Who do you think could move up a weight class and beat the champ?

[marksmen]

Like the title says. Who could move up from their original weight class and beat the champ in the division above them? I am going to do every weight class... These are the guys I think would have the best chance if they moved up:

Joe B could move up and beat Cejudo at BW. He beat him at FlyW.
Petr Yan could move up and beat Volkanovski at FW.
Zabit could move up and beat Khabib at LW. He is a big FW.
Khabib could move up and beat Usman at WW.
Usman could move up and beat Izzy at MW. Would have to make it a grappling match.
Izzy could move up and beat Jones. He has the size and length.
Jones could move up and beat Stipe. He has the best chance of all the fighters of moving up and winning a belt in the weight class above him.

Thoughts?

 

[BonesWinckleJones]

Said no one ever

 

[Iron Nick]

Benavidez could beat Cejudo, probably.
Yan against Volk? Not too sure.
Zabit against Khabib? No way. Zabit is only long and tall, he's not exactly huge; it'd be over as soon as Khabib gets Zabit in his hands.
I don't think Khabib would beat Usman, they have a vast difference in size and probably in strength too, although i think Khabib is the better wrestler.
Usman has no chance against Adesanya either imho. Middleweights are no welterweights and his rather average striking defense is a recipe to get picked apart by Adesanya.
Adesanya against Jones? Technically, Israel might be a bad matchup for Jones, but i think the difference in strength is probably too big.
Jones would have a very hard time against Stipe as well. Almost no reach advantage compared to other opponents and Stipe could prove to be too strong for Jones to outwrestle him and if Stipe lands shots on Jon, he won't just eat them like he did before.

 

[You Will Vote For Dreyga]

Colby could beat Izzy
Jan, Reyes, Santos, Gutafasson, all stand a pretty good chance of taking out Stipe
Valentina could beat Nunes
Tatiana Suarez would wrestlefuck Valentina
Weili or Rose might be able to take Valentina

Think that’s it

 

[Alpha_T83]

I dont think any of them. The closest would be Adesanya beating Jones.

Jon is declining without his free steroid license. Its obvious they behind the scenes USADA know hes juicing and have put pressure on him to stop. Without his synthetic advantage, he loses to stipe and possibly Adesanya.

 

[wilKO]

I don't think Jones could beat Stipe at all. He can barely beat these average LHWs without roids and a massive size advantage. I think Israel has a good chance at Jones as he's tall and long too.

 

[Grizzlybeer]

Imagine thinking Zabit can beat Khabib.

 

[Greg House]

Zabit could move up and beat Khabib at LW. He is a big FW.

 

[Iron Nick]

I don't think Jones could beat Stipe at all. He can barely beat these average LHWs without roids and a massive size advantage. I think Israel has a good chance at Jones as he's tall and long too.

I agree, although i hope you don't think Reyes is average!
(I think people forget how good Stipe is, just because he looked human against Cormier, whereas he has proven to be a well-rounded heavyweight boxer who's particularly good at the fundamentals)
I do think that Adesanya could have big difficulties with Jon strength-wise though. In terms of ability and fight-IQ though, Israel could beat probably beat Jones.

 

[Street Bishop]

Zabit could move up and beat Khabib at LW. He is a big FW.
Khabib could move up and beat Usman at WW.

Colby could beat Izzy

 

[faustian]

I actually think Marty vs Izzy would be a cool fight if Marty could shore up his striking defense

 

[marksmen]

These are just the fighters that I would give the best chance if they moved up. Def wouldn't pick most of them to win accept for maybe Jones or Izzy and Joe B.

 

[MCS]

Just Jones over Stipe. He's basically done it by beating DC twice without a lot of trouble.

 

[wilKO]

I agree, although i hope you don't think Reyes is average!
(I think people forget how good Stipe is, just because he looked human against Cormier, whereas he has proven to be a well-rounded heavyweight boxer who's particularly good at the fundamentals)
I do think that Adesanya could have big difficulties with Jon strength-wise though. In terms of ability and fight-IQ though, Israel could beat probably beat Jones.

I was more referring to Santos etc. Reyes is good. I still don't think he's as good as the guys Jones dismantled in his prime.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Just Jones over Stipe. He's basically done it by beating DC twice without a lot of trouble.

This might be the most hilarious MMA math I've ever witnessed. Well done.

 

[Iron Nick]

I was more referring to Santos etc. Reyes is good. I still don't think he's as good as the guys Jones dismantled in his prime.

Ah, alright, fair enough. I'm pretty high on Santos* if i'm being honest, i hope he gets back to winning ways... especially on the scorecards, haha.

*EDIT: meant Reyes

 

[agibmxmma]

-Cejudo, Moraes, Yan, Cody.. beat Volk.
-Volk, Max, Zabit, Zombie.. don't beat Khabib.
-Khabib, Islam.. beat Usman.
-Usman, Masvidal.. don't beat Adesanya.
-Adesanya, Costa.. beat Jones.
-Jones.. doesn't beat Stipe, but Reyes and Santos do.

 

[Iron Nick]

Colby could beat Izzy

That seems like a bold assumption to me, how do you see Colby winning this one?

 

[Liverkick-king56]

Mighty Mouse would beat Cejudo in a rematch.

 

[TheJohnnyWalkerEra]

Khabib beats everyone at any weight