I've said before how the fact that nobody is unbeatable is a flaw for mma because you cannot create the air of invincibility that draws out fans. It is just too easy to get beat in mma with the little gloves and multiple ways to end a fight. But then we had Penn, St. Pierre, Silva, Machida, and Fedor. And these guys seemed sort of unbeatable, at least in their respective weight classes. And St. Pierre went down on a fluke to Serra, but he went down. And one by one, the unbeatable 5 went down leaving only Silva. But he and Fedor were arguably the two most invincible (least likely to lose) so at least we had one superman left. And invincibility does bring fans. Hell, several people in the bar I was at cheered for Silva when he was introduced. It's not like he got cheers for his recent performances. He got cheers because he seemed unbeatable and people like winners. While Anderson pulled it out last night, he can no longer be viewed as unbeatable. In some ways, it really was a loss for his image. And really that leaves no one left in the UFC who can be seen as unbeatable. I suppose you are always a 4-win streak away from having the 'next guy', but I think the ufc had something fairly unique (all champs seemingly great) and I do not expect it to happen again for a while. Will it hurt ppv numbers? Maybe. Will boxing be able to capitalize? Probably not. Boxing's 'unbeatables' are two tall brothers who have taken dominance to a different level perhaps never seen before--that of indifference because they are too good for the average fan. Only Pacquiao and Floyd have the charisma to bring in big ppv numbers right now and they seem content to avoid each other.
I disagree, I don't think it's necesseraly easier to lose in MMA than in boxing. Just look at the guy you listed, who in boxing ( save for Floyd who ain't fighting the best ) has had a longer undefeated streak than Fedor or Anderson when facing top 10 opponents??? Not many
You do understand that most of the guys that you listed are "old guard" don't you? They can't remain on top forever.
Ummm.. I like the premise of your post Mike but we can't forget that Silva won and is still champion, still on a UFC win streak that is unequaled, and is still the badest man in the sport in my opinion. You have to beat a champion like Silva for 25 minutes. Anything less than 25 and you see what happens. I picked Sonnen to win. I wanted him to win. But Silva showed why is regarded as highly as he is. He has the tools to literally beat anyone in any phase of the game. I hate it when people diminish a peformance like Sonnen's by some how making it seem like Silva is finally over-the-hill. That isn't the case. Silva had never faced a relentless wrestler that could take him down at will. But back to your point, I think we will see less dominant champions in the near future.
I don't think it's even arguable. Win streaks in mma rarely reach double digits. Listing the number of undefeated boxers with over 10 wins would take pages. Even if you limit it to top 10 opponents, well how many of Anderson's and Fedor's opponents were actually top 10 during their streaks? Let's start there. It's far easier to get the long streaks in boxing because it's easier to avoid top competition, but mainly because it's just easier for the better boxer to beat the lesser boxer than it is for a better nhb fighter to beat a lesser nhb fighter. Go look at the top boxer's records and you rarely see fluke losses. Now look at top nhb guys and they all have losses to relatively shit fighters.
Sure, but I think it is telling than none of them were toppled by the 'next great' in their weight class.
Silva won fair and square, but this wasn't a boring, easy win against a quality fighter. Those types of wins don't show vulnerability to anything other than Dana's patience. This win was a 'lucky' win in a fight that Anderson did not appear to be the better fighter. If Silva loses his next fight, the surprise meters will not register nearly as much as if he had lost last night.
So GSP isn't unbeatable because he got caught, yet has been more dominant against tougher competition than ever before, yet Wladamir is unbeatable despite being knocked around the ring by a journeyman on two occasions?
Pacquiao KO'd by two nobodies, Wladamir KO'd by two journeymen, and these are just the people in your post....:bangh:
Jon "Bones" Jones COULD B the "Next Guy" to Captivate the MMA Masses, Wearing the Cloak of "Invincibility" that U Speak of... Time will Tell... REED:kidcool:
True... REED Hasn't Seen Jon Jones CHIN CHECKED Yet...It'll Happen @ Some Point...Probably Sooooner than Later...But if, If, IF Jones PASSES that Chin Check, it Could B 10 YEARS or More, B 4 this Cat Loses... REED:shadow:
Its an interesting theory, but i have to disagree. In MMA, the champs are ususally fighting the #1 contender one after the other. MMA fighters are usually fighting the best consistantly. MMA is tricky in that if you lose, you can actually go back to drawing board and improve. Improve by learning some different styles or changing coaches that have had better BJJ, etc. Silva has had 4 loses and since those loses, he has NEVER faced anyone like Sonnen. Check his record. Sometimes even the best PFP doesnt make you vulnerable to certain people. BTW, silva won very similar to how Nog normally wins. He just gets his ass kicked for the whole fight and then finally beats his opponent. It truly was nog BJJ:: My point is that silva lost 4 times in his passed and is considered PFP. Thats because he has improved his game slightly. Penn and Fedor got Caught. It happens. Its similar to Lewis vs. Rachman IMO.
MMA is such a varied sport - there are so many ways for a fight to end, so many diverse styles - that it makes remaining undefeated nigh on impossible. But i don't perceive this to be a flaw, because the sport's unpredictability is one of its strongest appeals.
Bullshit. Watch the fight again. Fedor clear throws legs to the side. The attempted to throw Werdum's legs and missed them. So he dove down thinking the legs were off to the side, but they were still there. He got caught.
Godfather's comment about Silva pulling out a Big Nog type submission reminded me of Sonnen describing how earning a black belt under the Nogueira Brothers was like finding a toy in your happy meal. Ooops.
If you are beaten by the 'next great' in your weight class then maybe your are unbeatable except for another phenom. Getting beaten by a regular, albeit very good competitor just proves the point that it is relatively easy to get beaten in mma, especially compared to boxing.
Fair enough, but look at Floyd, Roy, Calzaghe, Kessler, Hatton etc. 40-0 fighters are not that unheard of in boxing.
No way. This is exactly the point of the OP. "Invincibility" never lasts in mma because it is too easy to lose no matter how good you are.
Boxing is just one thing, if you are not a better boxer than the other guy, he's going to beat you most likely. in MMA, you can be bad at one thing, get totally dominated by another guy and win with an entirely different skill. There is just many more ways to win in MMA. Guys have a variety of skills they can rely on, in boxing, there is just one, boxing.
The problem with racking up wins streaks or developing that aura of invincibility in the UFC is that you are always fighting the top guys. I think the days of guys like Lyoto Machida racking up 20 wins before fighting in the UFC are gone. Everyone is trying to get into the UFC and the UFC is doing a better job of grabbing guys with potential before they get too far along in their careers.
Point? He went into a better grapplers guard and got his ass handed to him. THat's like saying Michael Spinks got caught agaisnt Tyson...:boohoo:
