Yup. A whole new ball game. The current hws are ten times more technical and versatile than in Fedor's prime.
Oh my, haven't seen this one earlier. I really wanted to stop arguing with you in this thread, but i just can't let this one slip by. Now, let's see.
This is the UFC top 15 at the moment:
Champ- Fabricio Werdum - love this guy, great IQ, he's the best grappler in the division and Rafael Cordeiro turned him into a great MT striker- him vs prime Fedor would be a treat to watch
1 Cain Velasquez - pressure wrestler, good boxing, great cardio (except the last Werdum fight), tough fight
2 Junior Dos Santos - good TDD, great boxing and power, bad fight IQ, tough fight, but prime Fedor can pressure as well as Cain
3 Stipe Miocic - he got KTFO by Stefan Struve lol. In any case, he's got better since then, good boxing and wrestling, nothing spectacular though.
4 Andrei Arlovski - i love this guy, but he's a glass cannon and he knows it. Already KTFO by brawler version Fedor
5 Travis Browne - lol, this guy gets destroyed by anyone with at least semi-decent boxing. He's got athleticism and a chin, but that's about it.
6 Josh Barnett - he USED to be good, dunno where he stands now.
7 Mark Hunt - Fedor beat him ages ago. I love Hunto, he's a great kickboxer, but he's not getting any younger.
8 Ben Rothwell - Another guy that gets his wins mostly due to his power and chin. Don't even get me started on technique.
9 Alistair Overeem - Loses to people he shouldn't lose to, he's a good kickboxer with good submissions, but i believe he lacks the heart and chin.
10 Frank Mir - Watch his latest fight vs Arlovski lol. His boxing got better lately, but he's so washed up now it doesn't really matter.
11 Roy Nelson - His chin got cracked by Arlovski and Hunt and his uber right hand only lands on idiots with no striking defense.
12 Antonio Silva - Bigfoot without TRT is a sad sight. He was quite decent with it though.
13 Matt Mitrione - Another case of a decent athlete doing ok in MMA thanks to his physical attributes. No technique whatsoever.
14 Jared Rosholt - Wrestler turned MMA fighter. nothing to talk about here
15 Alexey Oliynyk - veteran who can brawl and scrap.
UFC HW division was always the weakest out of them all. The myth about all those "New breed fighters" who are oh so superior to the old dogs is just that - a myth. Actually, most of the guys in the HW division are over 30, even 35 years old and were fighting in Pride too, the other half is just big guys who decided to try MMA careers and are semi-succesful because the competition is lacking.
You're telling me a division where an almost 40years old flat-nosed Andrei Arlovski can make a comeback and run for a title is "10 times more technical and versatile than Fedors prime" ??! Lol , get outta here.