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GSP as a Middleweight. . .

7K views 38 replies 20 participants last post by  diablo5597 
#1 ·
. . .how good would he be?

In my opinion, he'd be a "good" middleweight, but he'd fall short of being an "elite" middleweight.

The reason i bring this up is because of the "GSP vs Silva" and "best p4p" threads. Well, to me its extremely difficult to consider someone best p4p when they havent fought above their weight.

I know GSP has great wrestling, which is phenomenal considering he had no background in wrestling prior to mma, he's a blackbelt in bjj, though we dont really see much of what he can do on the ground.

The problem, in my opinion, lies with his striking. I believe his kicks are his best weapon. But, his head movement is his biggest pitfall.

What are your thoughts?
 
#3 ·
i agree with the OP.
GSP is very talented..but his raw power isnt enough for MW.even in WW he doesnt seem to be have KO power in his hands.and his frame and reach isnt ideal for MW either.
 
#4 ·
gsp would have to bulk up big time to be an elite middleweight. he already has the technique, but guys like marqaudt will be too strong for him right now. theres also the problem that his reach wouldnt be an advantage anymore at middleweight, so he'd have to rely alot more on his grappling.

i wouldn't be interested in gsp moving up, apart from an A.silva fight. gsp is built perfectly for ww, its not his fault he's too good compared to the rest of the divison.
 
#9 ·
No doubt in my mind that GSP would be elite at Middleweight. I think he'd beat Anderson Silva most times.

Henderson may be a tough match considering Hendo's wrestling, and his chin.

Shooting on A Silva wouldn't be much of a problem though IMO.

He doesn't have much left to do at Welterweight. If he beats BJ, only Thiago Alves left to fight really. Of course there are other prospects, Yoshida, Kim, Hazelett.. But Koscheck, Sanchez, Alves, Fitch are above their level right now.
 
#11 ·
No doubt in my mind that GSP would be elite at Middleweight. I think he'd beat Anderson Silva most times.
Really? Silva would have a huge reach advantage, four inches of height, and a good fifteen-twenty pounds... and it's not like Silva is a slouch in any of the areas GSP is good at except maybe wrestling. I dunno. Maybe some times, but most times?
 
#10 ·
GSP has nothing left really after alves. Sanchez is the only one left he is yet to beat out of the top of the division and that fight is not as huge as it once could have been with his loses to fitch/koschek. So maybe not terrible idea for him to fight silva. would put him on his back and has shown the ability to avoid subs.
 
#13 ·
GSP has incredible athleticism, great motivation, and a plethora of tools to make the perfect well rounded fighter. As a MW he would out perform most everyone with little trouble except for Silva, and the two guys who shift weight classes, Franklin and Hendo. I think GSP could beat all those guys, but it would be a hard fought battle. If GSP packed on some muscle and added a lot more strength to his game, he would be a terrifying MW.
 
#14 ·
GSP still needs to have at least 3-4 title defences before he gets rushed up to middleweight to challenge Anderson Silva.

If GSP is victorious against BJ, he should have to fight Alves. After that, I would be interested in seeing him fight against Sanchez as well as another fight with Koscheck.

It is a terrible misconception that GSP is a huge welterweight. Granted he is a big welterweight, he would be drawfed by some of the middleweights. Although I believe GSP would have a solid run at middleweight, I think he'll have a lot of problems with fighters like Dan, Rich (yeah, I know he's not in middleweight anymore), Nate (not sure if they would fight since they are in the same camp), Anderson, etc.
 
#15 ·
Dana said the winner of Penn/GSP will first have to face Thiago. So if GSP beats Penn, he'll be facing Thiago first and imo win or loose by the end of 09, he'll be facing Silva at a catchweight (before he retires). They definitely want to put this fight together because it will sell lots of PPVs.
Important point: GSP facing Silva doesnt mean he's definitely moving up to face other 185ers right away. I think he'll want to clear the WW division first (kos, sanchez, maybe fitch again etc) then move up in weight.
 
