I might put him in the top 5, but your point is well taken. He's got that Jon Jones record with lots of big names on it, but not a lot of substance.
Ranking Stipe amongst the greats?
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I think it's pretty embarrassing for the UFC that someone who has only defended the belt 2 times is even under consideration as their HW GOAT. The UFC HW division was hot shit before they bought Strikeforce and got Coker's guys, and it hasn't been very good for the past couple of years either. I like Stipe and think he is a very solid fighter, but let's be honest...this division is pretty weak and has been for a while now.
Rankings
1 Fabricio Werdum (39 years old)
2 Cain Velasquez (fought twice since 2013 w/ one being a loss, and is ranked 2nd...think about that)
3 Alistair Overeem (36 years old...shell of his former self post-USADA)
4 Junior Dos Santos (boxer that's getting KO'd - shell of his former self post-USADA)
5 Francis Ngannou (very talented but dude has 4 fights in the UFC & his biggest win is 38 yr old Andre Arlovski)
6 Derrick Lewis (I love Derrick but he's lost to Mitrione and Shawn Jordan...two guys not even on the roster anymore)
7 Mark Hunt (43 years old)
8 Andrei Arlovski (lost his last 4 and is ranked 8th...think about that for a minute)
9 Travis Browne (c'mon...)
10 Alexander Volkov (has two wins in the UFC, one being an overweight gate keeper Roy Nelson)
11 Stefan Struve
12 Tim Johnson
13 Marcin Tybura
14 Aleksei Oleinik
15 Daniel Omielanczuk
Rankings
1 Fabricio Werdum (39 years old)
2 Cain Velasquez (fought twice since 2013 w/ one being a loss, and is ranked 2nd...think about that)
3 Alistair Overeem (36 years old...shell of his former self post-USADA)
4 Junior Dos Santos (boxer that's getting KO'd - shell of his former self post-USADA)
5 Francis Ngannou (very talented but dude has 4 fights in the UFC & his biggest win is 38 yr old Andre Arlovski)
6 Derrick Lewis (I love Derrick but he's lost to Mitrione and Shawn Jordan...two guys not even on the roster anymore)
7 Mark Hunt (43 years old)
8 Andrei Arlovski (lost his last 4 and is ranked 8th...think about that for a minute)
9 Travis Browne (c'mon...)
10 Alexander Volkov (has two wins in the UFC, one being an overweight gate keeper Roy Nelson)
11 Stefan Struve
12 Tim Johnson
13 Marcin Tybura
14 Aleksei Oleinik
15 Daniel Omielanczuk
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The Big Guy
Guest
Dude thats the the most depressing post ive seen in a while. If you do a lhw one it would probably be worse.
Im a big volkov fan so watch your fuckin mouth
"headkicks by cro cop"
nah, cro cop was always so hesitant going backwards, and stipe would back him up all night. Not to mention that cro cop would have to look to defend the takedown as well. stipe TKOs him or decisions him at the least
"Fedor would maul him"
Great analysis. How? As fast as fedor was, he wasn't the best technical boxer. Look would happened to him against Fujita. Also Stipe can easily take Fedor down. Fedor's takedown defense was always a chink in his armor
"nogs chin and boxing may have kod stipe"
who did prime nog KO? lol
Fedor was a different animal back then indeed, but he showed weakness in areas that stipe excels in: boxing (he got rocked pretty bad on the feet against cro cop and fujita, if he gets rocked against stipe, he can't fall back on a takedown cause no way he takes stipe down), and wrestling of course.
I think prime fedor definitely had a chance against stipe but i say stipe wins 8/10 times
Definitely too early to discuss him being the Best ever HW. The HW division is crap right now so Stipe may be champ for a while, but given the lack of competition, I don't think there's anything he can do to make it near the top of my all timers list.
fedor was easily outwrestled by randleman and coleman, who weren't the biggest HWs to say the least. He also got outwrestled by arona and taken down by mark hunt back when hunt was extremely green in wrestling and grappling. What makes you think he would get stipe down and keep him there?
Prime fedor was fast, and on the feet in a wild exchange would be his best chance to beat stipe, but stipe has the better boxing. Speed cannot replace technique and timing. Remember when fedor ran right into a huge right hand from fujita and a left from cro cop? How did his speed serve him there?
Stipe would be smart and most likely take fedor down and GNP him anyway.
Because he did the transitions with ease.
