Should Zhang be the favorite? What if they fought at their peaks?

[Dragonseeker]

Prime Val too elusive and uses her grappling to win pretty easily.

I do love Dakota, but it's hard to see where she's really at. She didn't blow away Sumiko, who would go nowhere in the UFC FLW division.

Do we know Ditcheva's grappling skills though? Ditcheva's striking is something else.

 

[WOLVERINEKILLS]

I think Val is the better fighter and more skilled, especially in her prime, but Andrade isn't a good barometer. Weili herself destroyed Andrade.

Andrade was quick, explosive, strong and almost identical in build & size. Nowhere near as good, but definitely a lot of physical similiarities imo.

 

[Vigfree]

A close line is prob fair in this. I favor Val at evens.

That said I think prime Val is a pretty big favorite over prime Weili. People saying 60/40 -150 are off. It's probably more like -300 or -400. Val has regressed quite a bit. She's decently bigger than Weili, and actually is a pretty good Rose comp (Taekwando / counter striking expert with even better grappling bc she is much stronger and has better Judo than Rose). Rose presented a lot of problems for Weili. I know Weili has grown since then. But Val's one of the best ever, and in her prime she's a big favorite against anyone coming up from 115. If you are smaller than prime Val, I'm not really sure how you win other than getting lucky.

 

[Reptile_Bong_Hit]

A close line is prob fair in this. I favor Val at evens.

That said I think prime Val is a pretty big favorite over prime Weili. People saying 60/40 -150 are off. It's probably more like -300 or -400. Val has regressed quite a bit. She's decently bigger than Weili, and actually is a pretty good Rose comp (Taekwando / counter striking expert with even better grappling bc she is much stronger and has better Judo than Rose). Rose presented a lot of problems for Weili. I know Weili has grown since then. But Val's one of the best ever, and in her prime she's a big favorite against anyone coming up from 115. If you are smaller than prime Val, I'm not really sure how you win other than getting lucky.

Agree w/ most of this.

However, and I couldn't believe this myself, but apparently Val weighs 135 lbs on fight night--and she says that's her walk around weight.

Weili weighed in at 127 lb (in cage) but claims to walk around at about 130 lbs. Meaning, Val's still bigger (plus I suspect she's a little leaner than Weili), but weight-wise, the size gap isn't as big as it seems.

That said, I still suspect that Val's upper body is functionally stronger (even if she couldn't outlift Weili in the gym). Not sure about their lower body though. That's probably Weili.

I also like the Val/Rose comp. However, Rose is a lot better on the ground than Val, by that I mean her BJJ skills, not necessarily "winning grappling and IQ." Rose's hands are also more threatening than Val's, even though I believe Val is the superior striker.

 

[Eater of Souls]

Agree w/ most of this.

However, and I couldn't believe this myself, but apparently Val weighs 135 lbs on fight night--and she says that's her walk around weight.

Weili weighed in at 127 lb (in cage) but claims to walk around at about 130 lbs. Meaning, Val's still bigger (plus I suspect she's a little leaner than Weili), but weight-wise, the size gap isn't as big as it seems.

That said, I still suspect that Val's upper body is functionally stronger (even if she couldn't outlift Weili in the gym). Not sure about their lower body though. That's probably Weili.

I also like the Val/Rose comp. However, Rose is a lot better on the ground than Val, by that I mean her BJJ skills, not necessarily "winning grappling and IQ." Rose's hands are also more threatening than Val's, even though I believe Val is the superior striker.

Yeah. Rose actually sits down a little on her punches and uses her legs more effectively when punching.

 

[CoconutHead]

Prime Val too elusive and uses her grappling to win pretty easily.

I do love Dakota, but it's hard to see where she's really at. She didn't blow away Sumiko, who would go nowhere in the UFC FLW division.

Remember she broke her hand in that fight. I think her striking is some of the best in the game. If she has good takedown defense she'll be a handful for anyone.

 

[xhaydenx]

Remember she broke her hand in that fight. I think her striking is some of the best in the game. If she has good takedown defense she'll be a handful for anyone.

She's a difficult fight for anyone right now. I think her tdd is pretty decent. I just still think Prime Val was a different beast entirely, especially with her footwork.

 

[Robbocop]

I reckon Zhang will be favourite in his next fight, but it's an interesting question, "What if they fought at their peaks", as his next opponent has yet to be announced.

 

[CoconutHead]

She's a difficult fight for anyone right now. I think her tdd is pretty decent. I just still think Prime Val was a different beast entirely, especially with her footwork.

No argument here. Been a Val fan forever

 

[xhaydenx]

No argument here. Been a Val fan forever

I don't know if I've ever really been a proper fan of Val just because she annoys me lol, but it's hard to deny that she was unbelievably good in her prime. Heck, she's still the champ now and amazing.

I feel sorry for her a little. She's declined so much lately, and even though she just left no doubt with Grasso and then schooled Manon, it would have been different fights altogether if she was anything like what she used to be.

Now she slows down after 2 rounds and footwork goes to the point where she's standing literally on the spot waiting to try and counter these faster girls. And she still wins lol.

She's a can now compared to what she was. Prime Val would slaughter this declined but still champ Val.

Like, you look at that Manon fight. Manon is a 1-2 fighter who just goes forward in her combos and who clinches a bit and that's about it. Val still had some issues with her. She wouldn't have touched touched Prime Val at all let alone bullied her way into clinches lol. Val would have outclassed her worse than she did Holly back in the day.

She was and still is on a different level.