MW Division. Stacked or not?

[Saskatoonmike**]

Yesterday 2 more top MW's in Belcher and Boetsch got knocked down the ranks with Philippou moving up into the top 10 by the next update.

With Palharas also losing recently that makes 3 top 10 fighters dropping down. Leben's loss will make sure that he as a perrenial fringe top 10 MW stays out for a while.

One view expressed by FlyThai yesterday was that yesterdays card and Philippou's win and emergence proves how 'elite and stacked the MW division is'. He compared it to the LHW division pre Jones when top LHW's were beating each other up and anyone could beat the other. I don't see MW that way. I think the division is struggling to find depth and strength.

How do you see the status of the contenders at MW? Ranks the division as a whole and your top 10 MW's.

EDIT (current top 10 and my top 10 revised)

Current top 10 others

1. Anderson Silva

2. Chael Sonnen
3. Chris Weidman
4. Michael Bisping
5. Tim Boetsch
6. Mark Munoz
7. Vitor Belfort
8. Yushin Okami
9. Luke Rockhold
10. Brian Stann

Other contenders:
Alan Belcher, Hector Lombard, Jake Shields, Alexander Shlemenko, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

my revised top 10 and others

1. Anderson Silva

2. Chael Sonnen
3. Chris Weidman
4. Michael Bisping
5. Yushin Okami
6. Vitor Belfort
7. Mark Munoz
8. Luke Rockhold
9. Phillipou
10. Tim Boetsch

other contenders

11. Hector Lomabard
12. Belcher
13. Brian Stann
14. Jake Shields
15. Jacare
15. Shlemenko

 

[OldBoy91]

This will just become another flame war between Anderson and GSP fans like all the others.

For what it's worth: Stacked.

 

[Level One]

Palhares? Top ten? lmao, get out of here with that shit.

Silva
Weidman
Belfort
Okami
Bisping
Munoz
Stann
Phillipou
Boetsch
Lombard

 

[SODACKER]

Not stacked. Never was.

 

[The Skilled Won]

MW was kinda weak b4 last night but its absolutely abysmal after last night...costas win proved boetsch was never close to a top 5 MW and certainly not a title contender much like weidmans dismantling of munoz proved his #3 ranking was quite possibly the most exaggerated ranking of all time...belcher was brought back down to reality and reminded us hes just that same old middle of the pack fighter we knew he was a few years back...2 so called "contenders" got knocked back down a few notches while no new contenders emerged...MW is def. stuggling, lacking depth, lacking any real star quality contenders...nobody stands out...theres nobody to get excited for...weidman is the only one to have shown some legit promise but then again he also lacks any truly great wins...bisping can never seem to get the big win he needs to bring him to that next level...MW is to the point where all the real contenders have already been beaten so now were scrapping the bottom of the barrel...

 

[SODACKER]

MW was kinda weak b4 last night but its absolutely abysmal after last night...costas win proved boetsch was never close to a top 5 MW and certainly not a title contender much like weidmans dismantling of munoz proved his #3 ranking was quite possibly the most exaggerated ranking of all time...belcher was brought back down to reality and reminded us hes just that same old middle of the pack fighter we knew he was a few years back...2 so called "contenders" got knocked back down a few notches while no new contenders emerged...MW is def. stuggling, lacking depth, lacking any real star quality contenders...nobody stands out...theres nobody to get excited for...weidman is the only one to have shown some legit promise but then again he also lacks any truly great wins...bisping can never seem to get the big win he needs to bring him to that next level...MW is to the point where all the real contenders have already been beaten so now were scrapping the bottom of the barrel...

Weidman is really the only semblance of hope for real elite talent at mw other than silva.

 

[jameswolfe]

I dont get how the top guys lose in a division and all the sudden its not stacked. Two men enter a cage and one has to lose. The fights do not really tell you how stacked a division is by who wins and loses. If you see belts changing hands and top guys losing to each other all that means is that there is parity in the division. There is no big gap in talent within the division. It does impede fighters from becoming big stars though and I think that is why there is the illusion that MW is weak.

