Today Sherdog.com posted their monthly divisional rankings. Debuting at the bottom of the top ten light heavyweights in the world was high school classmate and teammate Ryan Bader.
Holy crap. That's incredible. This guy I knew in school is probably one of the 50 or so toughest people on the planet, and easily in the top few hundred. That's just mind boggling. Turn on a UFC PPV, and there's the dude who was always better at every sport when we were kids. (Yes, high schoolers are kids, not adults.)
The next most famous McQueen 01 member is Chris Carr of the Baltimore Ravens. While no one outside of Northern Nevada or Boise, Idaho really knows who he is, he's certainly the better monetarily compensated of the two.
Having two "true" pro athletes in a class of 400-something is statistically rare, but that's not why it's interesting. The reason it's worth mentioning is it makes one reflect and consider one's own accomplishments to date.
I'm doing pretty well in life, certainly better than I deserve, but it's always nice to be humbled. These two gents (and really, they were both nice guys) are already doing what they will be known for. We know what their names will always kick out first in Google.
I don't even know what city I'll be living in next year, much less what my legacy will be.
Hopefully, I leave one.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Weighty thoughts
As Anderson Silva moves ever closer to wiping out the middleweight division, he has made noise about fighting in the larger weight classes. That's plural.
We know "Spider" is a top-5 light heavyweight: that's a no-brainer. If he wasn't opposed to fighting his friends, we'd have no problem. He would eventually contend for the belt in the UFC's premier division.
However, he is of the attitude that one does not fight one's friends. Unless Machida is dethroned, there is nowhere for Silva to go except sideways.
Silva has also spoken of competing at heavyweight. This means Silva is 1) ambitious, 2) brave and 3) stupid.
The Spider easily overcame the 25 lbs of muscle he gave up to Forrest Griffin. The 70 pounds he gives up to Brock is on another level. It is BJ Penn fighting Rampage. It is Miguel Torres facing, well, Silva himself.
Two years ago the Spider likely could have moved up to heavyweight. One could easily see him out-striking a Tim Sylvia or picking apart a Randy Couture. Alas, that was a different age in the UFC. Today's mutant monster wrestlers would, figuratively and literally, crush him.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We know "Spider" is a top-5 light heavyweight: that's a no-brainer. If he wasn't opposed to fighting his friends, we'd have no problem. He would eventually contend for the belt in the UFC's premier division.
However, he is of the attitude that one does not fight one's friends. Unless Machida is dethroned, there is nowhere for Silva to go except sideways.
Silva has also spoken of competing at heavyweight. This means Silva is 1) ambitious, 2) brave and 3) stupid.
The Spider easily overcame the 25 lbs of muscle he gave up to Forrest Griffin. The 70 pounds he gives up to Brock is on another level. It is BJ Penn fighting Rampage. It is Miguel Torres facing, well, Silva himself.
Two years ago the Spider likely could have moved up to heavyweight. One could easily see him out-striking a Tim Sylvia or picking apart a Randy Couture. Alas, that was a different age in the UFC. Today's mutant monster wrestlers would, figuratively and literally, crush him.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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