Fedor, in his prime, NEVER lost to a Stefan Struve... EVER. Fedor would have MAULED Struve like a dog mauling a child.
Arona? Great wrestler for a BJJ guy.
Coleman would take Stipe down with pure ease, and if Kev pulled that suplex off on Stipe we'd be putting "rip" every time we mentioned it!
Fedor fought Hunt with a broken toe. Try walking with a broken toe, let alone FIGHTING with one.
"Coleman would take Stipe down with pure ease"
lol based on what?
"Arona? Great wrestler for a BJJ guy."
yea he's also a LHW and his wrestling doesn't have anything on stipe's
"if Kev pulled that suplex off on Stipe"
That's a pretty big if.
Pretty much, you failed to explain how fedor would stop a stipe takedown, and fedor's striking was still very wild back then and very open to a counter from a good boxer. Cro cop rocked him and fedor saved himself by taking him down. He aint taking stipe down lol. If he gets clocked by stipe, the fight is over
It's not so much that Fedor would stop a takedown, but g&p'ed Fedor in his prime? What's Stipe's sub-defence like?
Yeah, CC did rock him, but you missed the point where Fedor OUTSTRUCK him and was supposed to get knocked out. You know, that's what Fedor DID in his prime - beat you at your own game. Fedor's striking didn't look wild at all that night...
Stipe's wrestling is great, but Junior stuffed a many takedowns in the first fight. He isn't some kind of juggernaut.
"What's Stipe's sub-defence like?"
Stipe never had to show how good his sub defense was cause he never fought guys like mir or werdum on the ground. That doesn't mean we can assume fedor would armbar him off his back. That's just an area we dont know. We did see how easily he got out of overeem's guillotine attempt even though he was rocked.
"Stipe's wrestling is great, but Junior stuffed a many takedowns in the first fight. He isn't some kind of juggernaut."
lol dont worry, JDS' takedown defense is much better than fedor's takedown defense at any point in his career. I feel like this should be obvious to anyone whos been watching MMA for a long time
"you missed the point where Fedor OUTSTRUCK him "
until he was badly rocked. Which led to fedor getting a takedown to save himself. And the rest of the fight he spent laying on top of cro cop without doing anything significant. He does not have that option when he fights stipe. If he gets hurt against stipe, he will not be able to fall back on a takedown.
stipe might have improved just a little bit since the struve fight that happened 5 years ago. that should be pretty obvious...
cro cop backs up from stipe just like he did against fedor, gonzaga and JDS. he was never the best at fighting going backwards. Also Stipe easily takes cro cop down by mixing his boxing with his wrestling.
Fedor subbed coleman and randleman, guys who have never shown the best submission defense, all respect to them being the legends they are
yes, nog loses to stipe while showing incredible durability, heart and chin. I agree with you on that one
T
The Big Guy
Guest
Stipe is supposedly a full time fireman. I dont know if i believe it but its not going to help him in the long run. He could be improving at a faster rate. He hasnt showed me anything new in a while.
Where are his improvements over the years? He still does the same thing now he did when he gassed and struve slept him. Im impressed he gets the job done but i wouldnt rank him top 5 yet
My hw top 5
Fedor
Werdum
Cain
Cro cop
Nog
Where did I say that Fedor's TDD is better than Junior's? I didn't, I'm just saying that Junior fended Stipe of tons of time - Stipe isn't a juggernaut.
Who outstruck Mirko up until that point in MMA ever? Save himself? I remember Fedor throwing a huge haymaker and Mirko backing off...
my point is that junior defending stipe's takedowns have nothing to do with fedor vs stipe...
Fedor did an amazing job against mirko no doubt, but he was the only guy in that fight who got hurt on the feet, and if he didn't get the takedown on mirko, who knows how the fight would have turned out. He aint getting a takedown on stipe, that's for sure.
his boxing has gotten a lot better, so has his cardio and his ability to set up takedowns with his strikes. And if you really want to keep talking about the struve fight, he couldn't see before the KO, whether it was because of a punch to the eye or a poke, I dont know or dont care tbh
I wouldn't rank him top five HW either because he still hasn't accomplished as much as the other guys in terms of quantity at least, but he would beat guys like fedor, cro cop, nog, etc. In their prime too. His boxing is just too damn good and he has a fire hydrant for a chin.
I don't care what your opinion is...you pulled out of a bet with zero real life implications. You'll get no respect from me. Good day, sir.
Awww, don't get butthurt because I proved you wrong xx
