By Kcgonzo

You know I hear a bunch of crap about GSP not being a finisher and being a boring fighter and I think that is a typical response by a casual MMA fan who doesn’t have a complete understanding of the sport of mixed martial arts. If you think about it most casual MMA fans want to see a spectacular knockout and I enjoy seeing those as well. However, mixed martial arts is mixed as the name implies. There have been many successful one dimensional fighters in MMA, but eventually someone figures them out and then most fighters go with the same game plan and everyone starts beating the formerly unbeatable. One example would be Tito Ortiz. When Tito first hit the scene he was a monster who would impose his will on you, throw you to the ground, and ground and pound you till you were done or the ref had seen enough. But he had no striking on his feet and after a while fighters started to see the chink in the armor and developed game plans that would take advantage of that. Once fighters quit letting Ortiz take them down I think the only fighter he has been able to beat is a past his prime Ken Shamrock. And Forest Griffin in a questionable decision victory.

GSP has become,in my opinion, one of the most well rounded fighters in the game. He dictates where the fight is going to happen and then executes his game plan, a perfect example was his most recent win over Dan Hardy. Hardy is phenomenal striker with power in both hands, so GSP took him to the canvas over and over again and there wasn’t anything Hardy could do about it. As far as not finishing he had Hardy’s arm almost off and Hardy managed to get out and Hardy did a really good job of avoiding damage while on his back,controlling GSP’s wrists and posture preventing GSP from feeding Hardy elbows from the top. GSP did the same thing to Thiago Alves, he completely took Thiago’s strengths away from him and dominated.

I think GSP is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world because he is constantly improving. Every fight you see of his, he is a better fighter than the last one.  As a Champion and mixed martial artist he is a humble ambassador for the sport, both in and out of the cage.  He does not take his belt for granted and does not overlook his opponents. And although you may not see a spectacular knockout from GSP, you will see him leave it all in the cage, unlike some champions who as of late just want to embarrass his opponents and play games, GSP does try to finish his opponents but uses his head when doing so.  The way he is able to overcome fighters from any discipline whether it is a BJJ black belt, a world class wrestler, or a heavy handed striker is unbelievable.  Almost any fighter has a punchers chance to win, but eventually you realize that the level the best fighters are at requires skills on the ground, on the feet, and between the ears.  Can’t wait to see the next “boring” GSP fight no matter who his next victim is.