I'm not saying he should make the cut now. Its clear he's not the same fighter mentally, so it would do no good. I know its all hypethetical, but what if he had realized what US MMA is all about, trained for the cage and cut to 205lbs?
I think he would have dominated. Smaller strikers can't bully him. Smaller wrestlers would have a harder time taking him down and a much harder time holding him there. And with his confidence as high as it was at the time he would have come in gunning for guys.
If he had done it I think he would be the 205lb champ in the UFC right now after KOing a TUFer or two, Chuck and maybe Wand again. And we'd be looking at a possible A/ Silva vs. CroCop matchup in the near future. Or a Shogun vs. CroCop. The only one in the division that would cause the same problems for CroCop as the heavies that have been beating him is Forrest. Very big, very strong. But not big and strong enough. The old CroCop kicks his head off late in the first.
Thoughts?
Here are some pics so my thread doesn't phale.
