What division are you most invested in?

[Doughie99]

For me, I'd say 155lbs LW division. So many great fighters there.
OK so the Khabib era is over (we think!) so now I'm interested to see who can step in there and become the new Champ. Dana obviously wants 1 more fight out of Khabib so he's said "no LW title fights until Khabib makes final decision". I'd really like to see Poirier get another title-shot.

170lbs WW : Personally I find Usman, although very good, but rather boring. I'd like to see him lose to be honest (nothing against him though), so....I'm invested a bit in 170lbs.

145lbs : There's some really good new fighters there, very promising. I'm looking forward to Ortega vs Volka, not sure what will happen there.

Nunes I think is close to retiring too, so I think in 2021 we will get :
- Nunes retires
- Stipe Miocic retires

I do strongly believe that UFC are VERY aware that a lot of their stars or previous stars have quit / retired / lost / not-what-they-once-were and I think they've been searching hard for new fighters to find new stars. Khimaev is one that Dana obviously is hyping a lot and he does look very good. Time will tell on that one.
- I do think the Contender series is really designed to find the Next UFC Big Star and this is why they're giving out a lot of contracts to a lot of fighters in the hope 2 or 3 WILL BE the next huge thing.

 

[SATW]

In LW even the 10-15 ranked fighters bringing crazy wars
LW is definitely the most rewarding to watch

 

[Egészségére!]

Joy

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

welterweight was not an answer I expected anyone to say. Is there a particular fighter you’re a big fan of there?

WW def wouldn't be my first pick but it is still interesting. The champ is dominant but hasn't really cleared out the division. I look forward to seeing Usman vs Burns or re-matching Colby. Moreover WW has possibly the best prospects in the whole UFC (e.g., Neal, Khamzat).

 

[Benoitthegr8]

I most enjoy the competitive spirit of LW and WW, that is when you can get the elite guys to actually stop ducking each other and fight...

 

[Better Every Day]

Strawweight

 

[Deleted member 580830]

All of them.

 

[capnlarge]

Lightweight

Featherweight

Middleweight

 

[Wonderfight]

Feather and Bantam

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

If you look at the history of the sport, guys who held the belt for a long time generally made a giant splash on their way to winning the belt. GSP and Anderson completely outclassed Hughes and Franklin, who were both really good. When they rematched it was just as convincing. Jones is another obvious example.

Volk arguably lost to Holloway in their rematch. I don’t think that’s a great sign. Doesn’t mean it’s impossible that he can win a few more in a row, but I wouldn’t bet on it. There are a lot of talented FWs out there who can give him a variety of looks, and I think it’s likely that one of them with beat him in his next couple fights.

I feel similarly about Yan. Either guy can keep the belt, but IMO he’ll need to take another leap in order to pull it off.

The difference imo is that volk dominated everyone except Holloway. I think Holloway was a tough stylistic matchup for him. Oddly enough volk fought different then his normal style. He had to think outside the box and adjust. I think his next 2-3 fights will tell us a lot. But something tells me he Willy go right back to bullying guys like Ortega and kz

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

LW has lost some appeal after Khabib retired

Because who ever gets crowned the LW champ you know they arent better than Khabib. It still feels like anyone other than Khabib as the champ isnt the real LW champ rn.

Although there are some cool match ups to make its gonna take time

I feel the same way. If tony became LW champ it wouldn’t be the same right now.

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

For me, I'd say 155lbs LW division. So many great fighters there.
OK so the Khabib era is over (we think!) so now I'm interested to see who can step in there and become the new Champ. Dana obviously wants 1 more fight out of Khabib so he's said "no LW title fights until Khabib makes final decision". I'd really like to see Poirier get another title-shot.

170lbs WW : Personally I find Usman, although very good, but rather boring. I'd like to see him lose to be honest (nothing against him though), so....I'm invested a bit in 170lbs.

145lbs : There's some really good new fighters there, very promising. I'm looking forward to Ortega vs Volka, not sure what will happen there.

Nunes I think is close to retiring too, so I think in 2021 we will get :
- Nunes retires
- Stipe Miocic retires

I do strongly believe that UFC are VERY aware that a lot of their stars or previous stars have quit / retired / lost / not-what-they-once-were and I think they've been searching hard for new fighters to find new stars. Khimaev is one that Dana obviously is hyping a lot and he does look very good. Time will tell on that one.
- I do think the Contender series is really designed to find the Next UFC Big Star and this is why they're giving out a lot of contracts to a lot of fighters in the hope 2 or 3 WILL BE the next huge thing.

I agree with you on the contender series. And just look at how Hardy and Neal have been fighting.

It’s a shame Dana is digging his heels in on the LW title. He might ruin some of these guys chances of ever having a belt.

 

[Peli]

Right now we’re in an odd spot. A lot of long time champions are stepping down, retiring, or being dethroned.
Cejudo retired
Khabib retired
Max Holloway was dethroned
Cormier retired
Stipe sure is close
Jones vacated
Izzy is talking about moving up
Usman is close to clearing his division If you don’t think he has already

And realistically this has all really come to a head in the last 6 months. A lot of the divisions I used to feel very invested in have lost some steam, and others like flyweight, I’m now suddenly invested in. So I’m interested to hear your thoughts. