Official MMA Thread

[BengalMan]

Originally Posted by ActionAndy

Was Franklin always at 205? I was never big into him, so I can't even remember.

Rich started in the UFC at 205, then dropped to 185 and went on a tear holding the title for some time until Anderson Silva came into the picture and owned him 2x in a row. After that Rich moved up to 205 as a third fight with Silva wasn't going to happen and he didn't want to be Anderson's gate keeper. The only problem is that he still is Anderson's gate keeper. He fought Wandy at 195 to see if he could cut it at 185. Wandy drops to 185 and will now be a contender for Anderson. He fought Hendo at 205, who he lost to, which led to a fight with Bisping which, after todays press conference, resulted in Hendo getting a title shot. Now he's fighting Vitor at 205, who openly said he wants Anderson. If Vitor wins, he'll also drop to 185 to go for a title shot as well. Everyone Rich has fought above 185 since moving up in weight has dropped to 185 to go for the title. Rich should have stayed at 185 if he was going to just have the gatekeeper role that Dana told him he wouldn't. The whole point that Rich moved to 205 was because he didn't want to be a gatekeeper and he felt he could make a title run at 205.

In the end, I think Rich needs to be fighting legitimate 205 lb title contenders and stop fighting people that will do nothing for his career. How about Rich vs Jardine? Rich vs. Forrest? Maybe Luiz Cane or Thiago Silva? There is so much talent at 205 that for Rich to continue to be Anderson's gate keeper at 205 to determine if the guy he fights drops to 185 to make a title run is stupid. Don't get me wrong, I'm PUMPED for Vitor vs. Rich, but it makes ZERO sense for Rich.