> Does he? From what was said earlier in the thread, Machamp scales further above his feat than Zoro scales above his own, which are only about 1.6x apart. A single bulk up nullifies any strength/durability gap if that's the case.
Zoro scales above 838MT while Machamp scales above 500 something. So, I believe Zoro holds the lead. And don't forget that Zoro has his own AP amps in the form of his Gorilla technique and Asura. So, I still will argue that Zoro holds the AP advantage.
> How capable of a fighter is Zoro without his swords? If Machamp disarms him in CQC range, then Zoro has to deal with someone who has mastered every type of martial art and also can punch twice as much as usual due to his physiology. Zoro also doesn't have any defense for Dynamic Punch, a move that will confuse the opponent so much that they can end up hitting themselves, even if they're in the middle of being pummeled to death.
Zoro is decently well without a sword, can reproduce his Tatsumaki attack, though it would only blow away and not cut. Obviously, Zoro w/o swords doesn't have the skills to keep up with a healthy Machamp. Though, remember that Machamp's dangerous punches and the dreaded disarming Knock Off is short range. So, Zoro doesn't have to worry about them til Machamp is within striking range.
Zoro tends to starts off his battle with his Air Slash and this won't be a difference. And with No Guard, it will land and severely harm Machamp due to his typing. So by the time, Machamp gets into range, he would probably eaten several air slash.
> Has this made a significant impact in any of his fights before? Otherwise it won't matter much. In terms of ranged combat, Machamp isn't helpless; how would Zoro deal with what is effectively a danmaku of piercing rocks being sent flying at him with the pinpoint precision that no guard gives Machamp?
Zoro in his fight with Daz Bonez, went from being unable to cut him to one-shotting him within a few minutes. Zoro was easily ragdolled and destroyed by Base Lucci and Kaku, yet in the next instance he face them, less than 3 hours, he pressured hard on Kaku in his base and Transformation state. On Mihawk's Island, he was effortlessly picked apart by the Power Mimicry Humandrills, and in the next instance, he defeated every last of them easily.
So for the next part, Stone Edge is not a Danmaku and what can Zoro do here to dodge, he can't due to No Guard. Still won't stop him from shooting out his Air Slash. The difference will be that Zoro will feel pain from the stones and Machamp will feel a lot of pain from the slash (like 2x the damage).
