The real reason HW is so bad is simple…

[kflo]

I'll take effectiveness over all that

Keep on thinking Holloway could beat him

Wtf? Holloway is a fuckin fw. Keep trolling.

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

the real reason is because rugby exists. people say NFL, but lots of those guys are like sumo wrestlers, they purposely eat themselves to that size. while in rugby you have to maintain a certain level of fitness because the game isn't played in 30 sec increments the way the NFL is.

so most rugby players are huge and yet still maintain a good level of fitness. these are the real HWs.

 

[HHJ]

yes because they have a size advantage, still doesn't mean they are anywhere as entertaining, athletic, or as skilled

Just because they are big doesn't mean they are any less entertaining athletic or skilled

 

[Lee_]

On thé other side of the coin, some of the best heavyweights we have seen could have likely made 205 relatively easy with minor changes and a cut. Fedor, Cain, Stipe, maybe even JDS and Werdum. DC did it even.
.

But the counterpoint to that is that DC was better at HW. Those guys may have a harder time fighting when they are that dehydrated. Being able to cut the weight doesn't mean you should, or that it is beneficial. There is a point of diminishing returns in weight cutting.

 

[Lee_]

Just because they are big doesn't mean they are any less entertaining athletic or skilled

No, but that is mostly the way it has been historically, including in boxing.

 

[Gotosleepho]

I think HW is a weaker weight division talent wise as a whole but they have had some great fighters in history as well: Fedor, Cain, JDS, Francis, Couture, Cormier, Overeem, Barnett, Cro Cop, etc.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

But the counterpoint to that is that DC was better at HW. Those guys may have a harder time fighting when they are that dehydrated. Being able to cut the weight doesn't mean you should, or that it is beneficial. There is a point of diminishing returns in weight cutting.

I disagree though, I think DC was a better LHW. If he had the discipline to stay around fight weight at LHW and if Jon Jones didn’t exist, he’d go down in history as the best 205er ever. His strength and wrestling were huge at LHW and I don’t see any LHW besides Jones, ever being able to beat a prime Cormier @205.

 

[Oozing BDE]

Human cockfighting does not pay well.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

HW has been pretty strong at various other points in time though. A decade ago you had Cain, JDS, Brock, Carwin, Kongo, Mir etc in the UFC and Strikeforce had Reem, DC, Werdum, Bigfoot, Fedor, Barnett, AA, Kharitanov.


On another note, you've gotta laugh when the ol' NFL/NBA excuse for Americans not dominating is now extending to MMA as well, a sport that was considered American as fuck not all that long ago.

 

[ryun253]

Remove weight cutting and the HW division will be pretty stacked.

 

[STRAWBOSS]

1.) The 1% of the population who truly can’t get to 205, even when in shape and cutting 25 lbs of water.

2.) LHWs who don’t feel like weight cutting because they are lazy.

3.) Fat people who won’t diet and train hard.

ok, i’m 3.)

wait, what are we doing?

 

[Drill]

Just because they are big doesn't mean they are any less entertaining athletic or skilled

Imma have to respectfully disagree with that.

 

[spinup]

There are not very many men on this planet who, when in athletic competition shape, cannot cut down to 205 lbs. Even most professional basketball, baseball, and football players could do that.

So you are left with 3 groups of people fighting at HW:

1.) The 1% of the population who truly can’t get to 205, even when in shape and cutting 25 lbs of water.

2.) LHWs who don’t feel like weight cutting because they are lazy.

3.) Fat people who won’t diet and train hard.

You’ll never have a talented division made of these men. 2 of the 3 groups are there out of laziness, and the other is so small that there just won’t be many talented individuals in it.

If HW was that bad, all the good contenders at 205lbs would rush to grab that easy belt.
But they don't.
Because they can't.

 

[spinup]

the real reason is because rugby exists. people say NFL, but lots of those guys are like sumo wrestlers, they purposely eat themselves to that size. while in rugby you have to maintain a certain level of fitness because the game isn't played in 30 sec increments the way the NFL is.

so most rugby players are huge and yet still maintain a good level of fitness. these are the real HWs.

Rugby players have two options for a UFC career reconversion.

-Cut down to 145lbs and become a boring champ.

-Drink your way up to 300lbs, cut to 265lbs, walk out to Celine Dion or the Spice Girls, knock out a fool every once in a while, celebrate by drinking beer from old shoes. Become a legend.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

Rugby players have two options for a UFC career reconversion.

-Cut down to 145lbs and become a boring champ.

-Drink your way up to 300lbs, cut to 265lbs, walk out to Celine Dion or the Spice Girls, knock out a fool every once in a while, celebrate by drinking beer from old shoes. Become a legend.

those are failed rugby players. i'm talking about real ones.

 

[ThunderL1ps]

Yet there are millions of flyweights who are the same weight as a normal average size 13 year old boy

People are just getting smaller and smaller these days, we won't be able to even see each other before long.

Keep drinking your Monster Energy drinks kids!

 

[spinup]

those are failed rugby players. i'm talking about real ones.

Do you know that every year, the pro Rugby players from Paris rugby club publish an erotic calendar. Google image "dieux du stade" , no homo.

 

[MCS]

If we get rid of all the excuses and focus on the main thing, it's pay. You pay them enough and they will choose MMA over a popular sport. They won't choose it for glory, as MMA has no history, their parents didn't grow up with it as their favorite sport that they pass on to their kids. They get together with other parents and would rather say "my kid plays football" than "my kid does MMA".

The solution for athletes to enter MMA isn't even a union or association. Those want minimum salary. That won't attract talented teenagers. A multi-million rookie contract will. That's why they try to get into college to play sports. Exclusive offers would. A scholarship, if you will.

You have Gable Steveson, who's, because of his wrestling base, perfect for a MMA (or UFC) scholarship. A weekly salary to train at a pro level at a PI with great coaching. And when he's ready they give him his first UFC contract, that could be 100k a fight to obliterate a low-level UFC HW as a -1000 favorite to smesh.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

the real reason is because rugby exists. people say NFL, but lots of those guys are like sumo wrestlers, they purposely eat themselves to that size. while in rugby you have to maintain a certain level of fitness because the game isn't played in 30 sec increments the way the NFL is.

so most rugby players are huge and yet still maintain a good level of fitness. these are the real HWs.

I agree theres a lot of potential HW talent in rugby.

The crazy thing is rugby genuinely is a criminally underpaid sport. Its old, its got a large talent pool, tons of infrastructure in a bunch of different countries around the world, a high level of professionalism and is full of "A level athletes", and yet even at the higher levels most guys are making less per season than main event UFC fighters make in a single fight, and unlike this drama with MMA pay, there isnt even any uproar about it.

It goes to show that people dont necessarily choose to play a sport based on how much it (potentially) pays too. Its more based on cultural reasons, exposure, geography, infrastructure to produce players etc etc.