Pettis is the best fighter in the world today

[MikeyCanFly]

He's got as much wins by submission as all of Jones, Aldo and Cain combined. So while his wrestling might not be quite as good as theirs his overall grappling skill is certainly as good or even better.

And Cerrone has alms twice as many subs as pettis

 

[Steve08]

Winning 4 rounds against a fighter that hadn't lost a round (Jones-Cormier).

Jones is p4p #1 or 2, I never denied that.

It's still way too early.

Fair enough, I do expect him to beat RDA and Khabib in vicious fashion though.

 

[OliverAtom]

And Cerrone has alms twice as many subs as pettis

But only about half the amount of knockouts despite a dozen more fights on record. :icon_chee

 

[ScarfaceJr]

Strange because I consider him one of the weakest recent UFC champs.

My ranking (maybe I'm wrong)
1. Mighty Mouse
2. Ronda
3. Jones
4. Weidman
5. Aldo
6. Welasquez
7. Pettis
8. Dillashow
9. Lawler

You have MM and Ronda as 1 & 2....

You're rankings are bad and you should feel bad.

 

[Toco]

What 1 title defense can do for you these days.

well this is sherdog

 

[Toco]

coming for that belt

 

[Sirwastealot]

Pettis is a phenomenal talent, he possibly could get there.

But being the best is about more than just skill. Silva got dominated for 4.5 rounds and easily finished sonnen. Fedor got slammed on his head and won soon after. These are qualities you can't teach. Pettis hasn't really been tested like that, he was controlled by guida the whole fight and couldn't do anything about it.

Jones, on the other hand, has been tested more than once. On top of having an amazing skill set, he has the heart of a fighter. I don't like the guy but he is without a doubt the best fighter in the world today.

 

[Dynamite Right]

Strange because I consider him one of the weakest recent UFC champs.

My ranking (maybe I'm wrong)
1. Mighty Mouse
2. Ronda
3. Jones
4. Weidman
5. Aldo
6. Welasquez
7. Pettis
8. Dillashow
9. Lawler

Lots of Weidman cool aid in this post

1. Mouse
2. Aldo
3. Rhino Rousey
4. Velasquez
5. Jones
6. Pettis
7. Dillashaw
8. Weidman
9. Lawler

 

[Degen Gambler]

Pettis is a phenomenal talent, he possibly could get there.

But being the best is about more than just skill. Silva got dominated for 4.5 rounds and easily finished sonnen. Fedor got slammed on his head and won soon after. These are qualities you can't teach. Pettis hasn't really been tested like that, he was controlled by guida the whole fight and couldn't do anything about it.

Jones, on the other hand, has been tested more than once. On top of having an amazing skill set, he has the heart of a fighter. I don't like the guy but he is without a doubt the best fighter in the world today.

You make good points and I agree Jones body of work is way better than Pettis. When I consider the question of who is the best today the past body of work is not as important to me as most people would consider it. The question I would ask myself is "which fighter is most likely to go out and look the best in his next fight?" When I ask myself that question, the answer is Pettis. I could certainly be proven wrong but that is my hunch right now.

 

[Cosmic Cthulhu]

I don't like Jones, but recognize he's the best talent in MMA today.

Pettis is impressive as hell but needs to defend the belt a bunch of times before he gets spoken about as being the best...

... Let's see how he handles RDA and Nurmagomedov.

 

[BigMuffler]

Strange because I consider him one of the weakest recent UFC champs.

My ranking (maybe I'm wrong)
1. Mighty Mouse
2. Ronda
3. Jones
4. Weidman
5. Aldo
6. Welasquez
7. Pettis
8. Dillashow
9. Lawler

I would say

Jones
Aldo
MM
Ronda
Weidman
Cain
Pettis
TJ
Lawler

Close between Cain and Pettis now though...

 

[KarateKickbox22]

He is top a top 5 P4P fighter, and one of the best fighters the LW division has ever seen. I think he will cement his legacy as the 155 GOAT.

And also, Pettis would beat Aldo.

 

[BigMuffler]

Lots of Weidman cool aid in this post

1. Mouse
2. Aldo
3. Rhino Rousey
4. Velasquez
5. Jones
6. Pettis
7. Dillashaw
8. Weidman
9. Lawler

How can Weidman be below Dillashaw, he's undefeated and defended against Machida as opposed to Soto...

 

[workdiggitz]

its still way to early for that kinda talk. hes good. but lets face it. he is underactive. and lost to clay guida... there are so many great matchups at 155. he went on a great tear and won and has defended the belt but hes not even close to really making a "legacy" yet.

 

[KarateKickbox22]

I agree, but at the same time he is more beatable than some other champs.

Aldo v Pettis
McGregor v Aldo
Pettis v McGregor

The 3 fights i want made in 2015.

Are you suggesting that Aldo and Mcgregor would beat Pettis?

Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Charlestonboy]

Give the boy some time.

 

[iloveufc123]

Way too early to tell but as in right now, he's an exciting champion that's for sure.

 

[Degen Gambler]

its still way to early for that kinda talk. hes good. but lets face it. he is underactive. and lost to clay guida... there are so many great matchups at 155. he went on a great tear and won and has defended the belt but hes not even close to really making a "legacy" yet.

I agree. I didn't mean to bring legacy into this discussion. Its more about who is the man now that is most likely to dominate in 2015.

 

[bloodyknuck]

I think hes the most talented striker and has sure he would finish Melendez

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

He lost in 2011. This thread is about the best fighter in the world today. The current year is 2015.

oh wow that was that long ago....

I think Tj has the more recent loss then.