Who's the second greatest welterweight? Woodley or Hughes

[3sumrock]

woodley resume:
2 losses
18 wins
Defended title 3 times
Top wins: wonderboy(controversial),prime lawler,prime paul Daley,Maia(prime?),out of shape gastelum(spilt decision),primeCarlos condit,dong Hyundai kim,hieron.
Hughes resume:
45 wins
9 losses
Defended title 6 times
Top wins : prime bj penn,Gsp 1.0,Sean Sherk

 

[Ares Black]

Woodley would beat up any version of Matt Hughes. So I'll go with Woodley.

 

[Buff]

Hughes. Dude is an icon.

The old guys get nowhere near the respect they deserve today...

 

[mb23100]

Probably go with Hughes. He always fought the best of the best

 

[3sumrock]

Woodley would beat up any version of Matt Hughes. So I'll go with Woodley.

Well is pretty obvious that Woodley would destroy Hughes but we are talking about resume

 

[Jerry the mouse]

Woodley is not a top 3 Welterweight of all time

1. GSP
2. Hughes
3. Shields

 

[iwhoopedbatman]

Hughes' legacy is greater. Woodley would beat the hell out of him, but that's besides the point.

 

[JayJayFrench]

The game has evolved so much, along with techniques, training, supplements, etc, that it's hard to compare.
Personally, I think Hughes, just based on his complete domination of most opponents, the comparative skill of those opponents, and his overall record. Woodley has benefited skill wise in this era, but he is not even close to being as far ahead of the rest of the pack as Hughes was at the time.

 

[VitorBelfoTRT]

Woodley's story isn't done yet so Hughes but probably Woodley when it's all said and done.

 

[cooks1]

Hughes. Dude is an icon.

The old guys get nowhere near the respect they deserve today...

Agreed. It will not be a popular opinion but I still have Hughes as the GOAT at WW. He has 8 defenses over 2 reigns (if you count Riggs) plus a superfight win over Royce. That's 11 fights for or with the Strap. 10 of those being finishes.

 

[MusterX]

I'm pretty sure Hughes wasn't 6 times defending. He had 2 reigns, one for 2, and one for 5 defenses, 7 defenses in total.

 

[KootenayKid]

I'd say Hughes but Woodley could surpass him.

 

[Miq]

 

[Gambit MMA]

I have Woodley behind shields

 

[Breaking]

Hughes. Dude is an icon.

The old guys get nowhere near the respect they deserve today...

I get your point. At the same time, most current athletes, in most sports, are better than the athletes of older generations—partly BECAUSE they’ve learned from the older generation, of course.

But facts are facts.

In MMA, because it’s a relatively new sport, the evolution of skill and athleticism is much faster than other sports—and it’s much more obvious.

As far as overall greatness goes, I’d pick Hughes all day.

But not because a prime Hughes would beat a prime Woodley (because he wouldn’t. At all).

 

[CDN420]

Those two should not even be mentioned together. Different era's, some era's better then other's. Some fighters from different era's are greater then others. Hard to compare them two. In my eyes, Matt was the far superior champ at his time, by far. Ty's good at some things he does, not the best at anyone area, but very well rounded. Matt was more dominant in his reign, so far.

 

[TDD]

If we are talking just defenses and not consecutive ones it has to be

1.Georges St. Pierre 9 Defenses

2.Matt Hughes 7 Defenses

3.Pat Miletich 4 Defenses

4.Tyron Woodley 3 Defenses

Of course Woodley beat guys that are way better then the Hughes or even the Miletic era but as far as resume he is getting close but as far as defenses i dont think he will get past Hughes. He is in the second strongest Division in MMA so any fight will be a hard one but its not impossible but close to.

 

[Kumason]

People always ask this question without specifying what were picking here.Would Woodley beat a prime Matt Hughes yes most likely,is his career an overall better career than Huhges'?Is that a joke?Depends on how you look at this question like for instance the first response to this thread.

 

[dabouv]

Hughes. Dude is an icon.

The old guys get nowhere near the respect they deserve today...

Hughes actually fought the best guys. Woodley is a great fighter , I think. Hughes fought every 4 to 5 months when he was the title holder. Tyron looks like he's going to take a year off between defenses. He was fine for the first 3 but its been 7 months and he has no plans to get back in the ring and fight a top contender, he wants a money fight after 3 defenses.

 

[Dark One]

Woodley's story isn't done yet so Hughes but probably Woodley when it's all said and done.

It's just the opposite. Everybody will forget woodley like everyone has already forgotten Hendricks and Lawler once they lost a few times