- Joined
- May 5, 2006
- Messages
- 614
- Reaction score
- 215
A narrative we see repeated again and again. But what does that even mean ?
These guys are at the top of the food chain. If you take top 10 heavies or even wider, there is only a few guys outside that could compete with them. Guys like DC or Jones who are basically GOAT contenders in their division. So, what makes for a strong division:
Exciting fights ? You can't expect 250lbs men to have the same intensity as the small guys and go at it for 5 rounds and especially not when 1 hit KO bombs are much more prominent. KO power rises much faster with size than chin durability.
Competitive environment ? That's what HW is all about. It's hard to keep a good wining streak going in HW and we've seen how hard it is to keep defending a title. Which brings us to:
Dominant champ ? We now have that too. That imo is more of an argument for a division being weak. LHW also has that but i don't hear the division being called weak nearly as much. Stipe is an undisputed champ but his wins aren't stomps for the most part and bar a few rounds in the last fight aren't close to being boring either.
Young blood, competitive up-and-comers ? I think this is a perception issue. Yes, there is a lot of veterans in the top of the HW but there is a lot of top ranked veterans in other divisions as well. The volumes are just much bigger lower you go, so it makes the HW look worse. I guess big athletic guys have better, more lucrative options. This usually holds true for other combat sports as well.
PPV draw ? This seems to be individual and not telling about the division strength.
Pride was an example of a good HW division ? I mean, most of Pride heavies fought all kinds of guys from all divisions. It was probably better for building their legacy and stats but doesn't really speak volume about that HW division.
So, if everyone claims the division is weak, i must be missing something here. What is it ?
These guys are at the top of the food chain. If you take top 10 heavies or even wider, there is only a few guys outside that could compete with them. Guys like DC or Jones who are basically GOAT contenders in their division. So, what makes for a strong division:
Exciting fights ? You can't expect 250lbs men to have the same intensity as the small guys and go at it for 5 rounds and especially not when 1 hit KO bombs are much more prominent. KO power rises much faster with size than chin durability.
Competitive environment ? That's what HW is all about. It's hard to keep a good wining streak going in HW and we've seen how hard it is to keep defending a title. Which brings us to:
Dominant champ ? We now have that too. That imo is more of an argument for a division being weak. LHW also has that but i don't hear the division being called weak nearly as much. Stipe is an undisputed champ but his wins aren't stomps for the most part and bar a few rounds in the last fight aren't close to being boring either.
Young blood, competitive up-and-comers ? I think this is a perception issue. Yes, there is a lot of veterans in the top of the HW but there is a lot of top ranked veterans in other divisions as well. The volumes are just much bigger lower you go, so it makes the HW look worse. I guess big athletic guys have better, more lucrative options. This usually holds true for other combat sports as well.
PPV draw ? This seems to be individual and not telling about the division strength.
Pride was an example of a good HW division ? I mean, most of Pride heavies fought all kinds of guys from all divisions. It was probably better for building their legacy and stats but doesn't really speak volume about that HW division.
So, if everyone claims the division is weak, i must be missing something here. What is it ?
