Gilbert Melendez is one of the best LWs to ever compete

Fact

I agree and I think he could beat the top guys in the UFC. Thomson is also a very good fighter.

Yeah, I swung by shitdog after the fight last night and wouldn't you know it, a bunch of dumbasses who have clearly never seen their other 2 fights are claiming Gil isn't a top LW because he had another close fight with Josh. I know most people on that site have probably only been following mma for a year or 2 but Thomson is a very good fighter. Some people just refuse to give non-ufc fighters credit.

Frank Hill wrote:Yeah, I swung by shitdog after the fight last night and wouldn't you know it, a bunch of dumbasses who have clearly never seen their other 2 fights are claiming Gil isn't a top LW because he had another close fight with Josh. I know most people on that site have probably only been following mma for a year or 2 but Thomson is a very good fighter. Some people just refuse to give non-ufc fighters credit.

Thomson can also beat the top guys in the UFC. It´s sad how people think fighters are only good if they fight for the "right" promotion.

Definitely. An injury free Thomson (or hell even with an injury he still gave Gil a close fight) would handle Miller, Tibau, Pettis, Guida this time around, and quite a few others. Petty org pissing contests shouldn't influence fighter perception so much.

No doubt Melendez is on of the best LWs ever. He is currently either number 1 or number 2 in the world. I think he is number 1 right now. When he beat Aoki, Aoki was number 1 or 2 for years with BJ Penn so that win propelled Melendez to either spot. When Edgar beat Penn he went to either one or two then Bendo beat Edgar going to either one or two. Melendez and Bendo/Edgar winner need to fight for the top spot in the division next. Right now it is essentially a tie.

Agreed, we may actually have a definitive #1 LW for the first time if they can actually get the champs to fight each other. Alvarez is on his way most likely and if they bring over the Strikeforce LWs, that will make for a pretty fucking impressive division imo. Too bad it has to be under Zuffa

I like Gil everyone from chat last night can vouch for that(I still say hes better the ufcs best) but these zuffa rules got to go, Effort to Finish the fight, Effort to finish the fight! Under Pride rules Thompson would have 1, and I hate Thompson.

Frank Hill wrote:Agreed, we may actually have a definitive #1 LW for the first time if they can actually get the champs to fight each other. Alvarez is on his way most likely and if they bring over the Strikeforce LWs, that will make for a pretty fucking impressive division imo. Too bad it has to be under Zuffa

Yeah, I agree. If they make this fight now it will have been about 4 years since there has basically been a tie for the top spot at LW dating back to BJ's win over Sherk for the UFC LW title and Aoki's win over Alvarez in DREAM. This fight is a must to finally break the tie after 4 years of debate.

Alvarez is up there as well. If he does go to the UFC, Bellator will still have the guy that beat him and finished him which was unavenged.

PRIDE NEVER DIE wrote:I like Gil everyone from chat last night can vouch for that(I still say hes better the ufcs best) but these zuffa rules got to go, Effort to Finish the fight, Effort to finish the fight! Under Pride rules Thompson would have 1, and I hate Thompson.

Under PRIDE rules Thomson won and under Unified Rules Melendez won a very close fight that could have gone either way or have been a draw with a 10-10 first round.

I like the PRIDE rules better as well. Effort to finish the fight and damage done should be the key top criteria in MMA scoring.

It was a close fight for sure and perhaps not Melendez best performance but the zuffa zombie crowd bashes him to death for having a close fight, yet when Frankie Edgars almost gets beat to death every fight, he has heart. Double standards as always (and Melendez didn't look nearly as bad as Edgars does everyfight).

Kinosis wrote:It was a close fight for sure and perhaps not Melendez best performance but the zuffa zombie crowd bashes him to death for having a close fight, yet when Frankie Edgars almost gets beat to death every fight, he has heart. Double standards as always (and Melendez didn't look nearly as bad as Edgars does everyfight).

