I think that this fight is tougher for Crocop than a Sylvia fight. imho
i doubt that^^
"Does anyone remember the absolute shit-fest that Gonzaga fought against Kevin Jordan?"
in gonzaga's defense - he was going through some HORRIBLE family issues at the time - child dying etc - and that was greatly weighing on him before the fight. his fights since then have been good & i think that he has more than earned a spot in the ufc.
his grappling/submissions are not in question - for he is a tremendous talent, but whether he is able to apply them while under constant barage is something that will ahve to be seen. gonzaga is the great unknown in the ufc hw division. we will have a better idea of where he is after a match up with crocop
Gonzaga/Cro-Cop Confirmed!!!
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"Does anyone remember the absolute shit-fest that Gonzaga fought against Kevin Jordan?"
- Yes, I remember. But that was one fight, although yes, it was god-awful.
Nevertheless, Gonzaga is probably the #4 HW in the UFC at this point (assuming Vera really is on his way out), which really speaks to how dilute their HW division is.
However, it still means that this is a good build-up fight for Cro Cop to further legitimize his stake as the #1 contender.
Also, should Gonzaga pull off the major upset, with his current win streak, it would also make him a legit #1 contender as well and not just some fluke winner from out of nowhere.
So UFC is covering its bases with this match-up.
"Cro Cops takedown defense is airtight at this point. Only a truly great wrestler, or an aggressive striker who can rush hiim with strikes and knock him off balance is gonna be able to get him down. I don't see Gonzaga possessing either the wrestling or striking to be able to do anything with Mirko."
- Nice accurate assessment. However Gonzaga is big, with some power that Cro Cop might have to consider, a la Kevin Randleman. It might be enough to keep him off balance and with his size, Gonzaga might be able to get him down, where his world-class BJJ could come into play.
But yes, it would be a huge upset if that happened.
And why would they pit CC vs. Arlovski already? They're saving that match-up. They don't want to use that up just yet. Where will that leave them in terms of top contenders left?
Gonzaga is a very smart contingencies-covering match-up.
Cro Cop smokes
why not just fight Sylvia, hasnt he earned it?? get it over with so he can go back and fight Fedor!!
God Damn it I'll say it, Gonzaga takes will win.
Napao knocks people out and he also submits them. He has the tools and the size to beat Crocop.
Great matchup of likely title contenders.
I am with Pollo though, I wish both were built up seperately and matched later on.
im picking gonzaga by armbar
When did Werdum get signed?
Is it confirmed that UFC has signed Werdum?
If so, I cannot believe that they would match him up against Arlovski right away.
If Werdum wins, Arlovski is wasted for a prospective Superfight against CC.
If Arlovski wins, you just signed a top ten HW in Werdum to have him immediately lose.
With Werdum, they would have 4 of the top 10 HW's in the world. Why pit them against each other right away when you can build them up and save them for marquee matchups down the road?
Why that's a marquee match-up now....
Yah he should do great. As long as he brings the same intensity he brought against Kevin Jordan this shoudl be very competitive. Sarcasm by the way.
This guy got a TKO from WERDUM. He is getting KTFO.
:-)
Double :-)
lol
ElMac and KKM again humiliate themselves while trying to act like condescending experts.