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So, here's what I think about the lightweight division history, leading up to this week's title fight. Add your two cents.
Rumina Sato
(First, we had Rumina Sato from Shooto long before UFC had the lightweight division.)
Jens Pulver
(Then, we had good old lil Evil at the top of UFC lightweight division, beating Uno who beat Sato and Penn)
Takanori Gomi
(Then UFC Lightweight division went away for a while, and Gomi was the best lightweight in the world in PRIDE, beating Jens along the way)
Sean Sherk
(Then UFC Lightweight division came around, and who else but Sean Sherk to be the king of that division)
BJ Penn
(Gomi started his decline, meanwhile BJ Penn would finish Sherk, Pulver, Florian and Diego)
Frankie Edgar
(Then Edgar pulled one of the greatest robberies of all time against BJ, won the rematch fair and square, eventually put away BJ in the third fight, beat Sherk, had a great trilogy with Maynard)
Benson Henderson
(Then Edgar ran into another decision king in Bendo, and as they say what goes around comes around, he'd end up losing one of duology fights against Bendo by robbery, and the other fair and square)
Anthony Pettis
(Then Bendo would end up losing to Wheaties boy Pettis in round 1 by armbar.)
[Gilbert Melendez has been good for a long time but never won the strap too but game against anybody. Shame he popped. Don't support cheaters]
RDA
(Then Pettis would get UDed by RDA)
Eddie Alvarez
(RDA would then get finished by Eddie)
Conor Mcgregor
(Call me Mystic JustOnce, look at all the hating noobs https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/conor-will-destroy-alvarez.3332079/)
*Tony Fergusson, Justin Gaehtje and Dustin Poirier
+Then we'd have a couple interim champs along the way
Khabib Nurmagomedov
(He would beat Conor, Justin and Poirier, the most dominant lightweight champion in history, but retired super early not having faced more than half the UFC top 10 lightweights)
---
As you can see, for the majority of the top lightweights so far in the short history of lightweight division, we had guys who were good wrestlers. Even Gomi in his early days could wrestle, and Tony comes from wrestling background as well, and Poirier took up wrestling pretty well, lone exception probably being the Wheaties champion Pettis.
For the fight this weekend, Chandler fits the bill so much better, of the typical mold of the lightweight elite champion, though he in no way shape or form deserves this title shot, but perhaps Oliveira will be the dawn of new era.
Rumina Sato
(First, we had Rumina Sato from Shooto long before UFC had the lightweight division.)
Jens Pulver
(Then, we had good old lil Evil at the top of UFC lightweight division, beating Uno who beat Sato and Penn)
Takanori Gomi
(Then UFC Lightweight division went away for a while, and Gomi was the best lightweight in the world in PRIDE, beating Jens along the way)
Sean Sherk
(Then UFC Lightweight division came around, and who else but Sean Sherk to be the king of that division)
BJ Penn
(Gomi started his decline, meanwhile BJ Penn would finish Sherk, Pulver, Florian and Diego)
Frankie Edgar
(Then Edgar pulled one of the greatest robberies of all time against BJ, won the rematch fair and square, eventually put away BJ in the third fight, beat Sherk, had a great trilogy with Maynard)
Benson Henderson
(Then Edgar ran into another decision king in Bendo, and as they say what goes around comes around, he'd end up losing one of duology fights against Bendo by robbery, and the other fair and square)
Anthony Pettis
(Then Bendo would end up losing to Wheaties boy Pettis in round 1 by armbar.)
[Gilbert Melendez has been good for a long time but never won the strap too but game against anybody. Shame he popped. Don't support cheaters]
RDA
(Then Pettis would get UDed by RDA)
Eddie Alvarez
(RDA would then get finished by Eddie)
Conor Mcgregor
(Call me Mystic JustOnce, look at all the hating noobs https://forums.sherdog.com/threads/conor-will-destroy-alvarez.3332079/)
*Tony Fergusson, Justin Gaehtje and Dustin Poirier
+Then we'd have a couple interim champs along the way
Khabib Nurmagomedov
(He would beat Conor, Justin and Poirier, the most dominant lightweight champion in history, but retired super early not having faced more than half the UFC top 10 lightweights)
---
As you can see, for the majority of the top lightweights so far in the short history of lightweight division, we had guys who were good wrestlers. Even Gomi in his early days could wrestle, and Tony comes from wrestling background as well, and Poirier took up wrestling pretty well, lone exception probably being the Wheaties champion Pettis.
For the fight this weekend, Chandler fits the bill so much better, of the typical mold of the lightweight elite champion, though he in no way shape or form deserves this title shot, but perhaps Oliveira will be the dawn of new era.
