A quick look at his record (11-5) and you would presume that he is. However, looking at the level of fighters Gonzaga has lost to, can he really be regarded as simply a gatekeeper?
Losing to Werdum (2), Couture, Carwin and Junior Dos Santos is nothing to be ashamed of.
He lost the title fight to Couture, it was an accidental clash of heads that broke his nose but i'm not here to make excuses. He then loses to Werdum in the second round after looking great in the first round, but this is the fight where Gonzaga's lack of heart could be brought into question. He got himself into a bad postion and seemed to wilt under the pressure from Werdum resulting in a TKO loss.
Back to back wins against lower quality opposition before the fight with Carwin at UFC 96. Again, Gabe looks great at the opening bell, rocking Shane before taking him down into his world of grappling. Unfortunately Carwin gets back up quick and hits Gabe with a punch it seems only Lesnar could withstand (kind of :confused05.
A BEATDOWN of Lesnar's team-mate Chris Tuchscherer including one of the worst groin shots ever brought Gonzaga back on track. Seriously some of the GNP got hard to watch but it was eventually stopped (props to Chris for fighting on after the ball-shot).
KO loss to JDS very early in the first round of the first Versus card leaves Gonzo needing to win this fight against Schaub on Saturday night.
Some say he needs a better camp, I completely agree. He has strength, good Muay Thai, solid wrestling and a nasty BJJ game. His conditioning is okay but he lacks heart (which you can't really improve through training) and you can't really speak ill of his chin because Carwin and JDS knock out almost everybody.
I would say he is not a gatekeeper at the moment, but if he loses to Schaub, this will be the first time he has lost to an up and comer rather than a seasoned veteran/contender. I think he will win on Saturday, but if not I have no idea what the future holds for Gonzo. (Gonzaga vs Yvel would be baller! :thumb02
Losing to Werdum (2), Couture, Carwin and Junior Dos Santos is nothing to be ashamed of.
He lost the title fight to Couture, it was an accidental clash of heads that broke his nose but i'm not here to make excuses. He then loses to Werdum in the second round after looking great in the first round, but this is the fight where Gonzaga's lack of heart could be brought into question. He got himself into a bad postion and seemed to wilt under the pressure from Werdum resulting in a TKO loss.
Back to back wins against lower quality opposition before the fight with Carwin at UFC 96. Again, Gabe looks great at the opening bell, rocking Shane before taking him down into his world of grappling. Unfortunately Carwin gets back up quick and hits Gabe with a punch it seems only Lesnar could withstand (kind of :confused05.
A BEATDOWN of Lesnar's team-mate Chris Tuchscherer including one of the worst groin shots ever brought Gonzaga back on track. Seriously some of the GNP got hard to watch but it was eventually stopped (props to Chris for fighting on after the ball-shot).
KO loss to JDS very early in the first round of the first Versus card leaves Gonzo needing to win this fight against Schaub on Saturday night.
Some say he needs a better camp, I completely agree. He has strength, good Muay Thai, solid wrestling and a nasty BJJ game. His conditioning is okay but he lacks heart (which you can't really improve through training) and you can't really speak ill of his chin because Carwin and JDS knock out almost everybody.
I would say he is not a gatekeeper at the moment, but if he loses to Schaub, this will be the first time he has lost to an up and comer rather than a seasoned veteran/contender. I think he will win on Saturday, but if not I have no idea what the future holds for Gonzo. (Gonzaga vs Yvel would be baller! :thumb02