Official GSP vs. Serra thread ......

[FatCatMC]

Originally Posted by Daniel

I'm surprised at how some of you are reacting to this fight. GSP proved that the first fight was a fluke? I thought this second fight proved the exact opposite: That the first fight most definitely was NOT a fluke!

Consider:

-Serra was able to survive the first round with GSP
-Serra kept GSP working on the ground and managed to squirm out of trouble again and again until the unlikely and devastating knees
-Serra snuffed a takedown. Big deal? Maybe not. But it was impressive considering GSP's wrestling
-Serra kept in control during the stand up and GSP wanted none of it. Nothing really happened on the feet, but Serra's power was there along with his will to throw it, and he came close a few times


Conclusion? GSP won this fight because he had a better strategy this time around, which was to take Serra down. Had he stood, the fight could have went the same route as the last fight.

What I conclude, anyway, from watching this fight, is that the first fight was no fluke. GSP lost because he decided to stand with Serra and that was a bad strategy.






ALSO:

Serra gassed? I don't think so. Note: I said THINK. I'm suggesting Serra intentionally dropped his hands. When has Serra ever gassed in a fight? Not since fighting Karo. And why would his cardio be anything but the best right now? And isn't it typical of Serra to have his hands low, or at least one of them? And doesn't it make sense that he would want to encourage GSP to come in on him so he could maybe catch him with a bomb again?

I really doubt Serra gassed.


But of course: Congrats to GSP, the better man. Who by the way was on a whole 'nother level of fitness. That guy is ripped. Reminds me of some sort of savage animal out of a Jack London novel. Who is going to touch this guy?

Good post. Finally, an unbiased breakdown of the fight. + 1

[Gooner]

The crowd was indeed amazing.
Chanting "boring" instead of just booing.
And giving Quarry, and everyone else who deserved it, their props.

Originally Posted by BCguy

Right , close his eyes and swing for the fences. ie. LUCKY !

Whatever you guys need to tell yourselves.

[codyfromstorm]

This is a joke, we have 3 people who will just not give up no matter what, if anyone here can honestly tell me if GSP and Serra 3 happened they would pick Serra, if you did your crazy. They are 1-1 but I bet if they fought 20more times they would be 21-2 in GSPs favor. Serra is most likly done real soon, Matt Hughes will beat him, he will drop down and lose a fight at LW and be done IMO.
GSP will most likly manhandle that division for a year then move up and take Silva(who yes will still be champion)

[the preach man]

Originally Posted by codyfromstorm

This is a joke, we have 3 people who will just not give up no matter what, if anyone here can honestly tell me if GSP and Serra 3 happened they would pick Serra, if you did your crazy. They are 1-1 but I bet if they fought 20more times they would be 21-2 in GSPs favor. Serra is most likly done real soon, Matt Hughes will beat him, he will drop down and lose a fight at LW and be done IMO.
GSP will most likly manhandle that division for a year then move up and take Silva(who yes will still be champion)

Im with you on this one. I call this one a fluke no matter what Sub says.

[ChipShank]

Classic...Serra claims that he was "trying to tire the guy out a little bit"
Serra Post Fight
But he didn't go out like a punk & he's not gonna complain.
Whatever you need to tell yourself.

[earvinarp]

That was hardly a fight. GSP pinned Serra to the ground and pounded him until he quit. This is the way the 1st fight should have gone and we would have moved on to better match-ups.

I hope Serra moves down to 155 after fighting Hughes, and does well. He reminds me a bit of Sherk in the sense that he's a good WW, but he can be a dominant LW.

[Gooner]

Originally Posted by codyfromstorm

This is a joke, we have 3 people who will just not give up no matter what, if anyone here can honestly tell me if GSP and Serra 3 happened they would pick Serra, if you did your crazy. They are 1-1 but I bet if they fought 20more times they would be 21-2 in GSPs favor. Serra is most likly done real soon, Matt Hughes will beat him, he will drop down and lose a fight at LW and be done IMO.
GSP will most likly manhandle that division for a year then move up and take Silva(who yes will still be champion)

Your reading comprehension is the joke here.

