You realized he tapped shogun in the first round don't you? That put's him right up there as far as I'm concerned. He also beat the shit out of Anderson Silva until Silva got lucky in the 5th.
Has Shogun been the same since he left Pride?
Hasn't the absence of PED's seriously altered his overall performance?
I do agree that Chael's win over Shogun is a good win, but it's not as if he beat a current champion.
I also disagree with the take on Anderson Silva. Yes, he (Chael) had the overall advantage in the first Silva fight, but there were also others things working for him (fractured rib on Silva and Chael on PED's). Aside from that, Anderson still beat him. I wouldn't call his win luck either. A triangle choke is still a choke that needs to be properly executed.
The second fight against Silva wasn't even close for Chael. Silva had no fractured ribs and Chael had no PED's and he got steamrolled.
Either way, good for Chael, but also keep in mind that many fighters after 2-3 straight losses are kicked to the curb by Dana. Chael is one of the few that has stuck around even after having lost to Anderson and then Jones. Dana likes the guy and sometimes that is all that matters in the UFC (Look at Quinton, Dana could have cared less for him and now he is at Bellator pretending to fight against Tito next).
I still believe Chael is more of a trash talker than a great fighter. Is he an amazing striker? No. Does he have an amazing ground game? Good, but not great. Does he have great self-promotion and trash talking capabilities that will help him in attaining more opportunities than the other fighters? Sure, 100%.
"
1"
P.S. For those who said I was being overly harsh or not realizing that he tapped out Shogun int he first round, realize that my post was made hours before the event even started.
