FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Kobe is Beef said 03/02, 03:56 AM
Since Couture's retirement, the best heavyweight in the UFC has been Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira - Herring doesn't have any business laying claim to being UFC's best heavyweight

Herring may be a good fighter - but he ain't great - and I find it ironic that you would hark back on his Pride days when talking about his growth as a fighter - you do realise that he lost to virtually every good fighter in Pride? He lost to Fedor (well ok, everyone loses to Fedor), Cro Cop, Belfort and not to mention Noguiera

And how many times has Herring lost to Noguiera? Three times - Once in Pride and twice in UFC - if Herring wants to be the top heavyweight in the UFC, he's still gotta go through Nogueira - and from their past few encounters, what makes you think the result would be any different?

If I were Big Nog, I wouldn't even bother with Herring - I'd be trying to coax Couture out of retirement or trying to get another shot at Fedor

Herring needs to make sure he doesn't lose fights to fighters such as O'Brien - if he's to be taken seriously, the fight against Kongo was a start - but seriously, he's nowhere near as polished a fighter as Noguiera - just look at their records

Kobe is Beef said 03/02, 10:33 PM
Herring didn't just lose - he lost THREE times to Nog - each loss he suffered weren't just "losses" - if anything, they were crushing losses - all three of them confirming that Nog is in a different class - I don't see how Herring could've gained any confidence out of his three losses to Minotauro - Two of these losses were UNANIMOUS decisions and one was a submission - Unfortunately for Herring, "nearly" knocking out the Big Nog ain't good enough - in fact the Big Nog just doesn't get knocked out

Take a look at Nog's record - 4 total losses - 2 to Fedor, 1 to Henderson and 1 to Barnett - All good fighters - what stands out even more is that all his losses were decisions - Noguiera just doesn't get knocked out or submitted - more proof that he's a superior fighter when compared to Herring

Now take a look at Herring's record - his whole career, he's had 13 losses - he's lost to people he shouldn't have lost to and one of his losses was due to EXHAUSTION - how is Herring even in the same class as the Big Nog?

Also, Noguiera is only two years older than Herring - so age really isn't the determining factor in this - it's not like Big Nog is jurassic a la Couture....

Kobe is Beef said 03/03, 01:53 AM
If we put aside the fact that Nog is a better fighter than Herring, I will agree that Herring *can* win the heavyweight title - after all, upsets can and will happen - I just think if you consider all things when discussing UFC heavyweights, Herring is still faced with several obstacles and one of them is his past record against Nog - and the truth is, Herring may not get another shot at Nog since he's already been beaten 3 times by Nog

It all comes down to the economics of spectator sports such as MMA - no one wants to pay and see Nog defend his title against someone whom he's already defeated 3 times - had Herring defeated Nog one of the times they fought, their next fight would at least be anticipated by some

I liken this to Nog's fights with Fedor - He was beaten the first time and people wanted another rematch - After getting beaten by Fedor again, you could say that even Fedor thinks he is above fighting Nog in a rematch - unfortunately, this is how things are in the fight world

Another example - Nog lost to Barnett the first time round, got a rematch and won - if anything, people would rather give Barnett instead of Herring another chance to topple Nog