Thomson is a better fighter than Edgar imo. Edgar only finished 6 opponents in his career.

and Fedor didn't finish his two biggest wins, doesn't mean he is a lesser fighter.

if you think Josh Thomson is a better fighter than Frankie Edgar, you're delusional. Frankie Edgar is one of the best fighters in the world, and there isn't a single lightweight in history that Frankie Edgar loses to more times than he beats them.

Thomson/Melendez is like Pacquiao/Marquez - The style of Thomson looks good against the style of Melendez, it always has and it always will. Admittedly, I was in the party of people thinking Melendez would run through him, but it became apparent that no matter how many times these guys fight, they're going to be evenly matched.

Also, @ Kinosis, Edgar doesn't look bad every fight, bashing a fighter in response to other people bashing a fighter solves nothing. In his loss to Benson, Edgar looked better than Melendez did in his win over Thomson, and i'm a Melendez fan who thought he won last night.

Misowaman wrote:and Fedor didn't finish his two biggest wins, doesn't mean he is a lesser fighter.

if you think Josh Thomson is a better fighter than Frankie Edgar, you're delusional. Frankie Edgar is one of the best fighters in the world, and there isn't a single lightweight in history that Frankie Edgar loses to more times than he beats them.

Thomson/Melendez is like Pacquiao/Marquez - The style of Thomson looks good against the style of Melendez, it always has and it always will. Admittedly, I was in the party of people thinking Melendez would run through him, but it became apparent that no matter how many times these guys fight, they're going to be evenly matched.

Also, @ Kinosis, Edgar doesn't look bad every fight, bashing a fighter in response to other people bashing a fighter solves nothing. In his loss to Benson, Edgar looked better than Melendez did in his win over Thomson, and i'm a Melendez fan who thought he won last night.

Edgars has taken the worst beatings of any fighter I have ever seen, multiple times. He is the only guy in MMA I have seen lose a round 10-7. It's not fighter bashing to point out reality. If Frankie Edgars keeps it up he is going to be retarded by the time he is 45.

Misowaman wrote:and Fedor didn't finish his two biggest wins, doesn't mean he is a lesser fighter.

if you think Josh Thomson is a better fighter than Frankie Edgar, you're delusional. Frankie Edgar is one of the best fighters in the world, and there isn't a single lightweight in history that Frankie Edgar loses to more times than he beats them.

You talk like Edgar has dominated and cleaned out the LW division. He´s very good but I´m not impressed by his fights. Stop the delusional talk, styles make fights and you never truly know who´s the best fighter. Maybe Daniel Weichel can beat Edgar.

You could tell the fight didn't really motivate Gilbert. I mean who the fuck are they gonna give him next, Ishida again? Thomson came to fight though and put on a good performance on his side, it just wasn't as entertaining as their first two fights though.

Misowaman wrote:and Fedor didn't finish his two biggest wins, doesn't mean he is a lesser fighter.

if you think Josh Thomson is a better fighter than Frankie Edgar, you're delusional. Frankie Edgar is one of the best fighters in the world, and there isn't a single lightweight in history that Frankie Edgar loses to more times than he beats them.

Thomson/Melendez is like Pacquiao/Marquez - The style of Thomson looks good against the style of Melendez, it always has and it always will. Admittedly, I was in the party of people thinking Melendez would run through him, but it became apparent that no matter how many times these guys fight, they're going to be evenly matched.

Also, @ Kinosis, Edgar doesn't look bad every fight, bashing a fighter in response to other people bashing a fighter solves nothing. In his loss to Benson, Edgar looked better than Melendez did in his win over Thomson, and i'm a Melendez fan who thought he won last night.

