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The following guest editorial was sent in to MMATorch by Cameron Lyman
It wasn't long ago that there were only two names in the UFC superfight hat. Sure there are plenty that could have been made, but there was only one fight that fans were truly clamoring to see: GSP vs. Anderson Silva. For years, hopes of this fight were continually reinvigorated by Uncle Dana dangling the super fight carrot in front of the fan's eyes.
Enter Jon Jones. Quickly plowing through the light heavyweight division, Jones captured the title and defended it in dominant fashion. The talk quickly switched from GSP vs. Silva to Jones vs. Silva. Fans who previously wanted to see the first fight have increasingly pointed to the size differential between Silva and GSP. Jones vs. Silva however, that's more like it.
During the last six months, fans have been hoping that Alexander Gustafsson makes it to a title shot against Jones because they feel he is the only one who could offer the champ a challenge as they share similar frames (Jones is critiqued for being a HW masquerading as a LHW). As this fight may still happen, something interesting is happening in the MMA forums. After seeing Jones "Chael Sonnen" Chael Sonnen, fans have come to the conclusion that he would do the same to Anderson Silva, a man Sonnen was able to control for the better part of their two matches.
These fans are now calling for Jones to move up to heavyweight to face Cain Valasquez, citing that Jones' only real challenge would be against "someone his own size." Many are now saying he would dominate Gustafsson as well. Could the interest in Jones vs Silva be waning the same way that GSP vs. Silva has? This brings me to the problem with super fights. The reason why Silva, Jones, and GSP prove to be huge draws is that they continue to defend their belts in dominant fashion. If you make these fights, one of these guys have to lose.
We know that MMA fans are fickle and fair weather. But what if these champs lose in their own division and then change weight classes for a super fight? Or what if the super fight is made when it's no longer seen as super? Nick Diaz and Frankie Edgar have the answers to these questions as they were both champs who fans were hoping to see in a super fight in the UFC. When they got their super fight, the fans questioned whether they deserved it or not.
Truth be told, some of the most exciting fights I have seen in the last year have been on the preliminary cards from relatively unknown fighters. A true fan of this sport doesn't need a name and background story attached to a fight for it to be interesting, and they certainly don't need to see their heroes have to sacrifice something they have worked so hard to achieve. There are weight classes for a reason, fans.
[Anderson Silva art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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