Hot Take: 185 is a better division talent/skill wise than 170

[AmbassadorFright]

Looking at things from an objective point look at the talent from 185 in comparison to 170. Dricus is a beast who is lethal everywhere. Compare that to 36 year old Belal Muhammad who is sound everywhere but elite no where. Khamzat beat Usman (who many still believe is the best 170lber today). Buckley who is now an "unbeatable monster" got KTFO any time he ever got close enough to sniff the rankings at 185. Holland even dropped down to 170 and had infinitely more success there. I wouldn't have said this years ago but 185 is a way more talent stacked division than 170 and its pretty clear at this point too

 

[joy2day]

Why does everyone on Sherdog claim objective truths when they are making mostly subjective claims? I think "objective" is code for "I'm right and you are wrong."

 

[Croton]

I was way more impressed with Holland at MW than his WW run. He took out Jacare, Anthony Hernandez, Buckley, Meerschaert.
Both divisions are pretty stacked right now in my opinion, so I can see it being the opinion of some.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

If I didn't have to see or hear Strickland again then I would agree with you.

 

[Lawrence]

Looking at things from an objective point look at the talent from 185 in comparison to 170. Dricus is a beast who is lethal everywhere. Compare that to 36 year old Belal Muhammad who is sound everywhere but elite no where. Khamzat beat Usman (who many still believe is the best 170lber today). Buckley who is now an "unbeatable monster" got KTFO any time he ever got close enough to sniff the rankings at 185. Holland even dropped down to 170 and had infinitely more success there. I wouldn't have said this years ago but 185 is a way more talent stacked division than 170 and its pretty clear at this point too

I think you have a point. And there have been way more fun fights at 185 the last few years.

However I think there is vast talent and excitement at 170 that has been blunted by MotherFucking Rank Squatting and the UFC letting it happen.

There are deadly savages waiting to get a crack at ranked guys.

 

[Skarsgard]

Dricus isn't elite anywhere. He's just physically gifted enough that he can cover the gap.
Khamzat squeaked by a short notice Usman who has been noticeably slowing down the last couple of fights before that.
Buckley and Holland are just another case of being in the wrong weight class. Arguing that would be like saying Strickland and Whittaker were just WWs who couldn't hack it in a tougher division.

 

[EndlessCritic]

Hot Take: Half of 185s top 5 (Strickland, Whittaker, Chimaev) are guys who moved up from 170.

In the case of Strickland and Whittaker, they were middling 170ers before moving up.

 

[AmbassadorFright]

Dricus isn't elite anywhere. He's just physically gifted enough that he can cover the gap.
Khamzat squeaked by a short notice Usman who has been noticeably slowing down the last couple of fights before that.
Buckley and Holland are just another case of being in the wrong weight class. Arguing that would be like saying Strickland and Whittaker were just WWs who couldn't hack it in a tougher division.

And Belal is elite some where? He's a 36 year old wrestle boxer with average striking. All he has is cardio there's no where he excells. Buckley was getting KTFO by Di Chirico and Curtis. HOLLAND got manhandled by Vettori and Brunson

 

[TerrorTimmy]

Khamzat squeaked by a short notice Usman who has been noticeably slowing down the last couple of fights before that

And Khamzat has done nothing since then, right?

Oh, wait.

It's almost like you intentionally didn't mention that he obliterated Whitaker. Maybe because it doesn't fit your bullshit narrative?

Too bad reality doesn't have the same biased that you do

 

[Skarsgard]

And Khamzat has done nothing since then, right?

Oh, wait.

It's almost like you intentionally didn't mention that he obliterated Whitaker. Maybe because it doesn't fit your bullshit narrative?

Too bad reality doesn't have the same biased that you do

I didn't mention Whittaker because I was responding to the Usman claim. He did have a solid win over Whittaker. I think that he got a little lucky that Rob had injured his jaw years ago, allowing him to dislocate the loose teeth, but he likely would have readjusted and gotten the tap.

