Is Gonzaga a one hit wonder?

[mls]

Gonzaga wasn't exactly tearing up the UFC in his first couple fights but then came the fight with Cro Cop where he was supposed to be nothing more then a sacrificial lamb but Gonzaga didn't have it that way and gave us the KO everyone has seen. After that it seemed as if Gonzaga was crowned the next big thing and the future of the HW division.

But since that KO Gonzaga has gone 2-3 with losses to Couture, Werdum, and Carwin. This isn't the easiest group of guys to defeat but since Gonzaga didn't even beat one is he the fighter that can't beat A level competition?

His lone wins have come against Justin McCully and Josh Hendricks, couple of guys that aren't' anywhere near the top.

So is Gonzaga a one hit wonder?

[Aaron]

i think he has what it takes to be a top tier HW...he just can't seem to put it together

i sum'd up my thoughts on gabe in my article several weeks ago

http://www.fightlockdown.com/articles/miscellaneous/gabriel-gonzaga-what-is-he-missing

dude needs a new camp badly

[plazzman]

Yeah, he's certainly a one hit wonder. But that doesn't mean he's a terrible fighter.

He has great jitz, pretty good striking, and strong as fuck. He has the tools, but certainly can't put them together properly ATM.

I think if it hadn't been for the CC fight, things would have been extremely different. He either would have had more boring fights. Or they would have done what they do to most of the HW's and keep them on the back burner for so long until they need them.

[ThatGuyJae]

I wouldn't consider him a one hit wonder at all. I just think he's a very talented fighter who hasn't been able to pull everything together. I agree with Aaron if he wants to be at the top of the division he is going to need to greatly improve his own camp or even better join a better camp!

[KJ Brophy]

I agree with Aaron's article that he needs a new camp and I think he could be champ.

[Negative2]

His losses are a bit tricky to judge because they are against top guys and one of them is undefeated. He just slightly stumbles when facing the top competition and I don't think thats a terrible thing. The only bad part about that is he won't be considered an elite level fighter.

With a good performance in his next fight, I could see him hop right back in the Top 10.

[Suizida]

If he moves to a real camp, there is no doubt in my mind he could be a champion.

ATT is just so perfect for him. 18 black belts and awesome muay thai coaches

[ThatGuyJae]

If he moves to a real camp, there is no doubt in my mind he could be a champion.

ATT is just so perfect for him. 18 black belts and awesome maui thai coaches

Agreed an ATT trained Gabe would be just plain scary!!
He needs more cardio and i believe he would get it there.

[southpaw447]

He has the potential to be a great fighter, but he needs a camp where he isn't the lead horse.

[Wise]

He needs to work on his cardio and just be a little smarter in his fights.

Against Werdum his cardio just went to shit and against Carwin he was dominating that fight until he got KO'd, not gonna say he got caught but if him and Carwin were to fight again I would pick GG.

I think Randy is the only fight where Ive seen a guy really break him. I still consider him a top tier HW and think hes dangerous for anyone in the division.

[steph05050]

i agree with plazz about him being a one hit wonder but still is a good fighter......something about gabe never struck me....never been a fan

[Kingofkings]

Like some have said, probaly could call him a one hit wonder, but that doesn't mean he's a good fighter. He seems like he gets on a roll then off in a big way. I mean he was smashed by Randy, then got rolling again and ko'd by Carwin.

[JT42]

You have just been negative repped for blasphemy against the man Gonzaga!








Actually you are too powerful a man to piss off by neg repping but you deserve it!! :p

[FunkYou]

Gonzaga is a decent fighter who if he moved his training camp so he wasn't surrounded by yes men could be an elite fighter.

However his priority is his family and doesn't want to leave them for too long a time. This is a job to him but it come second to home life.

Also Rich Franklin has never really beaten an elite fighter either. He was just fortunate to fight in a division wherre he wa tohe top dog for quite a while. I don't think less of him as a fighter for this.

[Emericanaddict]

Ive been saying this since the Mirko KO. Dude has phenominal skills but doesnt know what a game plan is. He is a ball of wound up raw talent that has no direction behind it.

I think he could rise up again to the top competition in the future but for now I think he's gonna be nothing more than a mid level gatekeeper.

