Hear me out:
Generally the higher weight classes have had less talent than the lower weight classes (LHW and HW). This could be for a number of reasons.. two of which: more pay in other sports for bigger better players, more rare to find bigger people than smaller ones etc. Especially now that Reebok has taken over and the top end of fighters are getting paid more than ever, it could be a less convincing for big athletes to commit to MMA.
The lighter weight classes generally seem to be a shark tank historically. There are more smaller people than bigger people and smaller people especially in America have a harder time competing in American sports which tend to require bigger bodies.
Even though the lighter weight classes hold the most records for title defenses in a row (which in theory would mean there is lower competition since the belt is changing around less offen), it's less a consequence of low competition and more about the fact that it is harder to win against other small fighters with one punch and due to the sheer volume of smaller fighters, there is a higher chance that one superior fighter would appear to dominate the rest. (At least this is my theory)
So my question to you is, shouldn't we weigh the smaller fighters in higher regard when it comes to P4P and GOAT talks? Yes, the bigger fighters would most likely beat the smaller champs in a fight but the smaller fighters have to be more excellent to remain in the top of the rankings.
On the other hand, it is way harder to hold onto the title at the bigger divisions since anyone can turn your lights off in one punch so longer title defenses at the higher weight classes are impressive.
Should the lighter fighters be weighed more heavily all time or do the bigger fighters have their own set of challenges which allows the smaller fighters to seem more impressive? What do you think?
It is as simple as this: I call it "body-to-world" strength.
There is a certain body size range,
which is optimal for the world (the realities of gravity, etc.), beyond which the extra weight of the person works against them.
This is WHY gymnasts will typically be 95 to 130 pounds ... and also WHY you will never see eight 220 pound gymnast.
The greatest gymnasts of all time, are ALWAYS smaller people, because they have an ideal "body-to-world' strength, which allows them to move freely without being taxed by gravity.
Conversely, even though a 220 pound man may be stronger, in his ability to weight lift, etc., the TAX OF GRAVITY impedes the larger man, to where he cannot move and perform like the smaller gymnast can.
These same truths apply to fighters. You will never see a heavyweight move like Dimitris Johnson.
Smaller-weight fighters are faster, move better, can keep a better pace, and can fight longer (at a faster pace) then much larger men can fight.
As such, true fight connoisseurs actually appreciate the lighter-weight fighters, because they realize they perform better, pound-for-pound.
