GSP vs Shields Time To Choose!

Training
141

The thing about the Diaz match-up is:

  1. GSP’s best skill set is his wrestling, Shields just happens to be a guy who is arguably better than GSP on the ground, and really his only chance of victory was that it wound up being a grappling match. As a result, GSP had to try to keep the fight standing. Shields had the benefit of watching the GSP/Koscheck fight and game planning to deal with GSP’s jabs. He is also a very, very tough fighter and was able to take everything Dan Henderson threw at him; it was pretty far fetched that GSP would be able to KO him.

Diaz on the other hand is not nearly the wrestler that Shields is. Yeah, he’s got good Jiu-Jitsu, but GSP has shown several times that he can control and dominate pure BJJ guys on the ground (Penn and Serra). I really don’t think that Diaz could submit him off his back, and I see GSP winding up on top whenever it did go to the ground. For this reason I think GSP would have no quams about taking Diaz down and pounding on him from there.

I don’t however see GSP finishing Diaz on the ground, either by submission of TKO though as Diaz has never been submitted (to the best of my knowledge anyhow) and has got a great chin/heart. Maybe something like a ref stoppage due to GSP getting a mounted crucifix and preventing him from defending himself effectively could happen, but that’s about it IMO.

  1. Diaz likes to stand and trade, basically overwhelm his opponents with the sheer volume of punches he throws. He’s not one of those guys like Rashad or Edgar who is constantly moving around, lunging into range to land some strikes than quickly clearing back out of range. As a result I don’t see GSP having any trouble running through him with a takedown. Which leads back to point 1.

I just think that Shield’s style/strengths had a lot to do with GSP not looking all that great (in the first 2 rounds, the last three were a significantly handicapped version of GSP). I don’t think that Diaz’s style would cause the same result.

142

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
The thing about the Diaz match-up is:

  1. GSP’s best skill set is his wrestling, Shields just happens to be a guy who is arguably better than GSP on the ground, and really his only chance of victory was that it wound up being a grappling match. As a result, GSP had to try to keep the fight standing. Shields had the benefit of watching the GSP/Koscheck fight and game planning to deal with GSP’s jabs. He is also a very, very tough fighter and was able to take everything Dan Henderson threw at him; it was pretty far fetched that GSP would be able to KO him.

Diaz on the other hand is not nearly the wrestler that Shields is. Yeah, he’s got good Jiu-Jitsu, but GSP has shown several times that he can control and dominate pure BJJ guys on the ground (Penn and Serra). I really don’t think that Diaz could submit him off his back, and I see GSP winding up on top whenever it did go to the ground. For this reason I think GSP would have no quams about taking Diaz down and pounding on him from there.

I don’t however see GSP finishing Diaz on the ground, either by submission of TKO though as Diaz has never been submitted (to the best of my knowledge anyhow) and has got a great chin/heart. Maybe something like a ref stoppage due to GSP getting a mounted crucifix and preventing him from defending himself effectively could happen, but that’s about it IMO.

  1. Diaz likes to stand and trade, basically overwhelm his opponents with the sheer volume of punches he throws. He’s not one of those guys like Rashad or Edgar who is constantly moving around, lunging into range to land some strikes than quickly clearing back out of range. As a result I don’t see GSP having any trouble running through him with a takedown. Which leads back to point 1.

I just think that Shield’s style/strengths had a lot to do with GSP not looking all that great (in the first 2 rounds, the last three were a significantly handicapped version of GSP). I don’t think that Diaz’s style would cause the same result. [/quote]

i agree with everything youve said here. I dont think that most people actually think Diaz will beat GSP (though if anyone counts him out on the feet against him they are crazy) but i do see another underwhelming decision victory there.

143

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

Nobody cares you asshat. 3 finishes as a champ 2 to hughes one to serra. And Penn’s corner threw in the towel he didn’t finish Penn. There are 9 read it 9 finishes by the Spider 9 not 3 9.[/quote]

Are you the guy everyone is adding on their ignore list?[/quote]
It makes the combat forum a wonderful place, instantly.

144

[quote]Khaine wrote:

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

Nobody cares you asshat. 3 finishes as a champ 2 to hughes one to serra. And Penn’s corner threw in the towel he didn’t finish Penn. There are 9 read it 9 finishes by the Spider 9 not 3 9.[/quote]

Are you the guy everyone is adding on their ignore list?[/quote]
It makes the combat forum a wonderful place, instantly.[/quote]

I literally have zero idea who Khaine is anyway. Seriously who the fuck are you?