He only rose to the top of the crop then because the divison was EXTREMELY THIN and he was EXTREMELY LUCKY with that KO. The Divison is bulking up with lots of new prospects and established/experienced fighters that don't care about him KO'ing Mirko and will just match him blow for blow.

Big Nose will rise again but not until a camp change IMO.

[Pearce]

I just have to echo what has been said already really. As a massive Gonzaga fan, i'll have to try and keep my bias in check.

Gabe really does need either a camp change to somewhere like ATT or to perhaps bring some fresh faces into his camp to train some Muay Thai. As Funk said, I think it would be important that if he were to bring someone into Team Link, then it would have to be the sort of people who aren't afraid to say no and to push him around a bit.
With my bias aside, I certainly don't think Gonzaga is a one hit wonder, he simply has too much talent to be considered one.

His poor performance at UFC 56 against Kevin Jordan was down to the distractions in his personal life and to a certain degree, I think that it's his personal life that is still impacting his commitment to his UFC career.

As I don't regard him as a one hit wonder, I think a more accurate analysis of Gonzaga would be that he's a great underachiever, with a ton of talent that happens to be at the wrong camp.

[Emericanaddict]

I just have to echo what has been said already really. As a massive Gonzaga fan, i'll have to try and keep my bias in check.

Gabe really does need either a camp change to somewhere like ATT or to perhaps bring some fresh faces into his camp to train some Muay Thai. As Funk said, I think it would be important that if he were to bring someone into Team Link, then it would have to be the sort of people who aren't afraid to say no and to push him around a bit.
With my bias aside, I certainly don't think Gonzaga is a one hit wonder, he simply has too much talent to be considered one.

His poor performance at UFC 56 against Kevin Jordan was down to the distractions in his personal life and to a certain degree, I think that it's his personal life that is still impacting his commitment to his UFC career.

As I don't regard him as a one hit wonder, I think a more accurate analysis of Gonzaga would be that he's a great underachiever, with a ton of talent that happens to be at the wrong camp.

Very well said my friend plus rep for you. I couldnt agree more that he is more of an underachiever than a one hit wonder. Hee's allready had a taste of the big time and he will certainly be able to rise the occasion atleast once more.

I can see him in a contenders position about a year and half from now especially as the kids get older and he get's more time to focus on his training.

[ThatGuyJae]

I wouldn't even call him an underachiever. I think he just has different priorities than what we are used to seeing. Most fighters are wiling to make the family sacrifices in order to be the best, i don't think Gabe is. I don't think less of him because of that i respect him as a fighter and as a father/family man. I think he works hard enough to support his family but doesn't really want to sacrifice anything at home to be better in the sport.

[PirateNinja415]

gonzaga will be a one hit wonder if he fails to win any big fights in the rest of his career. he has all the tools to be a top contender but he really does need to change camps if he wants to excel.

[MJB23]

Gonzaga is a one hit wonder. There's no question about it.

His biggest win besides CC would probably be Carmelo Marrero and that's not even that big of a win. He's been in the UFC for 4 years now and has yet to do anything significant.

He's a good fighter but when it comes to the big matches he stumbles and can't put it together. Until he can start winning those big matches GG will be nothing but a one hit wonder.

[Brad.Taschuk]

Gonzaga is a one hit wonder. There's no question about it.

His biggest win besides CC would probably be Carmelo Marrero and that's not even that big of a win. He's been in the UFC for 4 years now and has yet to do anything significant.

He's a good fighter but when it comes to the big matches he stumbles and can't put it together. Until he can start winning those big matches GG will be nothing but a one hit wonder.

This.

I understand that Gonzaga has good power, and a good ground game, but he's still yet to impress me at all aside from the Cro Cop fight. I know I'm probably in the minority, but I don't think Gonzaga is a top 10 fighter in the HW division. He can only hold on to that win against Cro Cop for so long, before it just means absolutely nothing. He rose to the top of the division too quickly for his own good, and that was only really because the division was so incredibly shitty at the tme.

Oh, and family distractions or not, that fight against Jordan was inexcusable, and goes down as one of the worst fights in the modern era of the UFC.