I don't think Kinosis is really trashing Edgar. It is true, Edgar was brutalized in the first round of both Maynard fights, and Gray certainly isn't known for being a finisher. Edgar is a great fighter, don't get me wrong, but his strengths are mainly his speed, his in and out style, and his wrestling which he can use to score points or drag the fight to the ground when he is getting beat in the standup or when he just needs to throw his opponent off his game. Frankie fights smart, but I think, his speed, recovery, and reflexes compensate for his fairly average chin at least imo. Edgar's a great fighter but I think Gil is superior overall.

I think Thomoan was very close to winning the fight.

My 2 cents, I would probably pick Edgar if they were to fight soon.

This is all of course under USMMA cage fighting rules.

I think they are close though. Basically would be a pick em fight in my mind. I wouldn't know who to choose, it would be a very close call.

Frank Hill wrote:

Misowaman wrote:and Fedor didn't finish his two biggest wins, doesn't mean he is a lesser fighter.

if you think Josh Thomson is a better fighter than Frankie Edgar, you're delusional. Frankie Edgar is one of the best fighters in the world, and there isn't a single lightweight in history that Frankie Edgar loses to more times than he beats them.

Thomson/Melendez is like Pacquiao/Marquez - The style of Thomson looks good against the style of Melendez, it always has and it always will. Admittedly, I was in the party of people thinking Melendez would run through him, but it became apparent that no matter how many times these guys fight, they're going to be evenly matched.

Also, @ Kinosis, Edgar doesn't look bad every fight, bashing a fighter in response to other people bashing a fighter solves nothing. In his loss to Benson, Edgar looked better than Melendez did in his win over Thomson, and i'm a Melendez fan who thought he won last night.

I don't think Kinosis is really trashing Edgar. It is true, Edgar was brutalized in the first round of both Maynard fights, and Gray certainly isn't known for being a finisher. Edgar is a great fighter, don't get me wrong, but his strengths are mainly his speed, his in and out style, and his wrestling which he can use to score points or drag the fight to the ground when he is getting beat in the standup or when he just needs to throw his opponent off his game. Frankie fights smart, but I think, his speed, recovery, and reflexes compensate for his fairly average chin at least imo. Edgar's a great fighter but I think Gil is superior overall.

I wasn't trying to bash Edgars, he just doesn't impress me. It's like every other fight he gets a gift decision from the judges. He should have lost 2-3 against Penn the first time, then he came back and won the second one. He should have lost the 2nd Maynard fight, that dude was destroyed and rocked hard multiple times. The 3rd won he won. Then he loses to Henderson and the judges finally got it right (I figured Edgars would steal it again) and now dana gives him another rematch! The guy has to fight everyone 2 times in a row to get a win against them. I'm not a fan of his at all and he takes major beatings, which means he will have a short career.

I don't really have a dog in the fight between Edgars and Melendez because I don't really care about either one of them, or lightweights in general, simply calling it like I see it.

^^

Henderson beats him in the rematch too, imo.

Styles make fights, of course. I don't see Edgar beating Henderson at all.

Again, I don't know what would happen in a fight with Melendez. Technically, Melendez should probably be the favorite. I just have a feeling Edgar might pull it off, don't know why. But, I think it's a very close one.

There is no obvious #1 at LW and the top guys from UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator and even M-1/asian promotions can beat each other. My advice to all fans is enjoy all fights between talented fighters in all promotions. There are no undisputed world champions, only champs in different promotions.

Frankie Edgar has been "destroyed" in two rounds of his entire career. yet he gets destroyed and dominated every fight?

Misowaman wrote:Frankie Edgar has been "destroyed" in two rounds of his entire career. yet he gets destroyed and dominated every fight?

Melendez is number one based on his resume alone. He's avenged every defeat and reigned supreme against numerous top ten opponents. His hate is unwarranted. Most Sherdoggers probably don't even remember him being number one years ago before the first Thomson fight.

Edgar hate is unwarranted too.

Shouldn't he be liked for taking beatings and coming back from them?

There seems to be a misconception of what truly defines greatness. Adversity is one of them, which Edgar has done to great effect. You don't have to be untouchable to be great.