Does former MWs like Palhares having success at WW prove that MWs are underrated?

[WrestlingIsReal]

He had one fight @ WW which a lot of people doubted he could make 170. He got a quick Paul Harris type finish .... its too early to tell lets see how this plays out. If Shields loses I would like to see them fight.

 

[doomrider7]

maybe, but size makes a difference

How so given that Palhares is not a big guy. He has mass, but not anymore than several other guys down there and is only 5'8".

 

[ShagginTurtles]

Size is a big issue. LHW's have success @ MW Sonnen, Belfort and soon Lyoto

Harris has one win and Maia's biggest win is Fitch..

If Maia beats Condit, Ellenberger or Rory I'll see him as a better contender

 

[ironfist05]

Has always been. Haven't you heard the latest news? LHW is the worst division ever.


This is what happens when you have a dominant champion. And by dominant I mean fuckin dominant, not decisioner.

this whole "a dominant champ makes a division look weak" thing is one of the biggest myths in MMA.

GSP, while not a finisher, has made every opponent he has faced look just plain bad, like they didn't belong in there with him. He was just a step ahead of his opposition, yet WW is routinely listed as stacked. GSP's dominance (and yes he is, as you would say "fuckin dominant") hasn't made the division look weak whatsoever. Hell, WW has had nothing BUT dominant champs throughout its history, yet it's still stacked.

Aldo at FW is another example, he's easily one of the best fighters on the planet (I have him #2 p4p), yet FW is routinely listed as among the most stacked.

most of the best LHW's started exiting their primes (or were already past their primes) when JBJ became champ, and there isn't a sufficient crop of talents to keep the division stacked.

MW has been a. divided between the promotions (more so than any division above 145 except for LW IMO) and b. has legitimately been weak (although nowhere near as weak as the haters like to make it out to be) in it's past. It's building up now, that's good, but that doesn't make it a historically stacked division.


edit: Fedor too, he was one of the most dominant fighters of all time, yet the HW division he competed in is routinely mentioned as the strongest HW has ever been

 

[MacBarnacle]

this whole "a dominant champ makes a division look weak" thing is one of the biggest myths in MMA.

GSP, while not a finisher, has made every opponent he has faced look just plain bad, like they didn't belong in there with him. He was just a step ahead of his opposition, yet WW is routinely listed as stacked. GSP's dominance (and yes he is, as you would say "fuckin dominant") hasn't made the division look weak whatsoever. Hell, WW has had nothing BUT dominant champs throughout its history, yet it's still stacked.

Aldo at FW is another example, he's easily one of the best fighters on the planet (I have him #2 p4p), yet FW is routinely listed as among the most stacked.

most of the best LHW's started exiting their primes (or were already past their primes) when JBJ became champ, and there isn't a sufficient crop of talents to keep the division stacked.

MW has been a. divided between the promotions (more so than any division above 145 except for LW IMO) and b. has legitimately been weak (although nowhere near as weak as the haters like to make it out to be) in it's past. It's building up now, that's good, but that doesn't make it a historically stacked division.

This could not be more correct.

 

[Takamine86]

ok so you are saying there is a trend. Is there? Does it stand out from other patterns in other divisions with people dropping down?

There needs to be something unusual in order to be even suggestive.

You are trying to establish a pattern, not follow a trail of evidence to a crime. Single instances are useless in determining patterns.

Like I said already, I'm not referring to the Palhares fight alone. This isn't a single instance, there are plenty of former MWs finding success at WW. & because the WW division is considered by many to be the strongest division in MMA and many claim the MW division is weak, I simply asked does the success of the former MWs at WW prove that maybe we are underestimating the MW division.

 

[Kaioken x 10]

Well, WW is definitely overrated.

But I think it has a lot more to do with these guys who are moving down being fringe top contenders who just couldn't beat the very top guys at MW. So, it's not that they couldn't cut it at MW, it's just that they want a title and WW is the best way to go about it. For example, Maia has already lost against Silva/Weidman, no one really wants those rematches. But he's never fought GSP, so that fight is more intriguing to fans

 

[campbecc]

I think it mainly says bigger guys are tougher than smaller guys in general