 

[IrrelevantPride]

MW definitely took a hit last night with both Belcher and Boetsch (who shouldn't have had such an inflated ranking anyways...). MW needed all the legitimate challengers it could get and its only left with Wiedman and Bisping, who has Belfort coming up. Hard to find the talent needed to put MW higher up. Nearly all of the top guys seem to have some holes in their game or some other missing factor to bolster the division higher.

Silva
Weidman
Belfort
Okami
Bisping
Munoz
Stann
Phillipou
Boetsch
Lombard

After, or even at, Bisping the division completely falls apart into mediocrity. Its not exactly reassuring that you posted a top ten list =/

 

[Free_MMAson]

sorry but I see it as kind of weak. A strong division has a lot of guys at the top with many recent (ie. UFC) wins, which is a result of having a deep division where they have fought many UFC fighters that by some twist of fate could have worked their way up to be the contenders. MW in my opinion does not seem to have this initial depth as well there is a lot of back and forth wins and losses except for of course Anderson.

This creates a feeling of uncertainty about the level of competition. Right now Bisping and Weidman are the only ones that have really worked their way up these ranks, and even Bisping has had some losses (Wanderlei, Hendo, and Sonnen) and even questionable win decisions that lead to uncertainty about him giving Anderson a competitive fight.

 

[MTFFC]

Belcher proved how much is overestimated, the next is to prove how overrated is Lombard!

I was disappointed with the performance of Costa, honestly I expected more from him

 

[Workaholic]

Not stacked and never has been stacked. Welterweight and Lightweight are stacked

 

[The Skilled Won]

I dont get how the top guys lose in a division and all the sudden its not stacked. Two men enter a cage and one has to lose. The fights do not really tell you how stacked a division is by who wins and loses. If you see belts changing hands and top guys losing to each other all that means is that there is parity in the division. There is no big gap in talent within the division. It does impede fighters from becoming big stars though and I think that is why there is the illusion that MW is weak.

because the notion that belcher and boetsch were top guys was false to begin with...theyre arent and werent...

 

[Saskatoonmike**]

MW was kinda weak b4 last night but its absolutely abysmal after last night...costas win proved boetsch was never close to a top 5 MW and certainly not a title contender much like weidmans dismantling of munoz proved his #3 ranking was quite possibly the most exaggerated ranking of all time...belcher was brought back down to reality and reminded us hes just that same old middle of the pack fighter we knew he was a few years back...2 so called "contenders" got knocked back down a few notches while no new contenders emerged...MW is def. stuggling, lacking depth, lacking any real star quality contenders...nobody stands out...theres nobody to get excited for...weidman is the only one to have shown some legit promise but then again he also lacks any truly great wins...bisping can never seem to get the big win he needs to bring him to that next level...MW is to the point where all the real contenders have already been beaten so now were scrapping the bottom of the barrel...

Weidman seems to be the most legit from a struggling pack.

Fact is there is no one he could really beat that would have given him the cred so many demand. If he fought and beat Okami last night he would get little cred due to Okami coming off losses to Silva and Boetsch, back to back. Boetsch is diminished to near can level by most Anderson die hards and so Okami losing to him would be used against Weidman.

Some were saying prior to Palharas loss that he would have been a better win then either Munoz or Maia. Now we know if he had beat him instead of one of the two, that win would be diminished to crap.

A win over Bisping, after his Sonnen loss would have been diminished as him beating a guy who loses every big fight he gets.

Vitor? Who has he beat would be the claim.

Boetsch, Belcher, Stann? A win over any of them would be diminished as quick as Munoz and Maia were.

that is the big problem with MW as a division. If your intent is to tear down the competition, as so many Anderson fans are intent on doing for Weidman, it is very easy to do.

 

[The Skilled Won]

Weidman seems to be the most legit from a struggling pack.

Fact is there is no one he could really beat that would have given him the cred so many demand. If he fought and beat Okami last night he would get little cred due to Okami coming off losses to Silva and Boetsch, back to back. Boetsch is diminished to near can level by most Anderson die hards and so Okami losing to him would be used against Weidman.