145

[quote]Khaine wrote:

[quote]Aussie Davo wrote:

[quote]sardines12 wrote:

Nobody cares you asshat. 3 finishes as a champ 2 to hughes one to serra. And Penn’s corner threw in the towel he didn’t finish Penn. There are 9 read it 9 finishes by the Spider 9 not 3 9.[/quote]

Are you the guy everyone is adding on their ignore list?[/quote]
It makes the combat forum a wonderful place, instantly.[/quote]

lol, i read insanity.

146

Please let’s not making this forum another bitch fest like the BB forum. Next thing you know we’ll have “In defense of Zeb” and “Fighting Irish meme” threads.

@Sento: great analysis sir.

@Zeb: Honestly, if most of Georges’ last few fights looked more like the Penn/Alves fight, the whole “can’t finish fights” thing would be less of a criticism and more of a friendly jab, and you’d probably hardly hear it.

Most people, including myself, feel like GSP just isn’t as aggressive anymore. Personally I think that’s where the criticism comes from.

I’m not a finish whore, and sometimes prefer a good fight to go the distance (as cruel as that may sound, lol). I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd BJ fight, and his domination of Fitch/Alves. There’s just something different about his past few in terms of aggression. Granted they were still masterful performances.

147

[quote]ZEB wrote:
I think a lot of people are misinformed as to GSP’s skill set and also his record. He’s stopped about 60% of everyone that he’s fought. That means that most people who step in the octagon with GSP do not last the full fight. They either get submitted or stopped with strikes. He’s stopped guys like Hughes twice and in Hughes prime, and also beaten Penn twice stopping him once.

[/quote]

IDK if you look at his record and who he fought his first 10 or so fights when he was racking up his stoppages and you might think twice about the 60% stop rate meaning much. Granted nobody starts a career fighting top guys unless your well i wont even bring his name into this. but look at his first 10 wins and its not really a whos who of top talent, yeah he did dec karo and mayhem but other than them two he subbed the secret weapon pete spratt but who hasnt? subbed twinkle toes, cut up wild man denny and tko’d jay heiron the others I hadnt heard of.

I did think it was funny postfight his remarks regarding shields stand up being underrated… really? the “frankenstein standup” as someone else eluded to, thats a spot on description.
i guess he was just trying to excuse another lackluster fight but that was some definite lol material.

And Im not one bashing on GSP too hard, its just kind of starting to be a track record of uneventful fights with him. so perhaps if the rest of his future cards arent as stacked as this one I may have to put him on my ignore list…

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[quote]js252 wrote:

[quote]ZEB wrote:
I think a lot of people are misinformed as to GSP’s skill set and also his record. He’s stopped about 60% of everyone that he’s fought. That means that most people who step in the octagon with GSP do not last the full fight. They either get submitted or stopped with strikes. He’s stopped guys like Hughes twice and in Hughes prime, and also beaten Penn twice stopping him once.

[/quote]

IDK if you look at his record and who he fought his first 10 or so fights when he was racking up his stoppages and you might think twice about the 60% stop rate meaning much. Granted nobody starts a career fighting top guys unless your well i wont even bring his name into this. but look at his first 10 wins and its not really a whos who of top talent, yeah he did dec karo and mayhem but other than them two he subbed the secret weapon pete spratt but who hasnt? subbed twinkle toes, cut up wild man denny and tko’d jay heiron the others I hadnt heard of.

I did think it was funny postfight his remarks regarding shields stand up being underrated… really? the “frankenstein standup” as someone else eluded to, thats a spot on description.
i guess he was just trying to excuse another lackluster fight but that was some definite lol material.

And Im not one bashing on GSP too hard, its just kind of starting to be a track record of uneventful fights with him. so perhaps if the rest of his future cards arent as stacked as this one I may have to put him on my ignore list…[/quote]

My take on this is both you and ZEB have decent points. However, I am throwing out his last two fights from the “Did Not Finish When He Could Have” category.

He won rounds with one eye against Shields. The fact people are on him for not finishing basically means we expect super human feats from him and he came up human. Shields should be criticized for not beating a one eyed fighter.

GSP sent Koscheck to surgery. I think Kosckeck deserves all the credit in the world for continuing to fight for the rest of the first round and four more with a broken orbital. GSP literally broke bones and continued to strike the broken bones. That is trying to finish. In my opinion the fight should have been stopped for fighter safety. Yes GSP could have tried something else, leg kicks, more right hands, something, but what has more chance to end a fight that punching an already broken orbital? Koscheck has a great chin and excellent submission defense. If I was in GSP’s corner I would have supported the keep punching the shattered face to force a finish strategy.

