Genuine LMFAO @ including Hooker in this. Hooker is not a league above Mac Danzig let alone anyone relevant.
Poirier faced 1 up and comer in the last decade so that's a total lie. He's barely done anything since his fights with Conor FFS.... take a second to acknowledge just how much time has passed since he was actually on a streak and you'll realize how insulting it is that OP suggested he could get ANOTHER shot. That would be 3 title shots coming off 1 win in a row and 5 TOTAL... even Urijah Faber would scoff at that level of favoritism.
Gaethje has only beaten Fiziev in 2 close decisions so it is also false to suggest he has been actively fighting and knocking down potential prospects. Hey... at least he beat Poirier in their rematch but what else has he done in the last 5 years except lose gifted title shots? Just like Poirier, he has the 1 sloppy seconds win over Chandler (who is now 1-5 in his last 6) separating him from now ancient wins over retired stars... both are clogging up the division with their cherry picking opponents and repeated title shots. People hate to admit it because they're much more likeable/exciting but there really isn't that much separating their behavior from Colby Covington's.
Arman really hasn't done much of anything yet and is far from some proven entity. He was one of only 2 people ever who decisioned Charles (who has been stopped 9 times including 2 recent ones) and he's playing suit with the rest and sitting out for over a year waiting for a shot. In what way is he "leagues above" the rest of the division?
And then finally we have Charles who was actually the active, defending champion and thus has a completely valid reason to not be gatekeeping against up and comers. However, to no one's surprise, his schedule has been clogged up fighting the usual suspects (including 2 wins over Chandler, oo la la) further adding to the monotony of the division. While it's great that Charles is active and is clearly willing to fight anyone, I am hoping that he will actually give some new faces a chance now that he's lost 2 title fights convincingly and is in his late 30s. He's not an offender right now... but if we see Charles vs Gaethje 2 booked next, he'll quickly join the ranks.
So yeah I call BS on your "the old lions keep on fending off the new lions" theory. The LW division keeps recycling the same names because the UFC has been incredibly desperate for star power since Khabib/Conor retired and they did everything in their power to try and get either Poirier/Gaethje to get a belt.
The marketing has clearly worked on you but objectively, these guys (except Arman) are all several years removed from a significant win streak and are just cherry picking "low risk" fights against each other while preventing ANY opportunity for someone new to climb the ranks. How are new prospects going to get credibility when they don't even get the chance to fight name opponents? That's how WW ended up in the state its in with Shavkat being anchored by a win over a 40 year old Wonderboy Thompson... rank squatters are ruining the sport and I'll be glad when Poirier is gone for good