Damn the LHW division is so shallow.

[bambammccoy]

Jones beat Gus on an UD. As far as Machida, Jones lost the first round, came back, adjusted, closed the gap and dropped Machida like a fly. I like how a guy chokes a dude out, drops him on the ground like a rag doll, and Jones hater's find a way to discredit it.

You saying any fight is easy is rediculous. Claiming that Jones had a challenge and all of a sudden I'm a Jones hater?

Lyoto won round 1 and got finished in round 2. Not easy to beat Lyoto.

Gus decision should have been split but he won with a decision none the less.

Don't make it so obvious that your so biased.

 

[bambammccoy]

I agree, with one addendum:
I think HW is actually better than LHW at the moment.

IN LHW, you have the top three as you mentioned, and nobody else of real relevance on the horizon.

And in HW there's the top two (JDS and Cain) with the possibility of a third (Cormier) belonging on that list.
Below them, you still have Barnett and Werdum as potential top-10 smashers (I think they're both leagues ahead of the rest of the division) who have a chance, however slight, to topple one of the big three.
Bigfoot, Roy Nelson, Schaub, and Browne are the Lil' Nog's and the Bader's of the division (with the possible exception of Browne who looks prepped to move up a tier).

Outside of Gus, Jones and possibly Glover, the rest of LHW looks like shit (especially with Machida and Mousasi dropping to MW).

I agree. Werdum and Barnette are not miles behind Cain and JDS like the rest are. Good point.

 

[Wariowokecancel]

Goddam it, it's not shallow, it's full of guys who on any given night could beat each other PLUS Jones.

 

[bambammccoy]

Accrding to UFC.com LHW has 31 active fighters while HW has 32 active fighters.
(35 fighters are listed as LHW but Bonnar, Griffin, Liddell and Tito are not active UFC fighters.)
If you can count the number it's obvious which division is shallower.

Numbers like that are abt 50% of it. What abt skill?

I could have a division of 30 fighters and they are all mid level but then I have a division of 20 fighters but majority of them are high-level and extremely competitive. I'd go with the division of 20 to be a more successful and interesting division.

 

[under_t]

Numbers like that are abt 50% of it. What abt skill?

I could have a division of 30 fighters and they are all mid level but then I have a division of 20 fighters but majority of them are high-level and extremely competitive. I'd go with the division of 20 to be a more successful and interesting division.

Skills mean nothing cause they are subjective evaluation.
Numbers are everything.

 

[bambammccoy]

Skills mean nothing cause they are subjective evaluation.
Numbers are everything.

Skill does mean something.

I'm sure there is an organization out there somewhere with way more fighters than UFC but they are all low-level guys which is why that organization will never be big.

 

[Halge]

When was it ever deep?

 

[Halge]

Its out with the old, in with the new. It happens.
Evans, Machida, Shogun, Hendo, Rampage....all huge names who are knocking on or have dropped out of the title picture for one reason or another.

Gustafsson, Glover, Cormier and Phil Davis are the new generation of title contenders. Beyond them, I don't see much to get excited about in terms of the title-picture.

Guys like Manuwa, Te Huna, Bader will always put on good fights and will have lengthy UFC careers but they're not gonna be breaking into the title picture.

Glover is 33, turning 34 in a couple of weeks. People have been on his nuts since 2010. And Cormier is 34 already. A lot of guys in the old generation are still younger than them.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

LHW is deep. It's just that Jones has destroyed them all.

Take Jones out of the division and you have a lot of great fights where anyone could win the title on any given night.

 

[Blah4]

Every division above WW is shallow

 

[thechoice2]

It's a shallow division filled with aging fighters that are well past their primes having rankings they wouldn't have if the division wasn't shallow.

 

[EliteLurker]

#1 Jones
#2 Gustaffson
#3 Davis
#4 Lil Nog
#5 Rashad
#6 Hendo
#7 Glover
#8 Sonnen
#9 Mousasi
#10 Shogun

Bader, Wand, Te-Huna, Jimmo, Thiago Silva, Manuwa, Cavalcante, Hamill, Perosh, OSP, Drysdale, Diabate, Maldonado, Prokrajac and Beltran.


So shallow huh?

But some of those fighters have lost in their 3-4 fights therefore are bad.

 

[bambammccoy]

It's a shallow division filled with aging fighters that are well past their primes having rankings they wouldn't have if the division wasn't shallow.

Boom. This

 

[JudontknowMMA]

I stopped reading at "glover looks ready to fight jones."

 

[JudontknowMMA]

They need to make a 230 division that bones can dominate as he is the only reason that 205 appears "thin."

 

[ferrisjso]

LHW is deep. It's just that Jones has destroyed them all.

Take Jones out of the division and you have a lot of great fights where anyone could win the title on any given night.

Besides WW and maybe LW LHW is still the deepest division. Let's look at all the exceptional fighters not named Jon Jones who are pretty good or great. Gus, Davis, Glover, Lil Nog, Bader, Shogun, Sonnen(for now), Rashad, Hamill, Thiago Silva, Te Huna, Hippo and maybe DC in the near future. Division's pretty stacked if people are still fighting over title shots the divisions far from empty.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Glover is 33, turning 34 in a couple of weeks. People have been on his nuts since 2010. And Cormier is 34 already. A lot of guys in the old generation are still younger than them.

Yeah, but both would beat any of the 'old guard' right now and I was talking about the title-picture...neither have a very long career ahead of them now, but they'll still be considered among the top 5 LHW contenders for the next few years.

Outside of the UFC, I actually can't see any prospects who could develop to be contenders one day. The only one that springs to mind, is Patrick Cummins.

Could it be to do with weight-cutting? Weight-cutting is bigger now than it ever has been, so some guys who could make waves at 205lbs are now cutting weight to be bigger, stronger middleweights? Just a guess.

 

[BuffaloEmperor]

I blame Jones for destroying the division. or father time .

 

[GenBright]

Anderson Silva lost. This is what happened '-'...
Lets face it, half of the LHW division top contenders were MW's who didnt want to fight the spider (Such as Machida), or, fought him and lost. (Chael, Vitor).

With Weidman as champion... Hopes of reclaiming the MW belt sparked again and people started an exodus back to the MW.

this!!!

 

[KyouLose]

A strong champion does not make a division weak.

This. This dumb thread has been done for every division that has had a dominant champ, and shertards just can't seem to comprehend why.

Here's a thread from a couple days before Anderson lost calling the MW division shallow:

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/lets-get-real-middlweight-division-one-weakest-2499639/

Here's a thread from a couple months later calling it one of the deepest:

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/middleweight-slowly-becoming-stacked-shark-tank-2553039/

You see, TS, you simply can't comprehend that a dominant champion makes a division look weak in comparison. If JBJ lost and there was more evenly matched talent, suddenly the division would become "deep". I think it's bullshit.