Fern 10th Planet - It has nothing to do with jumping in line for a title shot, UFC doesn't give a fuck about #1 contenders. If they could sell a PPV they'd give Shaq an immediate title shot.
They would have let him if he signed a long term type contract. After watching the press conference it seems that GSP wanted a 1 fight contract, or maybe 2 at most. UFC doesn't like that of course, win the belt against the undefeated champ then retire? Sure it's a big PPV but it's a bad investment for the UFC. So I can see why it didn't work out.
Contract wouldn’t really have anything to do with it. Nobody has to finish their contracted fights if they don’t want to so it would be totally up to gsp if he fought again after the Khabib fight. GSP is still under contract with the ufc but they can’t force him to finish it before he retires and if he wants to fight again he will still need to honor his remaining fights with them.
I'm ok W gap being done. At end of day, if he was an active fighter, this would be a non issue.
da Vinci 81 - Fern 10th Planet - It has nothing to do with jumping in line for a title shot, UFC doesn't give a fuck about #1 contenders. If they could sell a PPV they'd give Shaq an immediate title shot.
They would have let him if he signed a long term type contract. After watching the press conference it seems that GSP wanted a 1 fight contract, or maybe 2 at most. UFC doesn't like that of course, win the belt against the undefeated champ then retire? Sure it's a big PPV but it's a bad investment for the UFC. So I can see why it didn't work out.
Contract wouldn’t really have anything to do with it. Nobody has to finish their contracted fights if they don’t want to so it would be totally up to gsp if he fought again after the Khabib fight. GSP is still under contract with the ufc but they can’t force him to finish it before he retires and if he wants to fight again he will still need to honor his remaining fights with them.
Absolutely it does! I have no idea how many fights he has left to fullfill on his contract... For argument sake lets say he has 1 left. I doubt the UFC would want to risk GSP winning the belt vs Khabib and retiring without defending it. UFC were probably trying to negotiate a few more fights out of GSP, where as GSP wanted to take it fight by fight since he's nearing 40.
That's my guess where the fight fell through.
BJ Penn Forever - I did not like that GSP got to come in after four years away and get a title shot over the MW's who have been competing for that same shot in those four years.
UFC wanted him to defend. He did not want to do that. Did not want to challenge for the WW title. Wanted to drop down to a 3rd weight class and get another instant title shot to make history and become first three weight champ in UFC history.
I’m glad UFC stood their ground and did not let him do it. Letting a big name like GSP or Conor get an instant title shot in a new weight class is alright once in a while but you do it too much and you fuck up the lives of too many legit #1 contenders.
Prizefighting is not pure sport but it functions in a sportlike way most of the time in most of the promotions.
Can’t let GSP comeback after forever and fuck multiple #1 contenders out of their title shots without beating them in fights or defending any belts he wins.
Lol… says a salty BJ Penn fan Wish the UFC would force that embarrassment to retire. At least GSP faced top level competition all the way to the end…. And won!
GSP has set so many UFC records and obtained so many championship belts… he has earned the right to pick his legacy fights. Are there deserving LWs… sure, but how many have GSPs record, fan base or PPV draws? Everyone of those contenders would also love a crack at GSP… if they were champ, you can bet they would calling him out like Khabib
The UFC set the precedent by allowing non # 1 contenders to fight for a belt… hell, it seems more often than not that the # 1 contender does not get the title shot… and if any non # 1 contender deserves a shot… its GSP.
crashingwaves - BJ Penn Forever - I did not like that GSP got to come in after four years away and get a title shot over the MW's who have been competing for that same shot in those four years.
UFC wanted him to defend. He did not want to do that. Did not want to challenge for the WW title. Wanted to drop down to a 3rd weight class and get another instant title shot to make history and become first three weight champ in UFC history.
I’m glad UFC stood their ground and did not let him do it. Letting a big name like GSP or Conor get an instant title shot in a new weight class is alright once in a while but you do it too much and you fuck up the lives of too many legit #1 contenders.
Prizefighting is not pure sport but it functions in a sportlike way most of the time in most of the promotions.
Can’t let GSP comeback after forever and fuck multiple #1 contenders out of their title shots without beating them in fights or defending any belts he wins.
Lol… says a salty BJ Penn fan Wish the UFC would force that embarrassment to retire. At least GSP faced top level competition all the way to the end…. And won!