Take those two out and he got the stop in 5 of his last ten wins. I will also state that in the Hardy fight it appeared that his wrestling and ground control greatly outpace his submissions. I concede that against both Hardy and Alves it appeared that being willing to take even marginally greater risks may have paid big dividends and possibly ended the fights rather than grinding out decisions.

Regards,

Robert A

149

[quote]rundymc wrote:

@Zeb: Honestly, if most of Georges’ last few fights looked more like the Penn/Alves fight, the whole “can’t finish fights” thing would be less of a criticism and more of a friendly jab, and you’d probably hardly hear it.

Most people, including myself, feel like GSP just isn’t as aggressive anymore. Personally I think that’s where the criticism comes from.

I’m not a finish whore, and sometimes prefer a good fight to go the distance (as cruel as that may sound, lol). I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd BJ fight, and his domination of Fitch/Alves. There’s just something different about his past few in terms of aggression. Granted they were still masterful performances.[/quote]

But you can’t judge GSP by his last fight, that is my only point. How can a man be judged by two rounds? And if there were judgement passed down from this peanut gallery it should be praise of a man who went the distance while blinded in one eye. Most of the people condemning GSP for not ending the fight would pee their pants and run from the octagon if they were suddenly blinded in one eye.

Really, where is the empathy? Where is the fairness?

150

[quote]ZEB wrote:

[quote]rundymc wrote:

@Zeb: Honestly, if most of Georges’ last few fights looked more like the Penn/Alves fight, the whole “can’t finish fights” thing would be less of a criticism and more of a friendly jab, and you’d probably hardly hear it.

Most people, including myself, feel like GSP just isn’t as aggressive anymore. Personally I think that’s where the criticism comes from.

I’m not a finish whore, and sometimes prefer a good fight to go the distance (as cruel as that may sound, lol). I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd BJ fight, and his domination of Fitch/Alves. There’s just something different about his past few in terms of aggression. Granted they were still masterful performances.[/quote]

But you can’t judge GSP by his last fight, that is my only point. How can a man be judged by two rounds? And if there were judgement passed down from this peanut gallery it should be praise of a man who went the distance while blinded in one eye. Most of the people condemning GSP for not ending the fight would pee their pants and run from the octagon if they were suddenly blinded in one eye.

Really, where is the empathy? Where is the fairness?[/quote]

I got thumbed in the right eye while boxing once, couldn’t see, and got hit with a lot of lefts. I didn’t pee in my pants and run from the ring, but I held on a lot for the next round :slight_smile:
Maybe with all of GSP’s superiority over every welterweight, people expect more. I don’t blame him with sticking to a gameplan that is working. That’s what you’re supposed to do.

151

the thing is, GSP’s stand up has become so 1 dimensional. all he does is throw that jab and that front leg round house kick. people say that Gsp would keep his distance and pick diaz apart. are you kidding me. Diaz doesn’t give guys a chance to get their distance. hes on them fast and hard. ever notice, how fast guys tire when they fight him. in ever fight lately i see him in, he digs that hook to the body and the guy crumbles and weakens. do you really think gsp could trade with paul daley. gsp would get knocked out in the 1st round.

ok, i think we can all agree or most, that for gsp to win, he has to take diaz down. which, probably won’t be a big problem for gsp. but remember, unlike Bj penn, diaz is really good in his guard and will never get tired. while penn is great in top position, hes sucks on the bottom. i can see this being a very very tough fight. and if gsp decides to stand with diaz just a tad to long, he will get killed. anyone thinks that diaz can’t beat gsp in the stand up is in total denial.

so i think the match comes down to, can diaz get back to his feet. will the ref stand them up enough. how hard can diaz make gsp work in his guard. this will be a grueling match. it will definately not be a beat down like in the bj penn fight. diaz is bigger and stronger and is much better on his back the penn is. so i see this match being tough and diaz has a very good chance of winning given his endurance.

152

[quote]ZEB wrote:

[quote]rundymc wrote:

@Zeb: Honestly, if most of Georges’ last few fights looked more like the Penn/Alves fight, the whole “can’t finish fights” thing would be less of a criticism and more of a friendly jab, and you’d probably hardly hear it.

Most people, including myself, feel like GSP just isn’t as aggressive anymore. Personally I think that’s where the criticism comes from.

