Ok, maybe I am not going to overrate GSP, but if you a Fedor worshipper you better leave now.
That's right, I'm gonna argue GSP is better p4p than Fedor.
First, lets look at records and top 10 fighters. Lets use the trusty Archive.Org tool and MMAWeekly to get some data!
(off topic, but it seems like Dan Henderson was rumored to fight Anderson Silva at Pride 22. heh)
Bold = Top 10 fighter
GSP's Record:
Win
Matt Hughes 12/29/2007
Win
Josh Koscheck 8/25/2007
Loss Matt Serra 4/7/2007
Win
Matt Hughes 11/18/2006
LINK from Nov 16
Win
B.J. Penn 3/4/2006
LINK from May 2006
Win
Sean Sherk 11/19/2005
LINK from May 2006
Win
Frank Trigg 8/20/2005
LINK from May 2006
Win Jason Miller 4/16/2005
Win Dave Strasser 1/29/2005
Loss Matt Hughes 10/22/2004
Win Jay Hieron 6/19/2004
Win
Karo Parisyan 1/31/2004
LINK from February 2004
Win Pete Spratt 11/29/2003
Win Thomas Denny 1/25/2003
Win Travis Galbraith 10/11/2002
Win Justin Bruckmann 6/15/2002
Win Ivan Menjivar 1/25/2002
Sorry that some of the rankings were from almost a year ahead, but they were still ranked even after their losses to GSP
Now lets look at Fedor
Win Matt Lindland 4/14/2007
Win
Mark Hunt 12/31/2006
Win Mark Coleman 10/21/2006
Win Wagner da Conceicao Martins 12/31/2005
Win
Mirko Filipovic 8/28/2005
Link from April 8 2005
Win Tsuyoshi Kohsaka 4/3/2005
Win
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 12/31/2004
Link from December 12 2004
NC Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 8/15/2004
Win Naoya Ogawa 8/15/2004
Win Kevin Randleman 6/20/2004
Win Mark Coleman 4/25/2004
Win Yuji Nagata 12/31/2003
Win Gary Goodridge 8/10/2003
Win Kazuyuki Fujita 6/8/2003
Win Egidijus Valavicius 4/5/2003
Win
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 3/16/2003
Link from July 2003
Win
Heath Herring 11/24/2002
Win Semmy Schilt 6/23/2002
Win Chris Haseman 2/15/2002
Win Lee Hasdell 12/21/2001
Win Ryushi Yanagisawa 10/20/2001
Win Renato Sobral 8/11/2001
Win Kerry Schall 4/20/2001
Win Mihail Apostolov 4/6/2001
Loss Tsuyoshi Kohsaka 12/22/2000
Win Ricardo Arona 12/22/2000
Win Hiroya Takada 9/5/2000
Win Levon Lagvilava 8/16/2000
I personally am not too keen on top 10 lists. But many people like to use them as a point of reference, so there you go.
Obviously, GSP has won against more top 10 fighters than Fedor has. But really, this isn't my point.
Many people mention Fedor's performances against Nogueira, Herring, and Cro Cop. This should be taken into account. If I can do the same thing for Anderson Silva, people can do the same for Fedor.
But is GSP any different? Sure, Fedor DOMINATED against Nogueira twice.... but did GSP not do the same to Hughes the last two times they fought? Hughes has been considered to be the best WW of all time (including by me, and I also consider him the 2nd best MMA fighter of all time - after Fedor).
The only time GSP has been in real "trouble" in a fight he won was against BJ Penn. Look, you have not seen nuthugging until you see me nuthug BJ, but it is obvious St. Pierre won that bout. Also, lets look at his other top ten wins. Trigg=Domination. Karo=Domination. Sherk=Domination. Koscheck=Domination.
I will make one concession: Fedor has never convincingly lost a fight. Personally though, I find it irrelevant IMO to a degree. Sure, GSP has lost a few fights, but he has more than closed the case with Hughes, and we will see how he performs against Serra in a few months. You can take that into consideration, and go on ahead.
And of course: activity. Not only has GSP been active - he fought 4 top 5 ranked WW in a row. And won.
(PS: if we wanna include Lindland as a top 10 fighter from 2 weight classes down, can I do the same for Menjivar?)
Argue and pick it apart all you want, I won't debate. I pretty much listed all my points here.
Fedor is overrated. Don't freak out now. Overrated =! bad. By overrated, I literally mean he is overrated. I believe GSP definitely tops him.
