Monday Morning Hangover: What's next for Gabriel Gonzaga?

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Splinty

Shake 'em off
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Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Joanne Calderwood, who was submitted in the very first round by Maryna Moroz (recap). And Jan Blachowicz, who was rudely welcomed to the Octagon by Jimi Manuwa (read about it here).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?

Gabriel Gonzaga.
...

As for Gonzaga, his fighting future looks grim. Going into this heavyweight showdown, he knew it was a "do-or-die" situation, keenly aware that three straight losses could send him packing once and for all. And since he didn't "do," his UFC career could very well die.

But, if the powers that be decide to give the jiu-jitsu ace another shot -- much like they did with this other struggling big man -- a fight against Antonio Silva, who's also seen better days inside the eight-walled cage, could be a true test for both combatants.


Monday Morning Hangover: What's next for Gabriel Gonzaga? - MMAmania.com

Does anyone really want to see this fight? Does he hang them up?
 

IschKabibble

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Gonzaga v Silva would be a fun fight, but it wouldn't do much for either fighter win or lose. Probably best for both of them to retire at this point. 35 is ancient in heavyweight years.
 

Wild

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Gonzaga v Silva would be a fun fight, but it wouldn't do much for either fighter win or lose. Probably best for both of them to retire at this point. 35 is ancient in heavyweight years.
Agree. Gabe's got a successful gym...get out and focus on that.
 

La Paix

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Gonzaga v Silva would be a fun fight, but it wouldn't do much for either fighter win or lose. Probably best for both of them to retire at this point. 35 is ancient in heavyweight years.
I think HW seem to generally stay around at older ages no?

Cain 33
JDS 31
Werdum 38
Hunt 40
Mir 36
Barnett 38
Roy N 38
Overeem 35
Stipe 33
Mitione 38
Crocop 40
Nog 38
 

ThatOneDude

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Wow did not realize Matrione and Werdum were that old.
 

Wild

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I think HW seem to generally stay around at older ages no?

Cain 33
JDS 31
Werdum 38
Hunt 40
Mir 36
Barnett 38
Roy N 38
Overeem 35
Stipe 33
Mitione 38
Crocop 40
Nog 38
Jesus...sort of proof that MMA desperately needs some younger guys so the torch can be passed. I'm hoping some of these NCAA wrestling beasts transition quickly.
 

La Paix

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Wow did not realize Matrione and Werdum were that old.
Ya I know. I'm always borderline obsessed with age and time as a whole and am always curious at who does what and when it happens, I find it very interesting. There's exceptions to the rules like with AS and Randy but as a whole the lighter classes excel at younger ages, I think its because speed and reflexes are very important with little dudes. Bigger guys can rely more on power and we all know how that old man or Dad strength doesn't really go anywhere for a while.
 

IschKabibble

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I think HW seem to generally stay around at older ages no?

Cain 33
JDS 31
Werdum 38
Hunt 40
Mir 36
Barnett 38
Roy N 38
Overeem 35
Stipe 33
Mitione 38
Crocop 40
Nog 38
True, but a lot of these guys have been taking power shots to the head from other heavyweights for over a decade. Can't be good for the brain.
 

La Paix

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True, but a lot of these guys have been taking power shots to the head from other heavyweights for over a decade. Can't be good for the brain.
Agree 100%. I'd love to see a big wave of new HWs come into MMA orgs but we seem to be holding on to quite a few guys for a long time it seems. Guys like Hunt and Barnett a must be a little concerned about the later years.
 

Zeph

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Heavyweights seem to have a longer shelf life, because the skill level is overall lower than at the smaller weight class'. With a higher skill threshold, smaller decreases in speed, reflexes and other attributes which degrade due to age, make a bigger difference, but heavyweights can offset this with an increase in technique which is acquired over time.

If the NFL, NBA and other sports which are a drain on the best athletes at larger weight class' disappeared and MMA was their only athletic outlet, or pay started to dwarf those sports, then we wouldn't be seeing 40 year old heavyweights making runs for the title.
 

WoodenPupa

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It might be best for Gonzaga to hang 'em up. His star burned bright, though not for as long as most of us thought it would. He has one of the sport's greatest HL knockouts, and nobody can take that away from him.
 

Simpleman

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He might consider retiring BUT the UFC should pray that every single heavyweight stays on their roster. They barely have enough guys at heavyweight as it is.
 

Wild

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He might consider retiring BUT the UFC should pray that every single heavyweight stays on their roster. They barely have enough guys at heavyweight as it is.
Agree. Just look at the ages of those guys in the posts above. When they retire, the HW is fucked if they dont start finding/developing some new talent.
 

