Honestly I don't view him as a great champion. He is a king of a very mediocre hill. GSP's title defenses are consistently against much higher caliber opponents. Middleweight division is more shallow than a cheerleader. It's always been known that it takes an aggressive wrestler in his prime to dominate a striker or/and a jits player, but when was the last time he was given that challenge? Lutter? Henderson? Neither was in his prime when they fought him. Sonnen exposed Silva, the same way that Silva exposed Franklin, but lacked cardio in the 5th round to finish him. Alas, it's exhausting to punch someone for 25 minutes and hold them down at the same time. If this was a non-title fight, Silva would've lost. So this fight brings more brownie points to Sonnen than Silva, IMO.

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

He was given that challenge by Sonnen and he overcame it despite being injured going into the fight. There is no excuse for Sonnen gassing and being more tired than Silva. Silva had to carry Sonnen's weight for four rounds and took a pounding, yet Silva found a way to prevail with a cracked rib. That's the sign of a champion. So regardless of whether the division is stacked or not, Silva pulled off a great win under duress.
We can all claim that certain champions aren't that great because the dvision they were in wasn't brimming with quality but you can only beat what's put in front of you and to remain undefeated for several years beating the likes of Henderson, Griffin and Franklin during that run is a noteworthy achievement in my opinion.

Noteworthy, yes, but nowhere near the achievement it has been made out to be by the UFC Hype machine
Lot's of fighters go into the cage injured. Most never mention it. It's old news. Silva shouldn't have whined about his rib, it makes him look less of a man. Silva pulled off a win, yes, but it's overshadowed by the fact that he got his ass whipped for 23 minutes straight. That's not a great win, it's a lucky win.

However I have a distinct feeling I will never convince you of that, I smell a Silva nuthugger on you

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

I would have liked to see Silva lose, especially after all the dancing around like a faggot in the last few fights, but at least he defended his title and didn't dance around like a faggot. He survived the pounding that Sonnen gave him. How many others could have done that? I agree that his win was not a great one but a lucky one, but that luck was only possible in part because he did survive that beating. If he hadn't, the fight would have been over before 4.5 rounds.

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I can't argue with that. He showed durability in that fight. I just have a huge problem with calling his win a "great" win. Maybe a spectacular win, okay, because it was so unexpected. But there was nothing great about being somebody's bitch for 23 minutes and then pulling off a submission on account of another fighter's gas tank. A great win is a dominant win. There was nothing dominant about Silva in that fight. He got schooled.

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

the only thing you've concinced me of is you have your ballsac deep in Sonnen

I agree he probably shouldn't have mentioned the injury. Nevertheless it was an awesome performance to pull off the win given he cracked his rib in the first round and was beaten up for four rounds The excuse that Sonnen was gassed is a tenous one. Luck had nothing to do with Silva's win, rather it was his skill and determination that saw him prevail when it looked as if he was going to lose. In any sport it's the hallmark of champions to find a way to extricate themselves from a bad situation. Silva is a great fighter and deserves all the acclaim he gets

He certainly did.

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I didn't even like Sonnen before this fight. He was always a lukewarm fighter for me until now.
Silva will lose his belt within the next two fights, mark my words. He's been exposed. The hype is over

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

Well given he's 35 and likely to be out until 2011 it's quite conceivable that he could lose his belt when he comes back. Champions, as great as they are, tend to lose at some point in their career anyway. When they do lose it doesn't negate all they have has achieved in their career

What are you? Some kind of Silva fanboy? And you say Jabs has his ballsack deep in Sonnen. Sure, Silva's a good fighter, but for the last few fights before this one, he didn't even fight! He just danced around to the point where his opponent was getting seriously pissed off and the audience was first chanting his opponent's name and then GSP who was going to face whoever won the fight. Dana White even said if he did it again he'd fire him. He claimed it was because he was bored of his opponents? End the goddamn fight then. Don't dance around and piss everyone off. Like someone said, is he even any good anymore? Did he get pounded in the face for 4 and half rounds because Sonnen is that good or because he can't fight anymore? His win was lucky. Sonnen got tired and Silva managed to slip him into a submission. He may be a good fighter, but he's a bitch who should have lost that fight. Sonnen ran a clinic on him. Took him to school.

