Hello,
Here's my take on what's the best division in the UFC right now based on 4 criterias (Contenders, How many times the belt has been defended?, Champion, Excitement) :
Heavyweight division
Contenders : 3/10
The situation is abysmal. Outside of Volkov who should be on a 5 fight win streak, the next fighter on the top 30 who has more than 3 wins in a row is Waldes Cortes-Acosta...
How many times has the belt been defended? : 2/10
No need to say anything more. Somehow the two title fight in 2024 feels like none.
Champion : 8/10
Without the current shitshow of whether or not they will fight, we would be lucky to have Tom Aspinall or Jon Jones. Jon Jones has proven his capacity to generate big fights and I'm sure Tom will as well when he has the opportunity.
Excitement : 4/10
What should be one of the most exciting division for finishes feels dread at the moment. The fun power puncher are in a down slope right now (Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, Sergei Pavlovich) which leaves the division at the mercy of low level of grappling.
Light Heavyweight division
Contenders : 5/10
Much better than heavyweight but still much worse than any of the other men's division. We have Pereira who was on a 5 fight winning streak before losing to Ankalaev, Ulberg with 8 fight win streak, Reyes & Bogdan & Azamat who are on a 3 fight win streak.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 10/10
Thanks to Pereira, the belt was defended three times last year.
Champion : 7/10
Ankalaev doesn't have the approval rate of Pereira but we cannot deny that some of the aura was transferred to him.
Excitement : 9/10
Just Jiri and Alex alone are enough to bring us legendary fights that make this division a must watch.
Middleweight division
Contenders : 9/10
The list of contenders is insane at middleweight. We have Khamzat next on a 8 fight mauling win streak, Caio & Fluffy Hernandez on a 7 fight dismantling winning streak. Out of Bo Nickal, Joe Pyfer and Shara Magomedov, we should get at least one other contender.
How many times the belt has been defended? : 8/10
With two title fights in 2024 and another early February, the belt feels active.
Champion : 8.5/10
Not assuming of the role, DDP has proven that he's a vicious trashtalker and he has delivered his part in all of his title fights so far.
Excitement : 7.5/10
At times, this division feels stale with Strikland, Vettori, Dolidze and Allen. Then, we have guys like DDP, Khamzat, Whittaker and Pyfer who brings fight finishing potential at any moment.
Welterweight division
Contenders : 10/10
Betwen JDM, Buckley, Shavkat, Morales, Prates, they have a combined 29 fight win streak. Brady and Garry would each be on 8 fight winning streak if it wasn't for their only loss. How can we not call that the golden generation of Welterweight?
How many times has the belt been defended? : 4/10
With the list of contenders just named, we need to do better than one defense per year. The last few title defenses feels very weak for the quality of the division.
Champion : 7/10
Not the biggest fan of Belal at the start of his career, but I've been impressed by how much he has been able to improve over time with his work ethic.
Excitement : 8/10
The first matchup between the new generation with Garry and Shavkat was disappointing. Nonetheless, the rise of all these killers has been much fun.
Lightweight division
Contenders : 9.5/10
A new generation is coming. Arman, Paddy, Joel, Grant, Bahamondes, Ruffy and Ziam are combining for 29 fight win streak. As opposed to welterweight, lightweight feels a bit jammed up at the top with Poirier, Gaethje and Oliveira.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 4/10
Only one time in 2024. Similar to Welterweight, the same guys have been fighting each other for too long, they need to start including the new generation.
Champion : 8.5/10
I would have probably given a higher rating if it wasn't for the inactivity of Islam. His title fights have been great so far, his skillset is pound for pound at the top and his personality has exceeded what we expect for Dagestan's fighter.
Excitement : 9.5/10
As much as the division has been jammed up at the top, Olivera, Gaethje, Poirier, Islam have proven over and over that they can deliver bangers.
Featherweight
Contenders : 7/10
Not sure we can call them contenders yet. Outside of Movsar who's on a 9 fight win streak and Lerone who's on a 8 fight win streak, we have the Jean Silva, Zalal, Chepe, Steve Garcia who are combined on a 20 fight win streak. Although Silva seems ready to jump in as a top contenders, the rest of the guys still seems far away from the top.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 7/10
Although we had 2 title fights in 2024, the belt feels inactive. This might be because of Ilia vacating but hopefully with Volk at the top, we will have title fights soon.
Champion : 9/10
Outside of Pereira who lost the best, Volk just might be the best champion for the UFC right now. Great personality, garanteed 2 fights per year, great fights, what could we ask more of Volk?
Excitement : 8.5/10
The old guard of the division with Volk, Holloway, Cattar, Ortega, Yair have all delivered great moments. As much as they're starting to slow down, Jean Silva should pick this up and continue their tradition.
Bantamweight
Contenders : 5.5/10
The new generation coming up does feel a bit weak compared to the previous one (O'Malley, Umar, Yan, Sandhagen). The only major win streak in the division right now is Mario Batista with 7 and we know how we feel about that. Out of Marcus McGhee, Vinicius Oliveira and Montel, we should get another top contender.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 8.5/10
The best has been defended two times in 2024 and already in January.
Champion : 8/10
I feel this rating could be up over time. It feels like Merab could defend the belt every weekend if they had the contenders lined up. Not sure we will ever see a gas tank like him in the future.
Excitement : 7/10
This might be like a wine tasting scenario. Bantamweight skills are ridiculous with the talent at top but it's lacking the chaos of the divisions above.
Flyweight
Contenders : 4.5/10
KKF and Kape does bring a little bit of heat at the top of the division. The rest of the contenders feel weak right now with only Tagir Ulanbekov and Joshua Van next up both on a 3 fight win streak. No major win streak yet but out of Estevam, Lima and Kavanagh, we should have at least one.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 7.5/10
The belt feelt active in 2024, with list of contenders being so thin, nothing has been annonced so far this year.
Champion : 7.5 /10
For what Pantajo is lacking in personality, he makes up with his all out fighting style.
Excitement : 8.5/10
For a division that has lacked excitement at his start, flyweight has become fairly chaotic mixed their know high level skillset. Between Pantoja, KKF, Kape, Moreno, Royval, Temirov, Kavanagh, they're all capable of delivering bangers.
Ranking
Here's my take on what's the best division in the UFC right now based on 4 criterias (Contenders, How many times the belt has been defended?, Champion, Excitement) :
Heavyweight division
Contenders : 3/10
The situation is abysmal. Outside of Volkov who should be on a 5 fight win streak, the next fighter on the top 30 who has more than 3 wins in a row is Waldes Cortes-Acosta...
How many times has the belt been defended? : 2/10
No need to say anything more. Somehow the two title fight in 2024 feels like none.
Champion : 8/10
Without the current shitshow of whether or not they will fight, we would be lucky to have Tom Aspinall or Jon Jones. Jon Jones has proven his capacity to generate big fights and I'm sure Tom will as well when he has the opportunity.
Excitement : 4/10
What should be one of the most exciting division for finishes feels dread at the moment. The fun power puncher are in a down slope right now (Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, Sergei Pavlovich) which leaves the division at the mercy of low level of grappling.
Light Heavyweight division
Contenders : 5/10
Much better than heavyweight but still much worse than any of the other men's division. We have Pereira who was on a 5 fight winning streak before losing to Ankalaev, Ulberg with 8 fight win streak, Reyes & Bogdan & Azamat who are on a 3 fight win streak.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 10/10
Thanks to Pereira, the belt was defended three times last year.
Champion : 7/10
Ankalaev doesn't have the approval rate of Pereira but we cannot deny that some of the aura was transferred to him.
Excitement : 9/10
Just Jiri and Alex alone are enough to bring us legendary fights that make this division a must watch.
Middleweight division
Contenders : 9/10
The list of contenders is insane at middleweight. We have Khamzat next on a 8 fight mauling win streak, Caio & Fluffy Hernandez on a 7 fight dismantling winning streak. Out of Bo Nickal, Joe Pyfer and Shara Magomedov, we should get at least one other contender.
How many times the belt has been defended? : 8/10
With two title fights in 2024 and another early February, the belt feels active.
Champion : 8.5/10
Not assuming of the role, DDP has proven that he's a vicious trashtalker and he has delivered his part in all of his title fights so far.
Excitement : 7.5/10
At times, this division feels stale with Strikland, Vettori, Dolidze and Allen. Then, we have guys like DDP, Khamzat, Whittaker and Pyfer who brings fight finishing potential at any moment.
Welterweight division
Contenders : 10/10
Betwen JDM, Buckley, Shavkat, Morales, Prates, they have a combined 29 fight win streak. Brady and Garry would each be on 8 fight winning streak if it wasn't for their only loss. How can we not call that the golden generation of Welterweight?
How many times has the belt been defended? : 4/10
With the list of contenders just named, we need to do better than one defense per year. The last few title defenses feels very weak for the quality of the division.
Champion : 7/10
Not the biggest fan of Belal at the start of his career, but I've been impressed by how much he has been able to improve over time with his work ethic.
Excitement : 8/10
The first matchup between the new generation with Garry and Shavkat was disappointing. Nonetheless, the rise of all these killers has been much fun.
Lightweight division
Contenders : 9.5/10
A new generation is coming. Arman, Paddy, Joel, Grant, Bahamondes, Ruffy and Ziam are combining for 29 fight win streak. As opposed to welterweight, lightweight feels a bit jammed up at the top with Poirier, Gaethje and Oliveira.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 4/10
Only one time in 2024. Similar to Welterweight, the same guys have been fighting each other for too long, they need to start including the new generation.
Champion : 8.5/10
I would have probably given a higher rating if it wasn't for the inactivity of Islam. His title fights have been great so far, his skillset is pound for pound at the top and his personality has exceeded what we expect for Dagestan's fighter.
Excitement : 9.5/10
As much as the division has been jammed up at the top, Olivera, Gaethje, Poirier, Islam have proven over and over that they can deliver bangers.
Featherweight
Contenders : 7/10
Not sure we can call them contenders yet. Outside of Movsar who's on a 9 fight win streak and Lerone who's on a 8 fight win streak, we have the Jean Silva, Zalal, Chepe, Steve Garcia who are combined on a 20 fight win streak. Although Silva seems ready to jump in as a top contenders, the rest of the guys still seems far away from the top.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 7/10
Although we had 2 title fights in 2024, the belt feels inactive. This might be because of Ilia vacating but hopefully with Volk at the top, we will have title fights soon.
Champion : 9/10
Outside of Pereira who lost the best, Volk just might be the best champion for the UFC right now. Great personality, garanteed 2 fights per year, great fights, what could we ask more of Volk?
Excitement : 8.5/10
The old guard of the division with Volk, Holloway, Cattar, Ortega, Yair have all delivered great moments. As much as they're starting to slow down, Jean Silva should pick this up and continue their tradition.
Bantamweight
Contenders : 5.5/10
The new generation coming up does feel a bit weak compared to the previous one (O'Malley, Umar, Yan, Sandhagen). The only major win streak in the division right now is Mario Batista with 7 and we know how we feel about that. Out of Marcus McGhee, Vinicius Oliveira and Montel, we should get another top contender.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 8.5/10
The best has been defended two times in 2024 and already in January.
Champion : 8/10
I feel this rating could be up over time. It feels like Merab could defend the belt every weekend if they had the contenders lined up. Not sure we will ever see a gas tank like him in the future.
Excitement : 7/10
This might be like a wine tasting scenario. Bantamweight skills are ridiculous with the talent at top but it's lacking the chaos of the divisions above.
Flyweight
Contenders : 4.5/10
KKF and Kape does bring a little bit of heat at the top of the division. The rest of the contenders feel weak right now with only Tagir Ulanbekov and Joshua Van next up both on a 3 fight win streak. No major win streak yet but out of Estevam, Lima and Kavanagh, we should have at least one.
How many times has the belt been defended? : 7.5/10
The belt feelt active in 2024, with list of contenders being so thin, nothing has been annonced so far this year.
Champion : 7.5 /10
For what Pantajo is lacking in personality, he makes up with his all out fighting style.
Excitement : 8.5/10
For a division that has lacked excitement at his start, flyweight has become fairly chaotic mixed their know high level skillset. Between Pantoja, KKF, Kape, Moreno, Royval, Temirov, Kavanagh, they're all capable of delivering bangers.
Ranking
- Middleweight (33)
- Lightweight (31.5)
- Featherweight (31.5)
- Light Heavyweight (31)
- Bantamweight (29)
- Welterweight (29)
- Flyweight (28)
- Heavyweight (17)