Simpleman

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Somebody on this site mentioned having the UFC do something like the tap out guys did back in the day. Follow a few guys around but in a double elimination style tournament. This gets people emotionally invested in each guy and not just the fabricated house drama.
 

Wild

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Somebody on this site mentioned having the UFC do something like the tap out guys did back in the day. Follow a few guys around but in a double elimination style tournament. This gets people emotionally invested in each guy and not just the fabricated house drama.
That was ChaosOverkill @ChaosOverkill. Let me see if I can find the thread and bump it.
 

caposa

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Hanging up the gloves wouldn't be a bad idea. He's lost three straight and this was his eighth TKO loss.

We all know that's not happening, though. Gonzaga vs. Bigfoot could easily headline a Brazil Fight Night event in Campina Grande or some shit.
 

Wild

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Gonzaga vs. Bigfoot could easily headline a Brazil Fight Night event in Campina Grande or some shit.
Yep. I can definitely see it...IF he doesn't get cut. But I dont know if they can afford to cut any HW's, so....
 

ChaosOverkill

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Somebody on this site mentioned having the UFC do something like the tap out guys did back in the day. Follow a few guys around but in a double elimination style tournament. This gets people emotionally invested in each guy and not just the fabricated house drama.

Yep that was me, Gonzaga would be good for a comeback bracket soon enough at this point.
 

Zeph

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Yep. I can definitely see it...IF he doesn't get cut. But I dont know if they can afford to cut any HW's, so....
They are resigning anyone with any name value to keep them out of Bellators hands. I don't see them voluntarily cutting anyone from the heavyweight division, unless it is really, really bad. Like 6-7 fight losing steak, slurring so bad they can't cut a promo. :\
 

Γαλάνης

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He certainly should not be cut. He always puts on a great fight every time he's out there.

Fun fact. Gonzatga has never, ever won a decision in his entire career. ALL finishes. He's only been to decision twice and lost both in competitive fights (Schaub and Stipe). Considering how good Stipe looked against JDS, I think it says something that Gonzaga was about 10x more competitive than JDS was (despite JDS somehow winning that decision)
 

Γαλάνης

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If he went to Bellator, I think he could easily be their HW champion. He would wreck Mikanov, no doubt in my mind. Before the Mirko loss, in recent years, he had only been finished by Browne (with arguably illegal shots, too) and Mitrione. He has way too much power in his hands and the ability to wreck guys from top position. Mikanov has never faced anyone close to elite, I think Gabriel would destroy him in a round.

The only guys he has ever lost to before this weekend were top 5 with the exception of Matt and Schaub, who beat him on athleticism and speed, something Mikanov doesn't have at all.

Look at his losses, like BJ, Randy and others, records and win loss numbers don't always tell the whole story.

Lost to Randy after getting his face shattered from an inadvertent headbutt on a takedown, but still fought for a while until he was absolutely done. Broke Randy's arm with 1 kick

Lost to Werdum, who in the last 5-6 years, has beaten every man put in front of him (including the greatest fighter ever).. with Werdum's lone loss coming by way of strange decision to Overeem.

Lost to Carwin, who hits like a fucking truck. Carwin fought for and almost won the title right after this. Gonzaga came VERY close to knocking Carwin out. He dropped him and sadly, due to what can be called a poor fight IQ, let Carwin get back to his feet and bang. Ended up getting caught by one of the hardest hitters ever at HW

Lost to JDS when he was in his absolute roided out power punching prime. Very few men would've beaten JDS at this stage.

Lost to Browne with what was again a poor game plan, getting elbowed (illegally?) into bolivian.

Anyway. When you really sit and look at his career, for a journeyman/gatekeeper HW, his losses are not that bad. Until the last few years when he was clearly old and lost a step, he had lost to ONLY top of the food chain fighters who were on the verge or title shots or former/current champs themselves.

One thing I'm tired of hereaintg about is Rogan constantly shit talknig his team, Team Link. Rogan is always going "Gonzaga ruined his career bhy training there at this small camp".... Through most of Gonzaga's career he went to Chute Boxe, Xtreme Couture and others. He didn't exclusively train there until the end of his run.

Anyway, rant over. But IMO, Gonzaga even at this age could be top dog in Bellator or any other promotion. The only guys who can take him out are those who have explosive crazy power. Bellator's HW division has no one with that. I'd bet on Gabe's powerful striking and brutal top game over anyone in Bellator. MAYBE Lashley lays on him fr 3 rounds to a decision if Gabe doesn't knock him out, but that's about it

Great fighter, great guy, and was thought to be the next big thing for a while. When he beat Mirko, people were convinced he'd kill Randy and was even the guy to beat Fedor because of his skill set. Randy obviously didn't headbutt him intentionally, but you can't help but wonder how that fight, and even his entire career would've played out, had that single moment in that fight not happened.