted to fight at 205. It was pretty much a given he was beating Irvin. Thus, they weren't really risking anything.

Now if they put Silva at 205 against a real contender like say Forrest Griffin in his first fight up there, much different story. Also, Silva legit walks around above 205. GSP isn't a huge 170 guy. He'd have to gain weight to be able to fight at 185.

I see where you're coming from, but I still think they are different.

[roheblius]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

The most important thing here is to make sure that you don't risk your champion in one weight class for a fight in which he doesn't get over strong in losing. If GSP loses to Silva in a competitive bout, he'll get over strong, even in losing. Why? Because they are two of the best fighters going. You can't say the same about Bisping. At least not yet.

[Bona Fide]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

God Bisping vs GSP would be the stupidest bit of matchmaking ever. Why are you even talking about it? There is zero chance it would happen. Hopefully they put him against Cote or someone.

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

God Bisping vs GSP would be the stupidest bit of matchmaking ever. Why are you even talking about it? There is zero chance it would happen. Hopefully they put him against Cote or someone.

Of course it's not gonna happen. But I think it'd be interesting. If people want to see GSP fight Silva, I can't imagine wanting GSP's first fight ever at 185 to be against one of the pound-for-pound bests. It would probably be to his benefit to get a bit of a warmup against someone first, to get used to fighting at the weight. And Bisping would be a great warmup. He doesn't have the power to stop GSP standing, and doesn't have the wrestling or jiu-jitsu to prevent GSP from controlling the ground.

The fight would also have the upside of putting one of the UFC's more marketable stars back in the spotlight if he pulled off the small upset over one of the biggest names. And I don't think GSP would really be hurt by the loss because people would just attribute it to him fighting above his weight.

It's not gonna happen, but I'd certainly like to see a fight like that more than Bisping vs. Cote, where the only appeal would be finding out who's the lesser gatekeeper right now.

[Bona Fide]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

If Bisping did manage to beat GSP then it would TOTALLY ruin any chance for a GSP-Silva matchup and a huge PPV. If they really want to give GSP a warm up match then put him in against someone like McFederies or Sakara. Someone who can will have a "puncher's chance," but not pose any big problems. Then put it on free TV, and run it against Strikeforce or something like they did last time with Silva. I still think their best bet would be to make GSP's first fight at MW against Silva.

Also, why would Bisping even take this fight? He's out to fight MW, not to be some litmus test for fighters moving up in weight classes. Horrible idea overall. A Bisping-Cote fight would at least have implications in the division and would make for a solid Spike TV main event along with some other decent fights.

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

If Bisping did manage to beat GSP then it would TOTALLY ruin any chance for a GSP-Silva matchup and a huge PPV.

Of course it would, and I don't see that as a bad thing. If GSP can't beat Bisping at 185, he would get destroyed by Silva. And one good PPV (it wouldn't be huge, because Silva doesn't draw well at all, and the promise of a superfight can't totally alleviate that) wouldn't be worth GSP getting totally destroyed, considering that Silva's only got a few fights left in him, while GSP could headline UFC events for the next five years if not more.

Also, why would Bisping even take this fight? He's out to fight MW, not to be some litmus test for fighters moving up in weight classes.

Bisping would take the fight because he would have a huge chance of regaining some star power after a devastating knockout by beating one of the UFC's biggest names. If Bisping were to fight Cote and beat him, do you really think anyone would care?

At least with GSP/Bisping, that's at least an intriguing fight with the upside of either establishing a reasonably contested GSP/Silva superfight or rebuilding some of Bisping's star power while not really hurting GSP's much. Bisping/Cote not only has zero intrigue, and there's no real upside for whoever wins besides establishing who the better gatekeeper is.

If you don't think it's a good idea, fine. But don't tell me it's horrible and then suggest Bisping/Cote. That's like telling me my cooking sucks because it doesn't take like dirt.

[Bona Fide]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

Of course it would, and I don't see that as a bad thing. If GSP can't beat Bisping at 185, he would get destroyed by Silva. And one good PPV (it wouldn't be huge, because Silva doesn't draw well at all, and the promise of a superfight can't totally alleviate that) wouldn't be worth GSP getting totally destroyed, considering that Silva's only got a few fights left in him, while GSP could headline UFC events for the next five years if not more.

GSP moving up to MW is not going to be a permanent thing (unless he beat Anderson). GSP is comfortable at 170 and has made it clear the only reason he'd move up in weight would be to fight Anderson. Plus I think this fight would be a huge PPV draw. GSP is becoming a superstar. If they wanted to boost it they could always throw Forrest or Randy or someone else to co-headline it. But don't kid yourself, it's all about the PPV.

Bisping would take the fight because he would have a huge chance of regaining some star power after a devastating knockout by beating one of the UFC's biggest names. If Bisping were to fight Cote and beat him, do you really think anyone would care?

Yes because Cote just fought for the title, and had won 5 straight prior to blowing out his knee. This is a fight that is RELEVANT to the MW division. If Bisping wants to gain back some star power than he needs to win. He has a lot better chance to beat Cote (or some other similar ranked fighter) than GSP. They don't want Bisping to lose again, even if it is against GSP. Plus, he already is going to be a huge draw in the UK no matter what.

At least with GSP/Bisping, that's at least an intriguing fight with the upside of either establishing a reasonably contested GSP/Silva superfight or rebuilding some of Bisping's star power while not really hurting GSP's much. Bisping/Cote not only has zero intrigue, and there's no real upside for whoever wins besides establishing who the better gatekeeper is.

Cote's last fight was for the title, and Bisping just fought in what was pretty close to a #1 contender match. Not saying these two guys are world beaters, but let's see how they do in a few more fights before we declare them gatekeepers. I mean you have to have fights like this to establish ranks in a division. This is why I generally hate fighters moving up and down in weight classes unless they are going to fight another elite star.

[Wet Bandit]

Re: UFC 105: Bisping v. W. Silva on Spike?

This is why I generally hate fighters moving up and down in weight classes unless they are going to fight another elite star.

Ok, we'll just agree to disagree then, because as you said, you generally hate the idea anyway. You're more interested in sorting out the division, I'm not as concerned with that, we're just coming at it from different directions.