khaldun007

If monson can take it to the ground and keep it there the champ will be submitted.
If monson can't then sylvia will knock him out. I think we all know that and they both know that.

NOLA_JACK

I agree completly, but has anyone seen Monson striking improve? Im not saying he will knock sylvia out or anything, dont get me wrong, but what im saying is that he will be better able to defend himself on his feet while waiting for an oppertunity for the takedown.

CTFlyingKnee

Monson's an extremely strong dude and if Tim cant defend, he will get taken down, then hopefully subbed.....I wouldnt bet the house on Monson but boy would it make my year to see him walk away with the gold

shenku68

Expertly said and I totally agree. Tim is not a world class striker but a good one. With his his size and reach advantage he will give just about anyone a tough fight. Monson is strong and has great submissions (ADCC Champ x 2), but he has to overcome Sylva's reach. If Tim is smart he will keep the fight at a distance never allowing Monson to close the gap. I think Monson will have to use Tim's confidence against him. Tim is probably going to come in the fight thinking it will be an easy one due to his last 2 wins over Arlovski and the size difference. Monson needs to keep it in the middle, wait for Tim to go for a high kick, close the gap and take him down. The reason I would not suggest that Monson try to take him down near the cage is two 2 reasons: Tim likes to grab the cage (Tim vs Assueria Silva) and the cage might hold tim up, allowing knees or elbows to come into play.

Slamnbam88

my hopes on how the HW class shows over the next year

Monson>sylvia
Vera>mir
Vera>monson
vera holds on for a very long time.

monsons not gonna go strait in on sylvia (hopefully) he just has to circle him..wait for the wrong kick..and shoot.

hes only giving up like 15 pounds and a foot in weight which means hes a shitload stronger. tall guy on the ground (especially on his back) with a ball of power like that is trouble.

monson did some amature boxing which i think will help him alot.

Bush

I like the sound of that. Brandon Vera I think will be the next great HW which holds the title for a while. I think it is a matter of time before Tim loses the title again. I just think that to be a true champ you must have the whole package and he has no ground game at all. I know the likes of Chuck has only stand up but the difference being he has great take down defence and if he does get taken down he has some ground work under his belt whereas Tim will struggle being on his back!

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NOLA_JACK

I personally think that monson will take this, for some of the reasons posted above. Tim has absoltely no ground game, and as such if monson gets any kind of a takedown the fight should be oer rather quickly. Also for whoever said monson had been doing amature boxing, thats true, he is 2-0-1 2 KOs and one draw. This experiance should help him ALOT when dealing with sylvia's strking. Sylvia will obviously be the better striker, but monson will be able to defend himself to a greater extent while waiting for an opening for the takedown.