Now that 2012 is almost gone, we are left with the promise of some big fights for 2013. Of course, we all hope they will live up to the hype that has been afforded them, be it by the press, Dana White, or our own imaginations and preconceived notions.
We can look forward to Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and scores of other fights, but we continue to wonder about those larger than life superfights becoming reality.
Aldo-Edgar is close to a superfight, as is GSP-Diaz, but they both fall short for a variety of reasons, most due to perception and status in the sport.
That is not to say they can’t be sold as mega-bouts, because they can, but Jose Aldo and GSP will be the men that bring the “super” into the notion of a superfight, and that is where they fall slightly short.
For a real superfight to be, well, super, both men need to carry that load— like Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, for instance.
Still, we shouldn’t let mere technicalities hold us back in our wanting and wondering. There are true superfights out there that could redefine the notion, or at least prove that sometimes, it is enough that one man carry the load as long as the other is willing to share it during the bout itself.
A fight is a coauthored affair, after all, and sometimes public perception isn’t as sharp as it should be, especially with the casual fan who depend on the general media to make their predeterminations.
So, here are 10 fights in that vein that we would love to see; some more than others, but all deserving in their own way of some hope of realization.