Which division is the most stacked? *poll*
- Thread starter Nastycrow
- Start date
I think it's much closer than ever. Excluding the HW division there are some outstanding talent, especially near the top but top to bottom I think it's a tough call. I kinda lean towards FW but man the WW and LW are loaded as well and MW ain't no joke either.
1 FW
2 LW
3 WW
It was a close call, for the top spot, but went with LW because it's been such an active and dynamic division.
Maybe it's because Pettis has been on the shelf for so long, but I don't think there's a talent gap/roadblock for anyone in the division. If one of the older guys start fading away, there's plenty of both new talent, rising prospects, and established fighters to keep things interesting. I'm not even bothered that no-one's fought for the belt in a year, fights are still exciting with so many top guys fighting each other, and there's still guys like Grant, Diaz and Lauzon (plus Pettis/Melendez) who have been inactive for awhile. Where it gets messy is working out who gets the next title shot after Melendez, and Pettis's recovery timeline.
FW is a close second. I think that some of their rising prospects like McGregor/Bermudez have gotten a higher profile than say Bobby Green and Myles Jury at LW (for example). And while the talent gap is gradually closing, no-one has really shown that they can crack Aldo. The top end of FW is also not as active as LW. Just looking at timelines alone (excluding rankings/injuries/and guys waiting for a shot at the belt), Lamas and Jung waited a year between their last fight before Aldo and their title shot, Edgar and Mendes waited 6 months. Then you get to guys like Cub who was inactive for a year before the Stephens fight, and is looking to wait again for either Aldo or Edgar. The logjam has shown both Aldo's injury/recovery rate, the gap in talent between the top and the bottom of the division, as well as the un-willingness for the top guys to stay busy and instead wait for a promised title shot. I realise there are more variables to consider, and it's not totally black and white, but the distinction is clearer to me.
Full list:
#1: LW
#2: FW
#3: WW
#4: MW
#5: BW
#6: FLW
#7: LHW
#8: W-BW
#9: HW
#10: W-SW (We'll know more once TUF starts)
The MW division as a whole is gaining more traction without Anderson. While Anderson was champ the talent gap was huge, more-so than WW with GSP.
Weidman has had pretty significant lay-offs, which has contributed to the rest of the division getting a higher profile. In addition, there has been a massive influx of talent in the last two years with the Strikeforce imports, Machida dropping down, and rising guys in the top 15 like Dolloway, Leites, Romero, etc. Some of these fights have happened, but there are so many more still in the pipeline (this is also affected by the semi-logjam that Belfort has created by waiting for this shot & fighting at LHW). As some of these match-ups play out, and If Weidman keeps defending, maybe it drops down the list a bit, but at the moment it's exciting.
I ranked WW above MW as the talent gap closed quicker since GSP left. GSP/Hendricks was close, Hendricks/Lawler was close. Hendricks has been on the shelf but Lawler has steamrolled his way back to another shot. The top 15 are all more than capable of pulling off a huge performance launch in to the title picture or mount a comeback after a loss, and I also think WW has more fresh talent with guys like Nelson/Gastelum/Thatch/Mein/Laflare.