GSP has set so many UFC records and obtained so many championship belts… he has earned the right to pick his legacy fights. Are there deserving LWs… sure, but how many have GSPs record, fan base or PPV draws? Everyone of those contenders would also love a crack at GSP… if they were champ, you can bet they would calling him out like Khabib
The UFC set the precedent by allowing non # 1 contenders to fight for a belt… hell, it seems more often than not that the # 1 contender does not get the title shot… and if any non # 1 contender deserves a shot… its GSP.
“At least GSP faced top level comp all the way to the end…”
If that is what you want to call one fight in five years after running from the Hendricks rematch then so be it.
He did face top level competition consistently though, that’s a fact. You’re trying to argue against this by saying “he had 1 fight in 5 years” which just makes absolutely no sense. His inactivity doesn’t dilute his record/resume of wins against top level opponents.
And fuck Hendricks, that roided up little monkey. We saw what happened to him when he couldn’t juice. And GSP still beat him.
When You have won 12 straight title fights you should be able to fight whoever the hell you want. GSP is a generational fighter. People will still be talking about him 20 to 30 years from now. UFC will probably regret not getting one last fight out of a legend that is still close to his physical prime.
and since when does the UFC have structural integrity? They have always wanted to make the biggest fight despite the rankings. One thing we know about MMA is that nothing is guaranteed. When you have a chance to make a big fight.....you make it NOW....I thought we learned this after watching CroCop get destroyed by Gonzaga and Liddell getting beat down by Keith Jardine....
If Khabib - and others - would fight 3-4x times a year instead of once or twice, I’d be all for it at catchweight. In Pride days you had champs have some non-title bouts, but they fought a lot, much like Cerrone does today.
Why fight with such less frequency if you’re not inured. Make the $$$$. But since this is what happening, the UFC are right in this one.
BJ Penn Forever - Jones right nostril - Nah fuck that, GSP is a once in a generation fighter, I want to see him fight the best new kids in the block. There’s nothing more exciting than that imo.
Guys like Tony and Dustin will get their chance eventually, but they’re not “transcendent” stars like GSP and never will be. GSP vs khabib would be like Jordan vs Kobe.
Tony is 10-0 at LW over the past five years. GSP is 1-0 at MW in that same time.
Crazy to think he gets to skip over Tony.
Did not look all that transcendent vs Hendricks five years ago either.
One of the GOATS for sure but to think he gets it over Tony in 2019 is crazy.
Do you actually think a casual fan cares about Tony? Pull your head out of your ass, barely anyone cares about MMA other than the mouth breathers on this message board. GSP vs Khabib would have actually sold PPVs
BJ Penn Forever - crashingwaves - BJ Penn Forever - I did not like that GSP got to come in after four years away and get a title shot over the MW's who have been competing for that same shot in those four years.
UFC wanted him to defend. He did not want to do that. Did not want to challenge for the WW title. Wanted to drop down to a 3rd weight class and get another instant title shot to make history and become first three weight champ in UFC history.
I’m glad UFC stood their ground and did not let him do it. Letting a big name like GSP or Conor get an instant title shot in a new weight class is alright once in a while but you do it too much and you fuck up the lives of too many legit #1 contenders.
Prizefighting is not pure sport but it functions in a sportlike way most of the time in most of the promotions.
Can’t let GSP comeback after forever and fuck multiple #1 contenders out of their title shots without beating them in fights or defending any belts he wins.
Lol… says a salty BJ Penn fan Wish the UFC would force that embarrassment to retire. At least GSP faced top level competition all the way to the end…. And won!
GSP has set so many UFC records and obtained so many championship belts… he has earned the right to pick his legacy fights. Are there deserving LWs… sure, but how many have GSPs record, fan base or PPV draws? Everyone of those contenders would also love a crack at GSP… if they were champ, you can bet they would calling him out like Khabib
The UFC set the precedent by allowing non # 1 contenders to fight for a belt… hell, it seems more often than not that the # 1 contender does not get the title shot… and if any non # 1 contender deserves a shot… its GSP.
“At least GSP faced top level comp all the way to the end…”
If that is what you want to call one fight in five years after running from the Hendricks rematch then so be it.
What is BJ Penn's record in that time frame... and who did he fight?
I take it the sand and salty tears are still irritating your vagina.... since UFC 94!
Khabib has to fight Ferguson in November when he returns. let gsp retire on top. Everyone gets what they want.
BigPhillip - BJ Penn Forever - Jones right nostril - Nah fuck that, GSP is a once in a generation fighter, I want to see him fight the best new kids in the block. There’s nothing more exciting than that imo.
Guys like Tony and Dustin will get their chance eventually, but they’re not “transcendent” stars like GSP and never will be. GSP vs khabib would be like Jordan vs Kobe.