Most people would pick GSP to beat Serra again and again. I said so myself.

But that doesn't make Serra's win a fluke. GSP didn't worry about Serra's stand-up the first time and paid for it. Serra followed a gameplan and laid him out. Just deal with it.
"Your boy" got the belt back now. Go jerk off about it and be happy instead of crying about the last time ffs.

[Oberfuhrer42]

i'm still pissed that we had to wait a year for this beatdown. imagine the fights we could of seen since then, all because Dana wanted a TUF experiment. BS I say, BS.

[pickman30]

Let me preface by saying Serra lost this fight in almost all aspects of the game, except maybe for stand up, which GSP didn't seem to want any part of, beyond that GSP just outclassed him. However I cannot remember the last time a fighter was called out for body blows. I still think GSP would have destroyed Serra, but honestly that stoppage was kind of lame. The only fight I can remember being stopped because of body blows was Chuck vs Rampage in Pride and I believe that Chuck tapped. But look at that fight and you will see Rampage raining blow after blow. I think GSP only landed two or three knees and the ref stopped it. I could be wrong though.

Anyway I think we can all agree that GSP is the better MMA fighter, although I still think Serra is hard match up for him because GSP is forced to take Serra to the ground and at any moment he (GSP) could've gotten caught in a submission.

[Greenman]

It's funny to see all the polar opposite reactions. Serra won the first fight and GSP the second. Both pretty convincingly I might add. If Serra does not drop to 155 (and he should) maybe we will see round #3.

[opsy]

Originally Posted by ChipShank

Classic...Serra claims that he was "trying to tire the guy out a little bit"
Serra Post Fight
But he didn't go out like a punk & he's not gonna complain.
Whatever you need to tell yourself.

Stating part of his strategy is not being a punk or complaining. He probably thought the pace GSP was setting would slow down a little bit.

[FatCatMC]

Originally Posted by ChipShank

Classic...Serra claims that he was "trying to tire the guy out a little bit"
Serra Post Fight
But he didn't go out like a punk & he's not gonna complain.
Whatever you need to tell yourself.

He was completely kidding. At the post fight press conference he got a big laugh from the crowd by saying he was hoping that GSP would tire out from hitting him so much. He also got a huge laugh when a reporter asked him how GSP was different this time out and Serra said "Other than him kicking my ass this time?" People just love to make reasons to hate Serra.

[ChipShank]

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

He was completely kidding. At the post fight press conference he got a big laugh from the crowd by saying he was hoping that GSP would tire out from hitting him so much. He also got a huge laugh when a reporter asked him how GSP was different this time out and Serra said "Other than him kicking my ass this time?" People just love to make reasons to hate Serra.

I'm not making up reasons to hate the dude. He's saying it, not me. LOL
I saw the post fight press conference...and yeah, he was laughing about it a bit. But you can tell that he is a bit irked about the stoppage, saying that he told the ref that the round was almost over & that he was just looking to roll into something or maybe get back to his feet. He seems a little ticked about the ending, IMO.
Look, I give the man full credit for being a damn tough fighter and I'm totally willing to concede that it's his sense of humor....hell, the reason I posted it was for humor actually...hence the stupid smiley thingies. That said, we'll just have to see how long he holds onto this bit of post-fight denial.

[FightFan76]

Originally Posted by subgenius

Serra-GSP 1 = Serra dominated completely

Serra-GSP 2 = GSP dominated completely

Did I miss something?

The first fight was NOT a fluke. GSP had been completely owned by Matt Serra. The ONLY reason people keep saying it was a fluke was because Serra was "supposed to lose" that fight. Sorry GSP, but "I was not impressed with your performance." I love throwing those words back in his face. It took two rounds for GSP to do to Serra what Serra did to GSP in one round.
Compare all you like, but the bottom line is that these two fighters are now 1-1 against each other. Each took a title belt from the other guy in DOMINANT style. IMO, they are now even. Only a rubber match will decide who really is the better fighter.