I’m not a finish whore, and sometimes prefer a good fight to go the distance (as cruel as that may sound, lol). I thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd BJ fight, and his domination of Fitch/Alves. There’s just something different about his past few in terms of aggression. Granted they were still masterful performances.[/quote]

But you can’t judge GSP by his last fight, that is my only point. How can a man be judged by two rounds? And if there were judgement passed down from this peanut gallery it should be praise of a man who went the distance while blinded in one eye. Most of the people condemning GSP for not ending the fight would pee their pants and run from the octagon if they were suddenly blinded in one eye.

Really, where is the empathy? Where is the fairness?[/quote]

Im judging him based on his last several fights, not just the Shields fight.

Even with the eye injury, i still think his performance was lackluster. Shields matches up horribly with GSP, because GSP can keep him on the feet and Shields is nowhere near top 20 WW in the UFC in terms of standup.

I firmly believe if George wanted to, he could go balls-out swinging for the fences and KO Shields in 1, he just doesnt have that killer instinct or aggression anymore though.

153

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
the thing is, GSP’s stand up has become so 1 dimensional. all he does is throw that jab and that front leg round house kick. people say that Gsp would keep his distance and pick diaz apart. are you kidding me. Diaz doesn’t give guys a chance to get their distance. hes on them fast and hard. ever notice, how fast guys tire when they fight him. in ever fight lately i see him in, he digs that hook to the body and the guy crumbles and weakens. do you really think gsp could trade with paul daley. gsp would get knocked out in the 1st round.

ok, i think we can all agree or most, that for gsp to win, he has to take diaz down. which, probably won’t be a big problem for gsp. but remember, unlike Bj penn, diaz is really good in his guard and will never get tired. while penn is great in top position, hes sucks on the bottom. i can see this being a very very tough fight. and if gsp decides to stand with diaz just a tad to long, he will get killed. anyone thinks that diaz can’t beat gsp in the stand up is in total denial.

so i think the match comes down to, can diaz get back to his feet. will the ref stand them up enough. how hard can diaz make gsp work in his guard. this will be a grueling match. it will definately not be a beat down like in the bj penn fight. diaz is bigger and stronger and is much better on his back the penn is. so i see this match being tough and diaz has a very good chance of winning given his endurance.[/quote]

For the most part i agree. However, saying BJ sucks from his guard is ridiculous.

GSP would probably stay on the feet just long enough to set up takedowns, and control from there for 5 rounds. Would be another horribly uneventful decision win, with Diaz maybe having an exciting moment or two of sweeping and/or possibly a sub attempt.

154

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
the thing is, GSP’s stand up has become so 1 dimensional. all he does is throw that jab and that front leg round house kick. people say that Gsp would keep his distance and pick diaz apart. are you kidding me. Diaz doesn’t give guys a chance to get their distance. hes on them fast and hard. ever notice, how fast guys tire when they fight him. in ever fight lately i see him in, he digs that hook to the body and the guy crumbles and weakens. do you really think gsp could trade with paul daley. gsp would get knocked out in the 1st round.

ok, i think we can all agree or most, that for gsp to win, he has to take diaz down. which, probably won’t be a big problem for gsp. but remember, unlike Bj penn, diaz is really good in his guard and will never get tired. while penn is great in top position, hes sucks on the bottom. i can see this being a very very tough fight. and if gsp decides to stand with diaz just a tad to long, he will get killed. anyone thinks that diaz can’t beat gsp in the stand up is in total denial.

so i think the match comes down to, can diaz get back to his feet. will the ref stand them up enough. how hard can diaz make gsp work in his guard. this will be a grueling match. it will definately not be a beat down like in the bj penn fight. diaz is bigger and stronger and is much better on his back the penn is. so i see this match being tough and diaz has a very good chance of winning given his endurance.[/quote]

For the most part i agree. However, saying BJ sucks from his guard is ridiculous.

GSP would probably stay on the feet just long enough to set up takedowns, and control from there for 5 rounds. Would be another horribly uneventful decision win, with Diaz maybe having an exciting moment or two of sweeping and/or possibly a sub attempt. [/quote]

many people have talked about this. Even Joe rogan mentioned that bj penn has never submitted someone off his back. its not that hes bad there, hes just much more dominant when hes on top. just watch his last fight against fitch. he was pinned on his back against that cage for a full round getting clocked. I just don’t think it will be all that easy. im quite sure diaz will train alot in the getting up after getting taken down. it will be a tough fight.