Tony is 10-0 at LW over the past five years. GSP is 1-0 at MW in that same time.
Crazy to think he gets to skip over Tony.
Did not look all that transcendent vs Hendricks five years ago either.
One of the GOATS for sure but to think he gets it over Tony in 2019 is crazy.
Do you actually think a casual fan cares about Tony? Pull your head out of your ass, barely anyone cares about MMA other than the mouth breathers on this message board. GSP vs Khabib would have actually sold PPVs
Don’t care about the casual fans. Don’t care if GSP vs Khabib would of sold ten million PPVs.
it's prize fighting. the best fights should be made. UFC fucked this up royally and should be criticized hard. the belts are worthless and everybody knows it.
Fern 10th Planet - da Vinci 81 - Fern 10th Planet - It has nothing to do with jumping in line for a title shot, UFC doesn't give a fuck about #1 contenders. If they could sell a PPV they'd give Shaq an immediate title shot.
They would have let him if he signed a long term type contract. After watching the press conference it seems that GSP wanted a 1 fight contract, or maybe 2 at most. UFC doesn't like that of course, win the belt against the undefeated champ then retire? Sure it's a big PPV but it's a bad investment for the UFC. So I can see why it didn't work out.
Contract wouldn’t really have anything to do with it. Nobody has to finish their contracted fights if they don’t want to so it would be totally up to gsp if he fought again after the Khabib fight. GSP is still under contract with the ufc but they can’t force him to finish it before he retires and if he wants to fight again he will still need to honor his remaining fights with them.
Absolutely it does! I have no idea how many fights he has left to fullfill on his contract... For argument sake lets say he has 1 left. I doubt the UFC would want to risk GSP winning the belt vs Khabib and retiring without defending it. UFC were probably trying to negotiate a few more fights out of GSP, where as GSP wanted to take it fight by fight since he's nearing 40.
That's my guess where the fight fell through.
But it doesn’t matter if gsp has one fight or ten fights left on a contract. He could sign a brand new long term contract and then fight Khabib and still retire right afterward. The ufc has no way to force him into more fights after the Khabib fight which is the issue they have. They can’t force any fighter to fulfill their contract. All it means at that point is the fighter cannot sign with any other org before fulfilling the obligations on their ufc contract.
The Immortal One - Khabib has to fight Ferguson in November when he returns. let gsp retire on top. Everyone gets what they want.
Nah man.
I want to know why an old GOAT is clever enough to avoid Woodley+Romero/Whittaker, but fucked around chasing a fight with Khabib.
Pay that man his money and see if he can solve the puzzle.
I feel for Tony but he’s not GSP.
Mighty Mouse Flyweight GOAT
Cruz bantamweight GOAT
Aldo Featherweight GOAT
Penn Lightweight GOAT
GSP welterweight GOAT
Anderson Silva Middleweight GOAT
Chuck Liddell Lightheavyweight GOAT
Fedor Heavyweight GOAT
multiculturaljoseph - The Immortal One - Khabib has to fight Ferguson in November when he returns. let gsp retire on top. Everyone gets what they want.
Nah man.
I want to know why an old GOAT is clever enough to avoid Woodley+Romero/Whittaker, but fucked around chasing a fight with Khabib.
Pay that man his money and see if he can solve the puzzle.
I feel for Tony but he’s not GSP.
GSP beat the Middleweight CHAMP, fuck all that other noise you be making. Who?! Woodley? Whitaker?? ROMERO??? LOL that’s hilarious!
GSpenn fan -
When You have won 12 straight title fights you should be able to fight whoever the hell you want. GSP is a generational fighter. People will still be talking about him 20 to 30 years from now. UFC will probably regret not getting one last fight out of a legend that is still close to his physical prime.
and since when does the UFC have structural integrity? They have always wanted to make the biggest fight despite the rankings. One thing we know about MMA is that nothing is guaranteed. When you have a chance to make a big fight.....you make it NOW....I thought we learned this after watching CroCop get destroyed by Gonzaga and Liddell getting beat down by Keith Jardine....
SN checks out.
I disagree though. MMA isn't boxing. Fighters need to fight (or not). Gsp is awesome, but really hasn't been present for 5 years outside of one fight. I honestly don't want somebody walking in after 5 years and saying I'm ready for one more fight. It disrupts the whole title picture.
No one fighter is transcendent. this is proven by the fact that no one will be very disappointed if GSP does not fight. I'd be okay with him getting a title shot at some point, but there is a line dude. He walked away. No Disney World fast-passes. It's arrogant for him to expect one.