Now that Tanner has the belt.. and is no longer with Quest, should we expect the his first title defense to be against his newly ex-training partner Matt Lindland?
I'm wondering if they will match the two of them up immediately. Since Rich is fighting Shamrock at 52, it won't be Franklin.
It should be Lindland as #1 contender. By now, both guys know each other's style to a large degree. They probably also know how they tend to balance out in practice. Will be interesting.
So who takes the match? Tanner or Lindland? Lets get a call out.
Tanner will definitely beat Lindland. He's too big, too strong, and too good a finisher. He will win by sub from his back or the ol' elbows from the mount.
I think Lindland is rumored to be fighting Franklin first, though.
Franklin/Tanner rematch, when it happens, will be excellent. I think Tanner's standup has improved dramatically since the loss to Franklin and will only continue to do so. I also think he is stronger at this weight than Rich, although it's entirely possible Rich will get stronger as he gets more used to cutting the weight.
You don't think Lindland cuts heavily to make his weight? He doesn't have a bodybuilder physique, but he is a wrestler who fights at 185. I assume he starts at ~195-200.
I'm sure he does, but Tanner just looks enormous at 185. He's looked significantly bigger than everybody he's fought at that weight, while Lindland doesn't.