Is MW now a Dead Division?

Rob has cleared out the division as much as Izzy has Imo. If Rob wasn't there there would be a bunch of people - Cannonier and Till that could fight Izzy. It's only cleared out because Rob has been putting in work fighting guys that could have easily been fighting in title fights.

But yes, if Izzy beats Rob again then the division is slightly dead.
 
Its 2021 and Gegard Mousasi is still on pound for pound lists. We'll never see anything like it ever again. Almost 16 years straight as an elite, champ, top 5 - top 10....... in every top promotion. Clean , fighting on torn acls not healed yet.

His latest knee surgery doesnt sound good but if hes healthy and focused , I now can see the 35 year old( unbelievable- 18+ years as a pro) beating Adesanya. I think they offset each other on feet and if Izz comes in light , I can see Gegards top game being brutal.

* Mousasi only fighter in UFC to leave ( on his terms) on a 5 fight win streak. He beat up ( badly) every man on his final 8 fight deal.

Hes only 1 guy so the division is shite and I've been preaching since 17' , 18' - it's not just middle. Once all that talent from SFORCE combined with what they had , started to regress/ age - sustaining real top talent ( as we knew it) would be challenging.
The Fertittas were able to look downstream.

The UFC has izz and Whitaker.... and just like 170 & 205, they're waiting for special talent to fall in their laps.

135, 145 and 155 are the new crown jewel divisions in UFC- 2021.
 
ShowYouRoll said:
Weidman even if he got past Hall wouldn’t have a chance, pre USADA weidman would, or maybe Luke
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Oh Izzy would have absolutely murdered him. I just find it funny that he might have actually got a title shot at this point.
 
If Izzy beats Rob again the drop in skill of contenders is a big one. Stylistically Brunson could be tough for him, if he fights like he has lately, and not jump into range with his chin up. To me, Costa has potential to be champion, even with the poor performance vs Izzy, but that remains to be seen. A rematch with Izzy is a long time away after that showing.

MW is all Adesanya now. So I suspect if he beats Rob, or one more, he'll challenge for the LHW belt again.

But MW has lack of top prospects who could replace the current guard. Edmen looked promising, but his weaknesses are shown, and those need a lot of work. Strickland could be a replacer.
 
There's always someone coming up - Makhmud Muradov, Andre Muniz, etc. Hell even Kevin Holland was almost there a couple fights ago.
 
DoctorDeelon said:
Oh Izzy would have absolutely murdered him. I just find it funny that he might have actually got a title shot at this point.
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For sure, pre USADA Chris might have something for him, but the Chris we all know since Luke and Romero beat him, can’t see it.

It would be crazy if he got a title shot for sure lol
 
greenhawk said:
1 Robert Whittaker- Already lost to Izzy. Getting the rematch because there are no other contenders.
2 Paulo Costa- Got destroyed by Izzy and is nowhere to be seen since then.
3 Marvin Vettori- Lost
4 Jared Cannonier- Lost his last fight
5 Derek Brunson- Gatekeeper material. Will lose to any top 3
6 Jack Hermansson- Same
7 Darren Till- 1-3 in his last 4
8 Uriah Hall- Has had 3 fights in 3 years. Loses to any top 5 .
9 Kelvin Gastelum- Surprised he hasn't been cut yet
10 Edmen Shahbazyan- On a 2 fight skid.

Now imagine if Izzy beats Whittaker again. Then what is left for him in the division ?
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It’s not great obviously with the division’s recent prospects failing to get over the hump into title contention and the contenders performing very poorly in their title shots.

Whittaker vs Adesanya II is still a big fight. Whittaker took a really poor approach to the first fight, and also appeared to be feeling the strain coming off a couple of wars whereas Izzy was building momentum.

Since then, Whittaker has fought the perfect amount for a guy at his level, enough to stay busy but also avoid burn-out. And by building back up patiently, he’s allowed Izzy to take some wear and tear and cool off a bit. And Whittaker’s team has had time to think through the tactics of dealing with Izzy.

You’re right though past that. Till *might* be a fun fight if he can get a couple good wins. The KG rematch interest nobody at this point. As far as the belt goes, we’re gonna need to wait a bit for someone to move in from another division or build up from the unranked.

Fun fights to be made below the title though.

Costa, Marvin, Cannonier, Till, I’d enjoy any of those matchups.
 
Imo Izzy's future would have been way more exciting had he beaten Jan ( I still think he could have too).. Bobby Knuckles deserves the rematch now don't get me wrong, but I can't help thinking it could have been Jones, which imo woulda been far more interesting, Gastelum rematch after Whittaker's is more likely than Jones now lol.
Don't hold up the division though right.
 
MW is shit in the UFC, so many great MWs outside the UFC:

Mousasi, Tokov, Ismailov, Mineev, Ridder, Salamu, Vanderford, Eblen, Rosta etc etc

They have done a terrible job scouting talent, Dana should be ashamed of himself
 
Mila is My World said:
Usman and Izzy have both done a great job cleaning out their divisions.
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Difference between MM and WW is there is guys on winning streaks that hasn't faced the champ in WW. Not the case in MW where everyone is coming of losses except Whittaker.
 
I don’t think it’s a dead division. Izzys just beat most top guys because he’s fantastic. Then you have a bunch of other really good fighters but they’re all competitive with each other so none standout. Hard for them to build a streak among all the sharks in the water
 
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