155

interesting article on GSP:

156

My teacher always said once a fighter loses his killer instinct he isn’t the same, just look at Wandy.

157

[quote]roguevampire wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
the thing is, GSP’s stand up has become so 1 dimensional. all he does is throw that jab and that front leg round house kick. people say that Gsp would keep his distance and pick diaz apart. are you kidding me. Diaz doesn’t give guys a chance to get their distance. hes on them fast and hard. ever notice, how fast guys tire when they fight him. in ever fight lately i see him in, he digs that hook to the body and the guy crumbles and weakens. do you really think gsp could trade with paul daley. gsp would get knocked out in the 1st round.

ok, i think we can all agree or most, that for gsp to win, he has to take diaz down. which, probably won’t be a big problem for gsp. but remember, unlike Bj penn, diaz is really good in his guard and will never get tired. while penn is great in top position, hes sucks on the bottom. i can see this being a very very tough fight. and if gsp decides to stand with diaz just a tad to long, he will get killed. anyone thinks that diaz can’t beat gsp in the stand up is in total denial.

so i think the match comes down to, can diaz get back to his feet. will the ref stand them up enough. how hard can diaz make gsp work in his guard. this will be a grueling match. it will definately not be a beat down like in the bj penn fight. diaz is bigger and stronger and is much better on his back the penn is. so i see this match being tough and diaz has a very good chance of winning given his endurance.[/quote]

For the most part i agree. However, saying BJ sucks from his guard is ridiculous.

GSP would probably stay on the feet just long enough to set up takedowns, and control from there for 5 rounds. Would be another horribly uneventful decision win, with Diaz maybe having an exciting moment or two of sweeping and/or possibly a sub attempt. [/quote]

many people have talked about this. Even Joe rogan mentioned that bj penn has never submitted someone off his back. its not that hes bad there, hes just much more dominant when hes on top. just watch his last fight against fitch. he was pinned on his back against that cage for a full round getting clocked. I just don’t think it will be all that easy. im quite sure diaz will train alot in the getting up after getting taken down. it will be a tough fight. [/quote]

Fitch is also one of the best wrestlers in MMA. Also BJ at WW is undersized. He is gaining to weight 170 the guys he is fighting are cutting from 185 and up. So your guard isnt gonna be so great when you have a much bigger stronger guy on top of you. Every thing he tries gets stuffed and now its time to hold and hope for a stand up.

158

[quote]punchedbear wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
the thing is, GSP’s stand up has become so 1 dimensional. all he does is throw that jab and that front leg round house kick. people say that Gsp would keep his distance and pick diaz apart. are you kidding me. Diaz doesn’t give guys a chance to get their distance. hes on them fast and hard. ever notice, how fast guys tire when they fight him. in ever fight lately i see him in, he digs that hook to the body and the guy crumbles and weakens. do you really think gsp could trade with paul daley. gsp would get knocked out in the 1st round.

ok, i think we can all agree or most, that for gsp to win, he has to take diaz down. which, probably won’t be a big problem for gsp. but remember, unlike Bj penn, diaz is really good in his guard and will never get tired. while penn is great in top position, hes sucks on the bottom. i can see this being a very very tough fight. and if gsp decides to stand with diaz just a tad to long, he will get killed. anyone thinks that diaz can’t beat gsp in the stand up is in total denial.

so i think the match comes down to, can diaz get back to his feet. will the ref stand them up enough. how hard can diaz make gsp work in his guard. this will be a grueling match. it will definately not be a beat down like in the bj penn fight. diaz is bigger and stronger and is much better on his back the penn is. so i see this match being tough and diaz has a very good chance of winning given his endurance.[/quote]

For the most part i agree. However, saying BJ sucks from his guard is ridiculous.

GSP would probably stay on the feet just long enough to set up takedowns, and control from there for 5 rounds. Would be another horribly uneventful decision win, with Diaz maybe having an exciting moment or two of sweeping and/or possibly a sub attempt. [/quote]

many people have talked about this. Even Joe rogan mentioned that bj penn has never submitted someone off his back. its not that hes bad there, hes just much more dominant when hes on top. just watch his last fight against fitch. he was pinned on his back against that cage for a full round getting clocked. I just don’t think it will be all that easy. im quite sure diaz will train alot in the getting up after getting taken down. it will be a tough fight. [/quote]

Fitch is also one of the best wrestlers in MMA. Also BJ at WW is undersized. He is gaining to weight 170 the guys he is fighting are cutting from 185 and up. So your guard isnt gonna be so great when you have a much bigger stronger guy on top of you. Every thing he tries gets stuffed and now its time to hold and hope for a stand up.[/quote]

In BJ’s defense his takedown D was so good he really never had the threat of being on his back too much and if he did get taken down he usually sprang up right away. It’s a part of his game he never really had to work, at least for mma.

