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Is Gabriel Gonzaga a GateKeeper?

1K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  FrodoFraggins 
#1 ·
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:)
 
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#3 ·
I think we need to define the term "gatekeeper" first.

If you mean "Will never become a consistent championship caliber fighter" than yes, I think thats what Gonzaga really is.

If you mean "Is only good enough to beat cans, but cant be a top 10 HW" then no, I think Gonzaga has talent enough to perhaps defeat any of the top 5 guys on the right day for him, and an off night for the other top 5 fighter.

Gonzaga is talented, but as you said his heart is lacking, and overall his skills arent well rounded enough to be a top 3 fighter consistently. He might be able to beat one of them, but he'll never be IN the top 3 for period of a year or two, because he'll lose to another top 5 guy right after.

To me Gonzaga IS a "Gatekeeper" not because he's a bad fighter, but simply because he's not consistent enough to be a GREAT fighter.
 
#4 ·
Gatekeeper. He just doesn't have it, although most all the skills. He won't be champ. He will beat a guy or 2 as an underdog and lose his share. He is almost definition of a gatekeeper right now. Doesn't mean he isn't good, just means he is a stepping stone for guys on the up and up. He is respected so it is a quality win without stepping up to the Carwins and JDS of the world.

If he wins this one in good fashion, I'd like to see him fight Mir. I think it would be a fun matchup. Pretty similar guys in my opinion.
 
#5 ·
He really needs to beat Schaub to stay in this thing I think, that being said Brendan is running riot, with all fights finished in the first round (including a loss to big Country) and has averaged like 80 odd seconds a fight. He is for real and a huge test for Gabe.
 
#6 ·
I agree with the thought that this fight with Schaub is going to go a long way towards defining the trajectory of his career. He really needs to beat Schaub if he ever wants to put himself back in the top ten. People dont put a whole ton of weight into the fact that he has already had one title shot because he had a pretty easy road to get there and then got completely owned by Couture.
 
#7 ·
He's a well rounded and talented fighter, but he doesn't have that one particular skill that he can just overwhelm his opponent with, whether it be wrestling, strength, striking, etc. This is why his success has been inconsistent in the UFC, fighting the top guys. I still don't know why he doesn't just pound on the punch button when in the clinch.

 
#11 ·
Gonzaga has all the tools but he has went to shit since he fell in love with his hands. Honestly I think Gonzaga is the worst match up for Lesnar in the entire UFC if he has his head screwed on. Gonzaga has a solid chin, heavy hands and a sick ground game. If you held a gun to my head and told me to pick one guy in the HW division to beat Lesnar I would pick Gonzaga. Unfortunately as it stands he won't ever get that shot. I mean why stand with JDS? It makes no sense.
 
#12 ·
Gonzaga has all the tools but he has went to shit since he fell in love with his hands. Honestly I think Gonzaga is the worst match up for Lesnar in the entire UFC if he has his head screwed on. Gonzaga has a solid chin, heavy hands and a sick ground game. If you held a gun to my head and told me to pick one guy in the HW division to beat Lesnar I would pick Gonzaga. Unfortunately as it stands he won't ever get that shot. I mean why stand with JDS? It makes no sense.
While I think I agree with your idea in that Gonzaga has a chance against Lesnar because he has a legit BJJ game, and actually is good off his back, I think saying you'd take him over Werdum (you didnt say it, but thats kind of the point, you didnt say it), is either overrating Gonzaga, or underrating Werdum.

However, *maybe* you just meant in the UFC heavyweight division, and forgot to specify that part.

Again, I somewhat agree with you though, I think Gonzaga actually poses more threat to Lesnar than Cain, Mir, Carwin, JDS or any other HW in the UFC atm (I still think Werdum and Fedor are the biggest challenges he'll never face)... of course this is assuming Gonzaga actually went into the fight with the expectation of fighting off his back and TRYING to submit Lesnar, which as you said he doesnt seem to fight too intelligently lately.
 
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