I looked for a thread with these two competitors as I have always seen this fight as possibly the greatest fight ever in MMA.
To use monikers “the most complete fighter” in the sport v “the best pound for pound” fighter in the world.
Looking back at their previous fights this would be tough one to call.
GSP has looked very good and been on a tear but the fight against an unfit BJ who has fantastic hands raise a few questions.
No doubt GSP is ready to go at every aspect of the game but how will he feel challenging in the Maui Thai field? He has shown how well he excels when training look at his wrestling ability which stands at an incredible level now.
His striking ability is very good in all areas and his submissions of a good standard also.
Anderson Silva has faced off against someone who may not be as complete a fighter as GSP but is not far off in Rich Franklin. Some may disagree but I believe Ace is a well rounded fighter with GNP and standup, to a lesser degree submissions but we all know it never got to the stage where Rich had to display any skills.
I would place Rich’s knockout power above GSP with regards to hand strikes.
Everyone knows what happened to Rich against Anderson and Rich is a much larger fighter and stronger than most Middleweights so size is no factor against Anderson. This is not to wipe GSP out of the picture because Rich’s abilities and determination is different from GSP but it does show that Rich well known for his strong standup game and domination could do nothing to harm the crisp technique of Spider!
Although the Anderson has been made to look more human in a few previous fights the level he is at today and the fights against relatively good competition in Nate and Travis point out submissions and the ground game may be his forte now but all will be revealed against Mr Hendo!
It would all come down to GSP’s strategy and implementation how do you get past the spidery strikes and take the guy down quick enough to submit him if at all possible with the improvement of Silva and all time high that Silva is enjoying looking near enough unbeatable where as GSP had the title defense shakes with Serra.
As you can guess I give the Fight to Anderson who would cement his “best pound for pound” legacy with a first round knockout.
I would have to admit though im a huge Matt Hughes fan and it could be possible im letting some things cloud my judgment.
I know how great GSP is and this fight is right now the best fantasy fight out there in my opinion.
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