Some were saying prior to Palharas loss that he would have been a better win then either Munoz or Maia. Now we know if he had beat him instead of one of the two, that win would be diminished to crap.

A win over Bisping, after his Sonnen loss would have been diminished as him beating a guy who loses every big fight he gets.

Vitor? Who has he beat would be the claim.

Boetsch, Belcher, Stann? A win over any of them would be diminished as quick as Munoz and Maia were.

that is the big problem with MW as a division. If your intent is to tear down the competition, as so many Anderson fans are intent on doing for Weidman, it is very easy to do.

i think a win over bisping would have solidified weidman as a legit contender...im of the opinion that bisping beat sonnen (albeit closely) but even in loss, that fight boosted bispings stock up tremendously...nobody gave him a chance and he proved everybody wrong...bisping v. weidman would be a true #1 contender fight and the fight that shoud have beem made from the get go...

 

[Saskatoonmike**]

I dont get how the top guys lose in a division and all the sudden its not stacked. Two men enter a cage and one has to lose. The fights do not really tell you how stacked a division is by who wins and loses. If you see belts changing hands and top guys losing to each other all that means is that there is parity in the division. There is no big gap in talent within the division. It does impede fighters from becoming big stars though and I think that is why there is the illusion that MW is weak.

It has more to do with the consistency of the guys who make it to the top.

Not all situations are equal. the situation at LHW pre Jones and the situation at MW for years are very different despite them looking similar in very rudimentary analysis.

the top LHW's all beat one another but also then beat the lower contenders to remain at the top.

For years we have seen guys listed as top MW's, based on one good win streak, get beat by guys we see as lesser comp, and those top MW's tend to drop right out of MW rankings and not remain as top MW's.

MW just seems to be struggling to create the type of contender we all see as a truly top guy regardless of his occasional loss.

 

[reapfate]

I think stacked is the distance in skill from the champion and the top ten contenders. Right now MW is not stacked. Problem is Anderson. If he retires then it will be stacked.

 

[jameswolfe]

i think a win over bisping would have solidified weidman as a legit contender...im of the opinion that bisping beat sonnen (albeit closely) but even in loss, that fight boosted bispings stock up tremendously...nobody gave him a chance and he proved everybody wrong...bisping v. weidman would be a true #1 contender fight and the fight that shoud have beem made from the get go...

I agree with this. I said long ago that they shoulda scrapped the Bisping/Stann fight and have Bisping/Weidman as a title eliminator. It would have solved a lot of problems. Those two are the only ones anywhere near worthy of fighting Anderson IMO.

 

[jameswolfe]

It has more to do with the consistency of the guys who make it to the top.

Not all situations are equal. the situation at LHW pre Jones and the situation at MW for years are very different despite them looking similar in very rudimentary analysis.

the top LHW's all beat one another but also then beat the lower contenders to remain at the top.For years we have seen guys listed as top MW's, based on one good win streak, get beat by guys we see as lesser comp, and those top MW's tend to drop right out of MW rankings and not remain as top MW's.

MW just seems to be struggling to create the type of contender we all see as a truly top guy regardless of his occasional loss.

I know what you are saying, but at the same time this could also mean that if the lower guys are able to win against the top that they are close in talent to the top guys versus other divisions. Thus, talentwise that division could be more stacked than a top heavy division.

 

[Chramelated]

Weidman and Bispng are the only real contenders IMO. And Chris Weidman is the only one with a chance to beat Silva, I don't think it's stacked, but just my 2 cents.

 

[Saskatoonmike**]

I think stacked is the distance in skill from the champion and the top ten contenders. Right now MW is not stacked. Problem is Anderson. If he retires then it will be stacked.

Remove Silva and I struggle to see it as stacked.

as another poster said upthread

...

Silva
Weidman
Belfort
Okami
Bisping
Munoz
Stann
Phillipou
Boetsch
Lombard

After, or even at, Bisping the division completely falls apart into mediocrity. Its not exactly reassuring that you posted a top ten list =/