Strength in Depth: #15 in Every Division

[Siver!]

I had a stupid idea.

We talk about the 'depth' of divisions a lot, but what about 'strength in depth'?

It's all right having a lot of fighters in a division, but what's the quality like?

Let's look at the #15 in each division:

HW: Jhonata Diniz
LHW: Alonzo Menifield
MW: Bo Nickal
WW: Michael Page
LW: Grant Dawson
FW: Edson Barboza
BW: Montel Jackson
FLW: Joshua Van

Who wins these match ups in a generically vague and unscientific "P4P" way?

Diniz vs Van
Menifield vs Montel
Nickal vs Edson
Page vs Dawson

Curious to see how you guys rate these #15's and which divisions fare well and which don't.

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

Most potential is Bo but skill wise I think Dawson, Montel, and Van are the best #15's on there. Barboza is past his prime and on the verge of retirement so I don't think he's an accurate measurement for the bottom end of featherweight rankings tbh. MVP, Diniz, and Menifield all have glaring holes in their game too

 

[Siver!]

Most potential is Bo but skill wise I think Dawson, Montel, and Van are the best #15's on there. Barboza is past his prime and on the verge of retirement so I don't think he's an accurate measurement for the bottom end of featherweight rankings tbh. MVP, Diniz, and Menifield all have glaring holes in their game too

I'm gonna put you down for a:

Diniz vs Van
Menifield vs Montel
Nickal vs Edson
Page vs Dawson

Cheers, Sherbro!

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

I'm gonna put you down for a:

Diniz vs Van
Menifield vs Montel
Nickal vs Edson
Page vs Dawson

Cheers, Sherbro!

van badly outboxes diniz who has 1 round of cardio, Montel kos menifield with a straight shot since menifield strikes like a big oaf, Nickal probably outwrestles edson at this point like bryce mitchell did, Dawson blankets MVP on the ground

 

[Ares Black]

I'm gonna put you down for a:

Diniz vs Van
Menifield vs Montel
Nickal vs Edson
Page vs Dawson

Those would probably be my picks too, maybe Page over Dawson, just because that loss to Bobby Green was so damning.

 

[Siver!]

Those would probably be my picks too, maybe Page over Dawson, just because that loss to Bobby Green was so damning.

Go on bud, split the difference: Page vs Dawson, who you got? Locking in MVP?

 

[Ares Black]

Go on bud, split the difference: Page vs Dawson, who you got? Locking in MVP?

MVP knocks out Dawson after losing a round or two


Final answer

 

[DoctorStoppage]

Dawson is the best fighter there

 

[Hymen Crusher]

Bo is the best fighter there because he has an elite skill. My favorite is van, for some reason he is my favorite non contender small fighter.

 

[Siver!]

Bo is the best fighter there because he has an elite skill. My favorite is van, for some reason he is my favorite non contender small fighter.

I'm actually very surprised Bo is there, but there's no questioning his non-MMA pedigree. Very interested to see how they book him going forward.

He certainly doesn't top my list of #15's, but I get your reasoning absolutely.

 

[Hymen Crusher]

I'm actually very surprised Bo is there, but there's no questioning his non-MMA pedigree. Very interested to see how they book him going forward.

He certainly doesn't top my list of #15's, but I get

I'm actually very surprised Bo is there, but there's no questioning his non-MMA pedigree. Very interested to see how they book him going forward.

He certainly doesn't top my list of #15's, but I get your reasoning absolutely.

Me too. I think we all get mad at these dudes who skip the line. While I didn't find his win over Paul all that good it's still a win over a tough vet.

 

[laleggenda27]

Dawson is by far the best fighter on that list.

Interesting exercise, but picking a specific number ranking leads to very misleading results; specifically, as it pertains to aging fighters who are on their way out and young fighters on their way up. Often, the rising fighter is actually much better than his ranking suggests, and the declining fighter is much worse than his ranking suggests.

A more accurate gauge would be to compare the guys ranked 11-15 in the respective divisions.

 

[BowserJr]

My gawd HW, LHW and MW is shallow lol

 

[Dr Fong]

Dawson is the best fighter there

He is. But he's also in a division where rank squatting geriatrics reign supreme more than any other.

So LW is naturally going to have more 'depth' when people can't push through the immovable blob at the top.

 

[Siver!]

Dawson is by far the best fighter on that list.

Interesting exercise, but picking a specific number ranking leads to very misleading results; specifically, as it pertains to aging fighters who are on their way out and young fighters on their way up. Often, the rising fighter is actually much better than his ranking suggests, and the declining fighter is much worse than his ranking suggests.

A more accurate gauge would be to compare the guys ranked 11-15 in the respective divisions.

I agree, but I didn't wanna write a huge essay for the OP hahah

 

[Doctor Grudge]

#15 is perhaps the most political rank in the UFC. A lot of guys ranked #15 have no business being there.

 

[jeskola]

Dawson is the best fighter there

This by far. Some of those guys are on their way down the ladder and some on their way up. Hard to compare knowing that.

 

[Kenny Powerth]

Call me crazy but I still Meningfield has another run in him. He's got all the tools

 

[Siver!]

Call me crazy but I still Meningfield has another run in him. He's got all the tools

He's a monster physically. Tough ask against that Oumar Sy guy who will try to smother him and use fight IQ.

If he beats Sy, though, absolutely!

 

[vinnie245]

My gawd HW, LHW and MW is shallow lol

MW isnt shallow, UFC is just showing blatant favoritism to Bo Nickal, there are a bunch of killers just outside the top 15 (one of them being Robocop who is fighting Cannonier next week)
Hell there are at least 65 MW fighters on the roster which is almost LHW and HW COMBINED so theres guaranteed to be at least several great fighters hovering just outside the rankings.