Technically you are right, it also took MH 1 round to beat GSP and then GSP dominated him twice even though he won in the 2nd both times. GSP did the smart thing by taking Serra down and dominating him where he knew he could win. I believe he could dominate him on his feet as well but due to the last fight he wisely chose not to take that chance. After watching both fights even though they are 1-1 against each other GSP is clearly the better fighter IMHO. GSP now knowing that he can beat Serra for sure means he would dominate a 3rd fight even more convincingly as he did against MH. I dont believe there is even a need for a 3rd fight w/ Serra even if a rubber match is warranted. I see a MH/Serra fight next for Serra in which MH will beat him and then he will fall out of the picture IMO. No offense to Serra, I respect the guy and dont buy that the 1st fight was a fluke but I kinda see him fading away.....

[The_Iceman]

Total domination from GSP. Serra did not belong there, he simply got outclassed in this fight, period.

Now, can someone please explain to me how the top 10 rankings work again?

Because, I don't understand how a guy who fought shonie carter and chris lytle on the ultimate fighter show to become the number contender for the welterweight title and ultimately upsets GSP and becomes the champ, make him a number 2 fighter in the world???

[kev0]

Originally Posted by The_Iceman

Total domination from GSP. Serra did not belong there, he simply got outclassed in this fight, period.

Now, can someone please explain to me how the top 10 rankings work again?

Because, I don't understand how a guy who fought shonie carter and chris lytle on the ultimate fighter show to become the number contender for the welterweight title and ultimately upsets GSP and becomes the champ, make him a number 2 fighter in the world???

IMO until there is a clear distinction between ranking fighters based on perceived talent or ability versus recent/lifetime accomplishments top ten rankings will always be a mess in a situation like this. Or any situation really. In my mind Serra is probably a borderline top ten WW at best, but a victory over GSP is something only one other fighter can claim, but then again that guy hasn't accomplished too much lately either

[jxl301]

Originally Posted by subgenius

Saying that the first fight was a fluke is plain and simply retarded. You guys seem to forget that GSP makes EVERYBODY look like an amateur. In Serra-GSP 1, it was Serra that made GSP look like the amateur.

Their first fight was luck, no one is going to change my opinion on that. If it wasn't luck, then are you saying Serra meant to hit GSP on the back of the head, which is illegal in the UFC? Either way, it doesn't look good for Serra.

[jxl301]

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

The principles you have linked here apply to self defense and practical apllication of BJJ, whereas Serra's real "game" is submission grappling where he has no strikes to defend against.

Okay, submission grappling, but isn't that BJJ? If it is, then they must have taught him, at some point, how to defend strikes. Just saying...

[FatCatMC]

Originally Posted by jxl301

Their first fight was luck, no one is going to change my opinion on that. If it wasn't luck, then are you saying Serra meant to hit GSP on the back of the head, which is illegal in the UFC? Either way, it doesn't look good for Serra.

For the love of god, the first match wasn't luck. If anything it was a lack of respect for Serra's stand-up and lack of a gameplan on GSP's part. I like Serra's chances a lot if the fight stays on the feet, Serra's got a good chin and vastly improved stand-up.

Originally Posted by jxl301

Okay, submission grappling, but isn't that BJJ? If it is, then they must have taught him, at some point, how to defend strikes. Just saying...

This is getting tiresome. The original statement was "GSP beat Serra at his own game." Serra has never really established his own "game" in MMA, winning a vast majority of his fights by decision. My point was GnP isn't Serra's game, which was ultimately his demise in this fight. If that was a submission grappling match, it would have gone the 5 rounds and no way GSP was subbing Serra.

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by Drewplata

Daniel- I think you need to go back and watch the fight again, but this time with an open mind, and maybe 2 open eyes.

haha.

I think you need to go back and read my post again, with two open eyes.

Originally Posted by Drewplata

Ummm... what? Why, all of a sudden, are we calling a guy "scared" or afraid of his opponent's power when he takes him down at will and absolutely dominates him.

Who is calling him scared? You must think I said that seeing as you put the word into quotations. Yet I didn't. Strange. You just made something up and replied to it.

Originally Posted by Drewplata

He moved from position to position, and the only thing Serra could do was try, and fail to retain guard.

Actually, Serra successfully retained guard several times.

Originally Posted by Drewplata