In my opinion, the best examples of gatekeepers would be Clay Guida for the UFC, and Leonard Garcia for the WEC. When a fighter beats Clay Guida most people would consider that pretty impressive, but if you lose to Clay Guida you are probably not going to see a title anytime soon in that company. Garcia I feel is the same way for WEC.
Any other gatekeepers you think I missed? Or different view on what a gatekeeper is? Let me know.
Ive always considered there to be 2 types of gatekeepers in each division. I think the first one is usually average to slightly above average, and if you can beat that guy, it proves you belong in the UFc and have potential to compete with the top ten. And then, like we have been seeing a lot of lately, there seem to be 3 or 4 fighters at the top of the division that are a few years ahead of the competition. If you can beat a guy like that, then you are a contender for the belt
I think the UFC is turning Vera into the LHW gatekeeper. He has a bit of a name so a win over him is big to the general public. Now that Jardine is gone that is pretty comfortably his role.
They threw him against Jones to launch him and are hoping to get Thiago Silva noticed with a big KO over Vera
Fjodorz said:
Fedor, if you lose to him, you can go challenge the champion. Also if you win him, you can ignore the champion if you want to.
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to bad you cant control yourself in the trolling about fedor, or you honestly are that dumb to call Fedor a gatekeeper fighter?
Gonzaga, Kongo, Bonnar, Vlad, Vera, jardine, Leben (but quickly coming back to title contention, Dan Miller, Marcus Davis, Diego Sanchez at WW..Guida
Fighters who are becoming gate keepers: Mir, Kenflo
Fjodorz said:
Fedor, if you lose to him, you can go challenge the champion. Also if you win him, you can ignore the champion if you want to.
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The UFC heavyweight championship itself is a gatekeeper for Fedor. If you are good enough to get that belt then its time you go fight the true Heavyweight Champ Fedor.
RearNakedSlam said:
Fitch is a gatekeeper that keeps winning. Okami would also fit that role.
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Fitch isn't a gatekeeper. In order to be a gate keeper, up and coming fighters need to be able to beat you. They can't beat Fitch.
I think as the sport ages, the older fighters tend to naturally evolve into gatekeeper status. Beating them is really big for young contenders.
mightymice said:
RearNakedSlam said:
Fitch is a gatekeeper that keeps winning. Okami would also fit that role.
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Fitch isn't a gatekeeper. In order to be a gate keeper, up and coming fighters need to be able to beat you. They can't beat Fitch.
I think as the sport ages, the older fighters tend to naturally evolve into gatekeeper status. Beating them is really big for young contenders.
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Gatekeepers determine who is ready for a title shot. The problem is with Fitch, all these guys that are getting title shots can't beat him. lol.. So now not only will they not let Fitch fight for the title, but they won't let contender candidate fight Fitch because then they can't fight for the title. It's a hilarious scenario. Joe Silva/Dana White are jerking him around so hard.
What about Florian? He's had two shots, and couldnt capitalize on a chance to get to a third. Now he faces Dunham who is coming off a (somewhat controversial) loss and is widely considered to be the best prospect in a pretty deep LHW division. Do ya'll think he's slipped to gatekeeper status?
buckeyes12 said:
What about Florian? He's had two shots, and couldnt capitalize on a chance to get to a third. Now he faces Dunham who is coming off a (somewhat controversial) loss and is widely considered to be the best prospect in a pretty deep LHW division. Do ya'll think he's slipped to gatekeeper status?
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you mean LW division.........yeah Florian is quickly becoming a gatekeeper
Fjodorz said:
Fedor, if you lose to him, you can go challenge the champion. Also if you win him, you can ignore the champion if you want to.
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^^^^Pure awesomeness.^^^^