We didn't learn much from that fight though. We know Khamzat is a solid frontrunner who is a steamroller when he can have his way. We don't know if he will still quit as soon as he slows down like we've seen in his fights against Burns and Usman.

That doesn't mean he sucks or that he has a shallow ceiling. Rumble was one of my favorite fighters ever and he was the absolute definition of a front-runner. Amanda Nunes had a legendary career despite wilting every time she faced adversity.

 

[Skarsgard]

And Belal is elite some where? He's a 36 year old wrestle boxer with average striking. All he has is cardio there's no where he excells. Buckley was getting KTFO by Di Chirico and Curtis. HOLLAND got manhandled by Vettori and Brunson

Belal is an elite wrestler. It's ugly and he rarely, if ever, gets the finish but he has done it to high level guys and made them look silly. If that doesn't make him elite, I don't know what our standards are anymore.

Buckley and Holland were in the wrong division. Strickland and Whittaker were in the wrong division. Remember how Rumble went from getting easily submitted by guys like Rich Clementi to outclassing Phil Davis by moving weight classes?

 

[witt1021]

185 is so deep and competitive that colby covington is considering moving up to 185 for a real challenge.

 

[Travis Alexander]

Both divisions are pretty stacked I’m excited to see WW finally starting to move forward as of Q4 2024… with that said MW has a ton of super talented guys I’m trying to see scrap. How is Izzy going to look in his next fight? How about Whittaker? I want to see the next couple guys up to bat in Chimmy and Borralho (who seem like the new guard). What about Fluffy I can see him doing huge things in 2025 as well (I’d love to see him vs Costa next would be a banger). Then we have guys like Imavov who is poised for some big fights. Add in the (albeit unnecessary) DDP vs Strickland fight and it will be interesting to see how MW shakes out here in 2025.

Still sticking with my dark horse in Borralho to shock the world this year though

 

[Herwald]

That's not a hot take. WW has been notoriously garbage for close to a decade. MW is consistently good-to-awesome.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

LOL.. who thinks Usman is the best WW today?

Also Buckley is not a monster.. he just beat a pillowfisted shopworn Colbi

 

[AmbassadorFright]

Belal is an elite wrestler. It's ugly and he rarely, if ever, gets the finish but he has done it to high level guys and made them look silly. If that doesn't make him elite, I don't know what our standards are anymore.

Buckley and Holland were in the wrong division. Strickland and Whittaker were in the wrong division. Remember how Rumble went from getting easily submitted by guys like Rich Clementi to outclassing Phil Davis by moving weight classes?

Khamzat is an elite wrestler, Islam is an elite wrestler, Khabib, Jones, DC, Cejudo. Yeah, I don't see Belal in the elite wrestler category because he's outgrappled a bunch of strikers with mid defensive wrestling. I think you're trying to make it out like Belal is a world class athlete and not am aging overachiever who is benefitted by the regression of 170 as are HOLLAND and Buckley, they weren't in the wrong division because size it's because they got their shit kicked in whenever they fought a ranked MW

 

[AmbassadorFright]

LOL.. who thinks Usman is the best WW today?

Also Buckley is not a monster.. he just beat a pillowfisted shopworn Colbi

Ilia Topuria and several MMA experts

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

Agreed, DDP, Izzy, Khamzat, Strickland, and prospects like Caio/Fluffy/Imavov are better than anything WW has to offer. WW doesn't even have good prospects aside from morales and prates

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Ilia Topuria and several MMA experts

Reality says Usman is 0-3 and hasn't won a fight since 2021... it does not matter what an autistic Topuria says... and the other MMA "experts"-

 

[Dreyga_King of Sherbums]

Hot Take: Half of 185s top 5 (Strickland, Whittaker, Chimaev) are guys who moved up from 170.

In the case of Strickland and Whittaker, they were middling 170ers before moving up.

DDP fought at 170 too before coming to the UFC