Logically speaking a strong division means the belt changes a lot. Nothing else makes sense

[Diamondsareforever47]

The argument that a division is strong while it has only 1 elite fighter who dominates everyone else is a objectively foolish argument.

In reality a division that has struggled to see a belt defended more than 3x or has never seen a belt defended 4x or more would logically be a hard division and logically can be referred to as stacked.

YOU may not think it is a hard or tough division but if you asked any casual or non MMA fan they would conclude a place were men struggle to defend and where the belt changes hands frequently shows how skilled the common opponent is despite what YOU an armchair fan thinks.

 

[HuskySamoan]

A belt changing often has less to do with a division being good or bad and more to do with there not being clear gaps in skill level. If you think the LHW division is healthy relative to depth, talent or skills to say 5 or 10 years ago I think you better be careful crossing the street because you're probably blind.

 

[tramendous]

Not necessarily. It just means theyre all closesly matched. The main skill level could still be low. On the other hand, its possible to have a stacked division but 1 guy is a once in a generation type outlier who the rest cant touch and so he remains champ.

 

[Diamondsareforever47]

A belt changing often has less to do with a division being good or bad and more to do with there not being clear gaps in skill level. If you think the LHW division is healthy relative to depth, talent or skills to say 5 or 10 years ago I think you better be careful crossing the street because you're probably blind.

Heavyweight (HW) is hard to defend at due to the fact that size is an equalizing factor and humans can only be so large and healthy. 7 footer roided men struggle to weigh over 310lbs unless they are on excessive amounts of drugs or very obese or a mix of fat all of which is unhealthy and negatively affects fighting and lifespan. Like some 6'9 Strongman weigh 440lbs like Hafthor did but it is not sustainable or healthy and now he weighs 320lbs.

Heavyweight is hard because guys are weighing 235lbs to 290lb range and most are fairly muscular and the human skull/brain/jaw has evolved to only take so much power no matter how tall or heavy you are. Thus 230lbers are Knocking Out 280lber- 350lbers in open weight boxing, MMA and in Pride or in history. But you rarely ever see the 150lbers KO +230lbers or a 130lb woman KO a 220lb man or a FW man beat a MW or larger.

Light Heavy Weight (LHW) is hard to defend for similar reasons to HW albeit they are just smaller and the weight ranges are less (than HW) between fighters usually only about 10lbs to 25lbs or 30lbs max. However, LHW has long had guys who could be HW's but diet more or are leaner and much faster.

Lightweight (LW) is hard to defend due to the amount of men globally that are that size so the talent pool is very large. Wetler weights (WW) are overly muscular LW framed sized men so the talent pool seems less than Featherweights (FW) and LW which most men are globally frame wise (if you then condition them with muscle) would be LWs or FWs based off their height, frame etc. MW's are very muscled LW framed men or are mostly in between that frame and smaller than a LHW or are a LHW frame but with a lot less mass usually.

To me the modern LHW division is not as talented as it concerns grapplers in terms of BJJ & wrestling skillset compared to the Jones era. However, the reality is it is a hard division to win at and all the fighters lack a clear skill set massively super advantage over the others which is what makes it very exciting as a sports fan. Also the modern LHW division is very striker heavy with many who come with decent pedigrees of striking.

 

[fightfan70]

dude, thats nonsense. just ask dana white.

the divisions are stacked with the very best fighters hand picked from around the world.

lol

 

[Pechan]

I personally prefer situations like the LHW division to say women's flyweight, the title fights are competitive and you don't know who is gonna take the prize home, with WFLY you just watch to see if is a boring decision or if valentina will actually finish.

 

[lepsahekim]

Not necessarily. It just means theyre all closesly matched. The main skill level could still be low. On the other hand, its possible to have a stacked division but 1 guy is a once in a generation type outlier who the rest cant touch and so he remains champ.

It’s also possible to have a once in a gernariton top champ and the main skill level could still be low. See Ronda Rousey. TS argument is just as valid

 

[GrantB13]

It means there's nobody that stands out above the rest for any length of time. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. People of equal but yet terrible skill will still trade wins. People of equal but great skill will also trade wins. It's when there's one guy with great skill that nobody else is equal to is when you get long title reigns. It depends on context.

 

[BowserJr]

The argument that a division is strong while it has only 1 elite fighter who dominates everyone else is a objectively foolish argument.

In reality a division that has struggled to see a belt defended more than 3x or has never seen a belt defended 4x or more would logically be a hard division and logically can be referred to as stacked.

YOU may not think it is a hard or tough division but if you asked any casual or non MMA fan they would conclude a place were men struggle to defend and where the belt changes hands frequently shows how skilled the common opponent is despite what YOU an armchair fan thinks.

I'd believe you if it weren't for GSP. WW seemed stacked when he was there and he dominated.
IMO it's cuz he was winning decisions. Dominant decisions but decisions nonetheless.

If he was making quick work of most contenders it would've seemed WW was weak

 

[daniel san]

Belt changing a lot or not says nothing about how strong a division is. If we only had 10 CM Punks at WW, the belt would change a lot but it would still be weak champs holding the belt. LHW may have depth, but the belt has recently been won by senior guys who were in the lower top 10 a couple of years ago. I think that tells you quite a lot about the division.