Stagnant milked divisions

[cburm]

Anyone noticed that the top 5 is the same fighters moving around for years..

The real killers that are getting better barley get a chance at the list. Then when they do like olivera vs tony makes the top 5 rankings look like garbage when he destroys one.

Bronx shoulda had a top 5 fight a long time ago

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

Anyone noticed that the top 5 is the same fighters moving around for years..

The real killers that are getting better barley get a chance at the list. Then when they do like olivera vs tony makes the top 5 rankings look like garbage when he destroys one.

Bronx shoulda had a top 5 fight a long time ago

It’s somewhat intentional. If you’re only fighting guys in the top 5, you’re getting paid for a top 5 fight a few times even if you lose. Whereas if you’re ranked #2 and you fight #9 and you lose, you’ve sunk to rank 7-13 territory in one fight, which will significantly effect pay

 

[Joseph_McBride]

WW & MW have had a ton of turnover. RDA, Maia, Woodley, Wonderboy all no longer at the top. Yoel, Weidman, Luke, Jacare, Kelvin no longer at the top.

205 as well. Volkan, Lionheart, Gust, DC no longer at the top.

Other than that, not a whole lot of movement the last couple years.

 

[Stalingrad9]

Depends the scale you're using. If you're thinking of the last 2 years, then yeah, except a few changes here and there, it's pretty much the same when it comes to the top 5.
But you look 4 or 5 years ago and boom it was a whole other picture.

 

[Dreyga_King of Sherbums]

Gotta be more specific. Which division are you talking about?

 

[DS66]

Disagree that Oliveira should have had a shot at the top 5 "a long time ago". He's had plenty of chances against higher level competition in his UFC career, and whenever he got the chance, he lost. He had the skills but needed to make some improvements in his mental and physical game. He committed himself to making those improvements and getting better, and now that he's peaking and entering his prime, he got the chance against a highly ranked guy like Tony and he came through. It was perfect timing for him.

 

[tenniswhiz]

Anyone noticed that the top 5 is the same fighters moving around for years..

The real killers that are getting better barley get a chance at the list. Then when they do like olivera vs tony makes the top 5 rankings look like garbage when he destroys one.

Bronx shoulda had a top 5 fight a long time ago

Totally disagree.

Tony was an animal during his run. He’s looked terrible in his last two fights.

Guys get worse, guys get better.
It’s a sliding scale.
In this case, IMO, Tony got a lot worse and Charles got somewhat better.

 

[machidafan99]

it's all stagnant right now

 

[TempleoftheDog]

If you’re only fighting guys in the top 5, you’re getting paid for a top 5 fight a few times even if you lose. Whereas if you’re ranked #2 and you fight #9 and you lose, you’ve sunk to rank 7-13 territory in one fight, which will significantly effect pay

In my time watching the UFC which is about 4 years. I've never seen a fighter ranked as high as number 2 ever fall more than 2, or 3 spots coming off of any kind of loss, if that. Let alone 5-11 spots like you've said here.

And isn't your pay already determined by your contract? It doesn't just go down after a loss, right?

 

[toe hold]

Before and during Jones reign, 205 seemed to be stagnant forever.

 

[Matthew Fedler]

WW & MW have had a ton of turnover. RDA, Maia, Woodley, Wonderboy all no longer at the top. Yoel, Weidman, Luke, Jacare, Kelvin no longer at the top.

205 as well. Volkan, Lionheart, Gust, DC no longer at the top.

Other than that, not a whole lot of movement the last couple years.

I was surprised seeing how young the 205 division is — 8 ranked fighters in their 20’s (Rakic, Jiri, Krylov, Walker, Ankalaev, Spann, Crute, Hill) and Reyes, Volkan and Smith in their early 30’s.

 

[G10]

Just depends on the division. Since you brought up LW as an example, it's been stagnant because a lot of the best guys have either not been fighting, or just fighting each other. I also think the division's gone downhill as a whole, too.

With Khabib gone and Tony likely on the down-slope of his career, that leaves Gaethje, Poirier, and maybe McGregor? I say maybe because he kinda just follows his own rules. Beyond those three, you got Do Bronx, and it falls off a cliff after that.

As for other divisions, there are some that are showing a lot of movement. I think MW is showing a lot of promising guys coming up, and WW has a healthy mix of older and newer named guys that are still relevant. It's just a never-ending ebb and flow.

 

[MMAProfessional]

It seems like the divisions are finally starting to weed out the old heads. Holland beating Jacare, JDS losing to Rozenstruik and Gane, Hermannson hasn't been in the UFC for as long as others but Vettori is a new top guy and Olivera beating Tony although he's a young vet right now. There was a long duration of the top 5 38-45 year old fighters changing places in the rankings. It's nice to finally see the divisions changing up.