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yes clearly i'm a Silva's pr man
where did i say i endorsed what Silva did in his fight against Demian Maia? that's right i didn't. I didn't deny either that Sonnen dominated him in their fight. I'm disputing the idea that Sonnen losing the fight was due to him gassing. If anyone should have been gassed it was Silva having been taken down several times throughout the fight and having to carry sonnen's weight for four rounds nevertheless he managed to turn it around with a great submission.
I admire a guy who can stayed undefeated for four years and beat the likes of Henderson, Griffin and Franklin along the way. So if your revision of his career in light of the Maia and Sonnen fight is that he fought no one of any calibre in that time it's nonsense. Perhaps the last two fights do indcate he's in decline- he's 35 afterall. If that's the case then being out of action til 2011 obviously won't help.

Holding a guy down for 4 rounds and beating him up at the same time is a very very tiring exercise. I'm not sure if Sonnen gassed or just got careless in the end, it's immaterial really to the point I was trying to make. He lost, yes, but his loss is more impressive than Silva's victory. In the rematch, he takes it.

Oh, and other than beating Franklin, Marquardt, and Henderson, Silva really hasn't done anything too impressive in that division. I'm sorry I just fail to view him as a great champion. He is a very good fighter, I do not deny that. But his greatness has been impossibly exaggerated by the mediocre opposition in that division. The first time he came across a good aggressive wrestler, he got owned. GSP has defended his belt fewer times, but it has been almost consistently against higher caliber opposition than anything Silva has been facing. Him I can call a great champion

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

I've heard the same flimsy argument about Calzaghe in boxing not having fought good enough opponents or being lucky to win certain fights.
Silva should have been the more tired of two considering he was being pounded and was fighting with a cracked rib. So the tiredness excuse doesn't hold much weight with me. Sonnen didn't get carless he was beaten by a great submission move. Silva did get owned for most of the fight but still ended up winning that's the sign of a great fighter to overcome the odds and pull off the win when up against it! I'm sorry but to pull off the win in those circumstances to me is more impressive than a "moral victory" or a "gallant effort" Winners make their own luck, the defeated tend to fall back on what ifs and what might have been. I mean who remembers the team that dominates for 80 minutes of a world cup final only to lose the game in the last 10 minutes!? Silva's ability and achievements have only been overstated to his detractors. He has beaten great fighters over the last four years.

Anyway i'm done here because we are never going to agree on this issue

No we are not, your blind devotion is too strong
So be it. There are other conversations we can have about MMA, bloated champions aside

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

Yup. I'm looking forward to it. Silva needs to lose that title like nobody's business.

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yes there are then Should Silva win the rematch, you'll see it wasn't blind devotion

didn't watch the match. But the way I see it, it doesn't matter of sonnen beat him up for most of the match. He didn't knock him out, and he didn't make it until the bell to win on points.

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"At my mom's currently playing some Rage on her PC"

Well yeah. That's why he didn't win. That doesn't mean Silva's win wasn't lucky.

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yes and it was due to a great submission. champions don't rely on luck, they make something happen when under the kosh.

Fair enough, man

Btw, what does your handle mean?

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

That is a very objective way of looking at the result, and it can not faulted. Objectively. I suggest you watch the fight though

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

Bricriu - he of the venomous tongue - was a poet and satirist in Celtic mythology

WEC 50 tonight!
Cruz vs. Benavidez for the Bantamweight Belt
Jorgensen and Pettis are also fighting in this event (not each other)

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

Downloading WEC 50 right now!

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You'll like it. Lots of awesome scraps.

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Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun. - Ash.

When a whore is too ugly to be a stripper and too lazy to be a prostitute she becomes a dominatrix. - Dick Masterson.

This is my Signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Signature, without me, is useless. Without my Signature, I am useless

Whooaa! Just watched WEC 50! Fucking shit...there were some crazy scraps! That Cub guy got schooled. Terrible fight on his part. Fucking Pettis though! Holy shit! I think that was the best fight of the whole night, but they were all pretty fucking good.

I wish Brad had beaten Jorgensson though.

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Wasn't Bobby Lashley fighting this weekend too?

This weekend? I don't know. What's happening this weekend?

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So Lashley lost to Griggs by tko. It'll be him and Batista next i reckon.

King Mo lost his LH title to Cavalcante this weekend. TKO in the third. I hope Moussasi gets the next shot and wins back the title.