159

[quote]punchedbear wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:

[quote]audiogarden1 wrote:

[quote]roguevampire wrote:
the thing is, GSP’s stand up has become so 1 dimensional. all he does is throw that jab and that front leg round house kick. people say that Gsp would keep his distance and pick diaz apart. are you kidding me. Diaz doesn’t give guys a chance to get their distance. hes on them fast and hard. ever notice, how fast guys tire when they fight him. in ever fight lately i see him in, he digs that hook to the body and the guy crumbles and weakens. do you really think gsp could trade with paul daley. gsp would get knocked out in the 1st round.

ok, i think we can all agree or most, that for gsp to win, he has to take diaz down. which, probably won’t be a big problem for gsp. but remember, unlike Bj penn, diaz is really good in his guard and will never get tired. while penn is great in top position, hes sucks on the bottom. i can see this being a very very tough fight. and if gsp decides to stand with diaz just a tad to long, he will get killed. anyone thinks that diaz can’t beat gsp in the stand up is in total denial.

so i think the match comes down to, can diaz get back to his feet. will the ref stand them up enough. how hard can diaz make gsp work in his guard. this will be a grueling match. it will definately not be a beat down like in the bj penn fight. diaz is bigger and stronger and is much better on his back the penn is. so i see this match being tough and diaz has a very good chance of winning given his endurance.[/quote]

For the most part i agree. However, saying BJ sucks from his guard is ridiculous.

GSP would probably stay on the feet just long enough to set up takedowns, and control from there for 5 rounds. Would be another horribly uneventful decision win, with Diaz maybe having an exciting moment or two of sweeping and/or possibly a sub attempt. [/quote]

many people have talked about this. Even Joe rogan mentioned that bj penn has never submitted someone off his back. its not that hes bad there, hes just much more dominant when hes on top. just watch his last fight against fitch. he was pinned on his back against that cage for a full round getting clocked. I just don’t think it will be all that easy. im quite sure diaz will train alot in the getting up after getting taken down. it will be a tough fight. [/quote]

Fitch is also one of the best wrestlers in MMA. Also BJ at WW is undersized. He is gaining to weight 170 the guys he is fighting are cutting from 185 and up. So your guard isnt gonna be so great when you have a much bigger stronger guy on top of you. Every thing he tries gets stuffed and now its time to hold and hope for a stand up.[/quote]

Excellent insight, I agree.

160

After seeing the past few fights of GSP, especially the last one, I am beginning to believe GSP wants no part of Anderson. As much as I respect GSP for being a true martial artist, someone who has devoted the majority of his life to perfecting his art, he has become a conservative point fighter who seeks to win at all costs. On another forum someone called GSP a martial scientist. That is what he has become. He is a the equivalent of paint by numbers while Anderson and Fedor are like the Picassos and Monets of fighting. I believe if these types of performances continue, GSP will slowly be moved outside the Holy Trinity of best fighters of his generation, which is GSP, Anderson and Fedor. The latter two have a killer instinct that GSP no longer possesses. GSP fights well under the watered-down Unified rules. He goes for takedowns with 12-15 seconds in a round to score points, but minimize the time he has to be on the ground with a dangerous grappler. That is not fighting, that is crafting a strategy to win under a very specific set of rules. Guys like Anderson and Fedor could fight under Pride type rules and even Vale Tudo and be successful. GSP would not be.

GSP fights tough guys like Fitch and Shields because they are top contenders and in his division. But moving up to face a champion like Anderson would require GSP to step out of his comfort zone, something he doesn’t seem willing to do.

Also, IIRC, two of the judges scored the fight 48-47. While I don’t know which rounds were credited to Shields, the problem with always leaving fights in the judges’ hands is that one day I see GSP on the losing end of a controversial decision. Winning 3 rounds to 2 is hardly dominating your opponent. One of those rounds goes the other way and Shields is the new champ. The longer you let your opponent hang around, the greater the risk you have of losing in the end.

If you’ve the time and patience, look up a thread on Sherdog called is GSP an athlete or a fighter? It illuminates the differences in mentality between the win-at-all-costs types and those seeking to actually FIGHT and beat their opponents.