BarryP wrote:
I could be wrong, but I always put Connor in the Ali camp with regard to promotion and personality. Connor always seemed like he was putting on a show to promote the fights and he's very good at it.
Now he may be an ass, but I'm not so sure that he's as big of an ass as he puts forth in his promotions.
I'm curious where people think Connor rates as a fighter. I put him the A league, but not the A+. I think he's great, but don't see him as quite the standout like an Anderson Silva or GSP.
I'm not talking about his general promoting, per se. For that he has no peers in the MMA world. I dislike(d) him for his off the field shit. Attacking a bus full of people causing harm. Hitting an old man in a bar. Slapping someone's phone out of their hand in Miami. Multiple sexual assault allegations (no charges that I am aware of). Just general entitlement issues, not helped by the UFC looking the other way.
I assume you are talking about Silva pre-2013 for that A+ status seeing as he's lost 6 of this last 7 with one no contest. GSP was dominant in an era before hand-picked opponents became a thing, but never really fought anyone with the current combination of skills that included elite striking. His MMA wrestling and top control were unparalleled, even against the best pure wrestlers. If Connor beats his next opponent, assuming Gaethje/Masvidal/Poirier/Usman (ascending difficulty) and especially if he beats Khabib, he will once again be the most feared fighter - comparable to vintage Anderson and GSP. He's definitely been gifted some opportunities not afforded to others as far as jumping the line for champ/champ status and his most recent victory making him the only fighter with KO's in 3 different divisions, but up until the first Diaz fight he was running through his quality opponents and telling you exactly how he was going to do it.
Connor is in a unique situation being such a huge face for MMA/UFC. There are a lot of great fights for him and the good thing is he wants to be known as one of the greats. Whatever comes next I believe the end game is him vs Khabib at MSG in Nov. The only way I don't see that happening is if Khabib beats Ferguson and Connor loses his next fight. It would be very hard to justify that opportunity, but that hasn't stopped the UFC before.