What is harder: becoming double champ or multiple title defenses?

To me I think being a reigning champ is much harder. You have a list of contenders who are studying your game and you have a target on your back for years. At the same time, I feel like DC’s path to double champ is pretty difficult considering the consequences of one mistake at LHW and HW. What say you?
Dominating a division for a long time.
There's a reason Fedor, Silva, GSP or Aldo are in GOAT talks while guys like Conor is not even close to being anywhere near these talks.
 
I think it's harder to defend 3 times or more than to double champ. Defending 3 times means you have to win 3 or more in a row. Double champing just means you have to win twice. The odds are more in your favor to double champ than to defend consecutively.
 
Dominating a division for a long time.
There's a reason Fedor, Silva, GSP or Aldo are in GOAT talks while guys like Conor is not even close to being anywhere near these talks.

Conor is a legend in my opinion. What he's accomplished in such a short time is incredible. But he's unproven as a GOAT contender. I agree with your post. Just because you're a legend doesn't mean you're a GOAT.
 
Conor is a legend in my opinion. What he's accomplished in such a short time is incredible. But he's unproven as a GOAT contender. I agree with your post. Just because you're a legend doesn't mean you're a GOAT.
I do agree with you, He is a legend and he will always be in MMA history, even if he never came back.

But GOAT means you dominate your peer and take on all styles, not only the champ of a division.
 
I think DCs accomplishments is way better than Conors. He defended several times and beat the most dominant HW champ of all time.

DC essentially got to "win" the LHW belt by beating Volkan, and then get to immediately fight for the HW belt. Sorry, but he lost his belt to Jon. He did fail at that defending part.

I don't see it any different than getting immediate shots in both weight classes. He kept his belt by technicalities, not results.

Clearly multiple defences.

Consistency is king.

Double champ depends on being in Dana's good books vastly more than it does on ability.

Consistently beating the #1 ranked fighter in the world is harder than beating anyone ranked #2-15.
 
How many were allowed to try?

- BJ
- Henderson
- Conor
- Holloway
- DC

Then one could argue:
- Pettis (was guaranteed shots at both 145/155 but pulled out of the 145lb one to win the 155lb one)
- Randy (got shots at both belts back to back)
 
DC essentially got to "win" the LHW belt by beating Volkan, and then get to immediately fight for the HW belt. Sorry, but he lost his belt to Jon. He did fail at that defending part.

I don't see it any different than getting immediate shots in both weight classes. He kept his belt by technicalities, not results.



Consistently beating the #1 ranked fighter in the world is harder than beating anyone ranked #2-15.

Jones hasn't gotten past a fight without failing a drug test since USADA IIRC. if he did, it was only in the OSP fight. his entire legacy is gone .
 
Jones hasn't gotten past a fight without failing a drug test since USADA IIRC. if he did, it was only in the OSP fight. his entire legacy is gone .

Great. Jon still stopped DC from successfully defending his belt in the middle of his reign. Saying he went into the Stipe fight as a defending champ is a bit silly as he failed to defend against Jon. He essentially re-won the belt against Volkan, and that's how DC himself viewed it.

“I go through a lot of stuff, so many things,” Cormier said. “It feels good to go out there and get a victory. I lost twice to Jon Jones, I said I felt like I wasn’t a champ because he beat me last time, and I feel now that I won I’m the UFC champion again.”

Realistically, DC got back to back title shots.
 
Defending multiple times is harder I'd say for a couple reasons.
1. You can become a double champ with one favorable match up ala GSP vs. Bisping.
2. The champs that go on long reigns fight and beat everyone in their division. GSP, Silva, Jones, etc. On the flip side, someone can get fast-tracked to the title, or win it with a favorable match up, and then they are one fight away (in another division) from being a double champion, even though they haven't proven they are better than the rest of the challengers in their division.
 
we don't have the numbers.

only several times has anyone been offered a chance at champ-champ.

we have hundreds of examples of people offering to defend.

so far, the success rate of champ-champ is higher, but the examples are few.

which makes it perfect forum fodder; everyone has an opinion....that cannot be supported with facts.
 
Depends on the division. MM dominating a thin division is impressive, but had he moved up and beaten Cruz/Garbrandt/Dillashaw it would have been far, far more impressive. DC winning the LHW belt and then moving up to HW was far more impressive than fighting other contenders at LHW. GSP moving up to MW to beat Bisping was not impressive at all. So it all depends on the division you are in and who's the champ in the division above. Anyone saying anything else is probably a fighter X hater or fighter Y nuthugger.
 
DC essentially got to "win" the LHW belt by beating Volkan, and then get to immediately fight for the HW belt. Sorry, but he lost his belt to Jon. He did fail at that defending part.

I don't see it any different than getting immediate shots in both weight classes. He kept his belt by technicalities, not results.

Consistently beating the #1 ranked fighter in the world is harder than beating anyone ranked #2-15.

He defended vs. Rumble, Gus and Volkan. He didnt lose to a legit fighter - unless you call a roided fighter a legit loss - then we have a different opinion. So he had 3 defenses vs. the top of the division and beat the most dominant UFC HW champ of all time.
 
He defended vs. Rumble, Gus and Volkan. He didnt lose to a legit fighter - unless you call a roided fighter a legit loss - then we have a different opinion. So he had 3 defenses vs. the top of the division and beat the most dominant UFC HW champ of all time.

DC himself disagrees with you.
"I go through a lot of stuff, so many things,” Cormier said. “It feels good to go out there and get a victory. I lost twice to Jon Jones, I said I felt like I wasn’t a champ because he beat me last time, and I feel now that I won I’m the UFC champion again.”

According to him he won the belt by beating Volkan.
 
I'd say the one with the fewest successes would be the hardest.

Plenty of guys with multiple title defenses, matt hughes, chuck liddell, Anderson Silva, mighty mouse etc.

How many guys have won titles in two divisions?



4

Not just about winning but also being successful in a different weight class

How many guys have 4 title defenses? Better yet, how many guys were given the opportunity?
 
Judging by historical defending champs vs champ champs, it’s pretty clearly the latter.
 
I would say defending the belt is harder simply for motivation reasons. I would imagine once you’ve won the belt you have a sense of accomplishment and now you have to fight off all the hungry new contenders. When your moving up for a new belt I would imagine it builds a new motivation to accomplish something your not supposed to be able to do. I would imagine it’s even worse pressure defending the higher weight class because you end up in a high risk low reward type of situation. Your supposed to be able to beat the smaller guy but sometimes that smaller guy is not that much smaller and is a nasty motherfucker.
 
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