Brandon

You can drop Nog and Cro Cop.. but even so, most people would have rather seen Fedor face Couture, Lesnar, or even Mir over everyone in StrikeForce maybe outside a possible bout with Barnett. A fight with Rogers interests me because of his KO power and the fact he's such a relative unknown.. but a lot of people don't even know who he is and many still feel like he hasn't proven much yet..

Bigpapa42

Couture only makes for an interesting fight if he beats Big Nog. If he loses to Big Nog, then a potential fight against Fedor with Couture coming off two losses would have little value.

Is a fight with Mir really that interesting? I honestly don't see him as an elite HW. I see him as a pretty good HW, not too much different from Gabe Gonzaga or Cheick Kongo. He has one true win of note in the past how many years, and even that has some questions (Nog injuried, at least by rumor). You have to give him credit for the win over Lesnar, but it was hardly a fight that proved a ton, especially given the rematch. I'll believe the hype of Mir as a true top HW when he notches some impressive wins over top level competition.

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Brandon

lmao.. So wait.. lets get this straight.. Mir knocked Nog around (yeah, i have heard the excuses) but we're going to take a wait and see approach with him, meanwhile we're supposed to think Rogers is an elite heavyweight because he killed glass jaw arlovski?

You can't have it both ways.

Bigpapa42

And when did I claim that Rogers was elite? When did I even claim he is clearly top ten? Let's stop making assumptions then. Thanks.

Rogers is in much the same situation as Carwin - one win of note, and plenty of potential. I like Carwin's potential bit more, because of his wrestling background, but his age is a negative.

I prefer taking a "wait-and-see" approach with Mir because he is 4-3 in the UFC in the past three years. He was fighting on the undercard before the first Lesnar fight... and win or not, he did not look impressive in that. So that win, to me, doesn't make him elite. Is a win over Nogueira impressive? Of course it is. However, forgive me for being a touch skeptical when a guy who has never had particularly good standup looks like a boxing champion against a guy who has always had pretty standup, yet who suddenly looks slow and sloppy. I have some questions when that average striker is able to KO a guy who has taken the best shots from K1 level strikers without dropping. It could be that Mir is elite and his striking has improved that much. It could be that Mir looked that good because Nog looked that bad due to age and accumulated damage. Or it could be that Nog was in a bad way and possibly shouldn't have still fought. Regardless, it doesn't change the outcome. But I prefer to wait and see what the next fight brings for both men. Since Mir-Lesnar II showed pretty much nothing about Mir, I'm wiating to see what he does next.

I didn't feel Mir was elite when he was fighting on the undercard two years. I didn't feel he was elite when he beat Lesnar. I'm sorry if one fight doesn't completely change my mind. Much like Rogers win over Arlovski doesn't convince you (or me either, for that matter). I prefer not to make big judgements based on one fight.

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