#16 ·
There are some BIG dudes in the MW divison!
He would have a lot of trouble with guys like Franklin (assuming he comes back to 185), Okami, Silva and oh yeah supposedly Reljic is gonna be at 185 now? Wow. I know we haven't seen him in action at that weight class yet, but to add to my point, the guy is huge.
 
#17 ·
GSP is extremely talented. P4P one of the best fighters in the world, however as I middle-weight I think he would be top 10 maybe top 5 at best. People at 185 are natural 205ers or higher. Someone in another thread said that, Silva drops down from like 215? Im Sure Franklin and Hendo do the same as well. GSP drops from what? 190? Thats a huge difference. Not just in weight, size, but also in reach.
GSP has amazing wrestling, but I think he would be "Brock Lesnar'd" a little bit in the MW division to put it lightly.
 
#18 ·
GSP is extremely talented. P4P one of the best fighters in the world, however as I middle-weight I think he would be top 10 maybe top 5 at best. People at 185 are natural 205ers or higher. Someone in another thread said that, Silva drops down from like 215? Im Sure Franklin and Hendo do the same as well. GSP drops from what? 190? Thats a huge difference. Not just in weight, size, but also in reach.
GSP has amazing wrestling, but I think he would be "Brock Lesnar'd" a little bit in the MW division to put it lightly.
I agree for the most part however GSP has a huuuge reach (76") for a 5'10" guy. He almost has the same reach as some of the biggest, tallest LHWs.
 
#29 ·
Yeah, I edited my post already after watching two others. I still go with 74"- no way does he have a longer reach than silva, or even a half inch on each side. 75" tops.

Wishful thinking, fudging numbers, and plain old mistakes on the part of the UFC and nothing more, imho... just like Big Nog and Mir are only 6'1" according to their website and Randy COuture was only 1" shorter than Lesnar... and an inch taller than Mir and Nog!! (lol)

They just have too many cooks in the kitchen with measurements or something.
 
#30 ·
Yeah just read your edit.

I've never said GSP has a longer reach than Silva, my only point was Silva has not a huge reach advantage over GSP like a few people were saying here.
Silva will imo have at most a 1" reach advantage on each arm (77" vs. 75"). I don't give GSP less than 75/76" of reach.

They should measure reach more precisely, their TOTs are getting ridiculous.
 
#32 ·
It would be a testament to GSP's humility and determination if he were willing to move up to MW and run the risk of getting beaten badly. However, I like him as a welterweight. A dominating welterweight. A jacked, broad-shouldered, six-pack-having, pectorally gifted welterweight with dreamy blue eyes and a sexy accent uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
 
#35 ·
You guys are taking this reach thing way too seriously. The reach is your wingspan split up between arm length AND back and shoulders. It wouldn't be that hard to have fluctuations, both in measurement accuracy and the actual measurements from day to day.

Someone could come in on a few weeks notice and be dehydrated as hell and have a 74" reach, and then the following year have a fight where he trained his ass off and had a better cut and was able to retain more water, and his reach go up an inch or two. 1" of reach is usually only a 1/2" per side. That's not hard to gain or lose within a few months.

Reach is a really overrated stat.

A 74" reach guy could still possibly be giving up arm length to a guy with a 72" reach.
 
#36 ·
You guys are taking this reach thing way too seriously. The reach is your wingspan split up between arm length AND back and shoulders. It wouldn't be that hard to have fluctuations, both in measurement accuracy and the actual measurements from day to day.

Someone could come in on a few weeks notice and be dehydrated as hell and have a 74" reach, and then the following year have a fight where he trained his ass off and had a better cut and was able to retain more water, and his reach go up an inch or two. 1" of reach is usually only a 1/2" per side. That's not hard to gain or lose within a few months.

Reach is a really overrated stat.
Misunderstood and over-analysed maybe, but not overrated in the slightest
 
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