Dark horse of OWGP?

[somewhere in time]

so who do you see as the dark horse of the owgp? now that fedor is out, it is really anyone's game. i think the easy pic is nog- i mean, in actuality i think he will easily take it.

but i think that at the same time hunt, and yoshida may be running under the radar screen and either of them could take the tournament considering the unpredictable nature of mma (i.e. injuries, or someone just making one little mistake that the other could capitalize on). and while i see hunt, or yoshida having a descent chance (as dark horse), for some reason i do not see wand standing much of a chance...

if i had to pick one dark horse though, i would say yoshida.

discuss.

[Grant Ellis]

Werdum or Yoshida.

Werdum, I think maybe two members out of all of our board actually like the guy.
His grappling credentials are great, he's shown he can take a shot, and also get the submission.

Yoshida could take it though.
It depends on his matchups.

I think Nogueira or Cro-cop (if Cro-cop stays in) will win.

[Bangalter]

Mirko will take it, he is the best fighter left and is supported by DSE.

werdum is my dark horse.

[Shiruba]

Hutn can take it if he doesnt face Nogueira, because then he will lose. He would have a very hard fight against Barnett also. The rest he has a good chance against.

Yoshida is my dark horse, he will also have a very hard time against barnett and nogueira, but I think he has the biggest chance besides CC, Nog and Barnett.

You never know with Werdum, he will improve so lets see what hes got.

[Tokyudo]

Werdum and Silva are my dark horses.

[seese]

I like Werdum. Both my threads on SD got flamed and moved to wasteland in under 1 day. And that was like 8 months ago. Cant say he hasnt improved since then.

[Minh-Triet]

Kazuyuki Fujita is my darkhorse.

[heckyl]

i dont think there is a darkhorse. everybody has an equal shot here.

[migs]

This one is wide open imo. Nog and Mirko are the favourites but Barnett or Werdum wouldn't be a huge shock to most of us I think.

[Bangalter]

i dont think there is a darkhorse. everybody has an equal shot here.

I don't think Hunt has much of a chance, if he faces a grappler it's over.
Maybe he good beat Fujita.

Werdum, Nog, Barnett and Yoshida are all no-nos for Hunto.

[heckyl]

i dont think its neccesarily over if he faces a grappler. he has shown good natural ability to avoid shit. and he does have better takedown def. now. werdum and nog have shitty takedowns. yoshida didnt finish him as quick as the world said he would, and Barnett is just good so he doesnt match up well for any of them. hes not the best in the world, but hey, hes now 5-1 and over some big names. cant really count him out anymore until he does infact get stopped.

[Flibb]

I would call Fujita the darkhorse of the GP because there are so damn good submission fighters left and guys who hit so hard that they get his ironskull open. But he surprised us in the past too.

[HolyRamenEmpire]

Ranking by "less expected to win the GP":

1. Fujita
2. Wand
2. Yoshida
4. Werdum
4. Josh
4. Hunt
7. Crocop
7. Nog

[migs]

Ranking by "less expected to win the GP":

1. Fujita
2. Wand
2. Yoshida
4. Werdum
4. Josh
4. Hunt
7. Crocop
7. Nog

I'd just put Hunt behind Werdum...otherwise I agree.

[RedHawk]

If I had to pick a dark horse, it would be Barnett. His conditioning has really improved since his fight vs Mirko. I never expected him to beat Alex. Barnett has my attention and I can't wait to see who they match him up with next round.

[HolyRamenEmpire]

1. Fujita
2. Wand
2. Yoshida
4. Werdum
4. Josh
4. Hunt
7. Crocop
7. Nog

Josh should probably be ahead of Hunt in this ranking. But, Hunt is close to reaching CC's level. One can argue that CC should be ranked 4th along the other three. Perhaps, Josh should replace CC, and be 7th besides Nog. Josh's loss to CC messes with my evaluation of Josh's chance of winning it all.

I think the three guys at #4 are all dark horses. Werdum, Josh, and Hunt. Josh is the most well rounded. Werdum is dependant on his grappling. Hunt is dependant on his striking. Josh surprised many of us by beating Alek. but could he also beat Werdum and Hunt? Question mark remains.

I think the darkest horse is Werdum and Hunt. Nog, CC, Josh have all been at the top, or one step behind. Werdum, and Hunt, are fairly new commers, with a very growing mma game.

Werdum and Hunt are my dark hell boys. Josh is right behind.

If Yoshida, Fujita, or Wand wins it all, man, that's not even dark horse talk, that's just crazy talk. They're my crazy horses.

Bottom line, this GP is awesome :)

But I hope we'll see more new faces in the next one.

[seese]

MY GOD this GP is GREAT!!!11

[TrojanStud]

Werdum got the smarts to beat his foes. He knows the playas. CC fought many of the GP cotnenders with Werdum in the corner and as trainingpartner for the fights. They train together and talked about opponents CC faces. He knows CC pros & cons from training..........

[derUbermensch]

Fujita