[devante]

Now alot of people are going to read this and think i am crazy; but first u gotta see the point i am making and what direction i take this

The reason mezger is one of the best if not the best is one reason technique and application; in alot of cases when discussing a striker we talk about his power, strength, chin, hand/footspeed, explosiveness, fluidity, mobility. Those things often overshadow the actual skillset of the strikers tech and in many instances are the reason why that fighter can do what he does. Ex-in boxing u take roy jones speed/power/exp/reaction aways he is a horrible fighter, because his tech (while unorthodox) is not particularly sharp and/or eff for guys w/limited or normal phy ability. While a guy like paul spadafora while not as gifted is razor sharp in his tech/application of technique. (not the best example-but an idea)

In mma there are alot of guys who have had better success not because they were overall better; but because their skillset could make up for the mistakes they made tech, an example of such is mr. liddel. Unorthodox (yes) well executed (yes), but lets face it he has no real def; if u come at him u will hit him...its just that his chin can take ur best and urs prob can't take his. Does it mean his counterpunching is not good, or his off is not good; no, but it means that if u take away that power/chin...he is a victim in many many fights (v noe hernandez/horn/overeem/white)

The same thing is said about mr leben-limited tech-good mind for standup-somewhat poor execution-great chin-excellent power- u take away that chin and power and he might not have one win in mma much less ufc.

Melvin guilliard-good tech/incredibly exp/hard hitting/exc reaction/mobility/etc-but w/out those attributes he would not be hard to deal w/on the feet; not as hard to deal w/his abilities balance out any tech missteps he may make or make up for a gap in tech skill.

Guy mezger is not exceptional in any aspect of physical ability; but he has consistently outstuck anyone and almost everyone, think of one other fighter who lacked standout power/ chin/ handspeed/footspeed/mobility who has been as eff as mezger. None all the better or best guys have outstanding phys ability.

An all those guys for the most part are guys u can't emulate because of the fact most of us don't have the chin, power, durability, speed, exp, etc; if i tried to fight like chuck-leben- liddel-rizzo-i would be crushed, i don't have the ability to do what they do and be anywhere near eff.

But if i were to watch and emulate guy i could still win-because his style is built on tech sharp/crisp punches/kicks/knees and a variety of punches/kicks/knees, he controls dist, picks shots, sets up shots, counters, presses, and can work in the clinch. He could never afford to be less than sharp cus he never had the ability to recover and come back like silva could because of his recuperative ability-liddel power/chin-hunt power/chin-gsp exp/hand and footspeed/power-

All these guys as good or limited as they are have some kind of attribute that covers mistakes and if nothing else elevates them over people who are their equal or superior tech.

Look at mezger v silva-textbook striking clinic; if guy could punch worth anything he stops him early, but he can't and silva walked through his shots and overwhelmed hm. Against liddel another clinich; but he can't hurt chuck and gets walked down and put down. Not saying these guys arent' better or did not deserve to win, they did; but alot of it had to do w/what mezger lacked in ability, not in skillset or approach.

Even against grapplers-look at the clinich he put on against sak-if he had any real power he kos sak or when he fought leinenger the same thing.

Now i am not saying he is the best FIGHTER-but based off of skillset/application and performance against strikers and grapplers; w/the most avg amount of phys ability, i have to say p4p mezger may be the best.

[King Kabuki]

Guy or spencer, make your damn mind up.

[devante]

lol sorry-just something that hit my mind and wanted to get some opinions on

[ziggity]

I find it really hard to read your posts when you don't spell out all the words you're using.

Right now I'm conflicted and don't really think about the "best mma striker" but I have always been a Mezger fan. Poor Mezger and his chin.

[00 Buck]

His boxing is okay/good, his kicking looks a bit weird sometimes. JMO.

[ACR4V3N]

Is this the striking forum? Or the mma discussion?

[JesySpringield]

he is one of the most tecnicle in mma, but he has not power..........i think guy is awsome but if you dont have knockout power then your just doing thai bo

[deadlyshaolin]

devante, I see your point and I think it's an interesting one (as usual). But godamnit, learn to capitalize!!!!!!!!!!

For the most part, it's very difficult to separate a fighter's technique from his physical attributes... easy for a guy like Leben, but what about a guy like Sakurai? Pulver? ASilva? Is it their technique, or is it their KO ability/chin/explosiveness/speed?

Sometimes I like to mentally masturbate to questions like these, but tonight I'm exhausted and all's I got to say is, Winning is the bottom line.

[devante]

coo just thought it would be an interesting point to exam for people who appreciate standup and the obvious/subtle aspects of the artform...

being that mezger has shown alot of class/tech/sharpness and range in his standup..an i fig i would look at tings from a diff point; results are important, but i wanted to discuss what happens that leads up to wins and losses

[Brendon Katz]

dev -we have discussed this before (i think) . results are the final test with regard to whose the best and whose not. if a fighter has 'lousy' standup, but he uses his striking to take the fight where he wants or he t/ko's his opponents then his stand up is good , REGARDLESS of how it looks.