Franklin is another example of a big fish in a small pond. The middle weight division was even weaker during his tenure as champion than it is currently under Silva.
Griffin is a slow plodding fighter with minimal power for his size who seldom moves in any direction other than forward. To Griffin credit he also has tremendous stamina and iron will. For someone with Silva's style and speed, Griffin is a near perfect opponent to have because he walks right into punches. And judging from the fight and pics of the two of them together, there was much of a size discrepancy.
What I will disagree with here is your take on both Franklin and Griffin. Both of these gentlemen were champions in their weight class. For anyone to call someone who makes it to be champion of their weight class a "B" level fighter is a bit of stretch, in my honest opinion. While they are not the most exciting fighters to watch, let's look at a few things.
First, when it needed to count, Griffin plowed right through
Rampage, Shogun, Tito Ortiz AND Chael Sonnen. If he isn't considered a strong fighter after going through all of those guys
AND holding the belt, I don't know what to tell you. Yes, he is sloppy and yes he takes unnecessary risks with his head-first approach, but talented he is.
Both Henderson and Belfort are legendary. Okami is a very skilled fighter and is highly ranked (#5 middleweight in the world by Sherdog and #3 middleweight in the UFC official rankings). I wouldn't call him a "B" level fighter either, but I guess that's a matter of opinion, as I have heard enough guys say the same.
Franklin got through the following legends: Wandy Silva, Chuck Liddell and Ken Shamrock (Although I called this fight work). While he also isn't one of my favorites, the man paid his dues and held the belt as the middleweight champion.
A while back myself and another poster, who did the actual math, calculated the physical attributes of the champion within each weight class in comparison to his closest competition. It was a very enlightening exercise and demonstrated pretty clearly how much size factors in making a champion.
Whenever you can, please provide us with a link to that discussion. I'd like to see exactly how you two gentlemen formulated, by way of calculations, an accurate analysis of how size factored into the making of a champion.
All that in mind, I still believe firmly that Anderson can/would be a problem for anyone. While size can play a big role in a fight, raw skill-set is also important (see Brock Lesnar for an example of how lack of skill can get you to a loss any day).
While most would give the fight to Jones, if they were to meet, I'd still hold steady for Anderson on that bout.
I guess we will have to wait and see, good discussion!
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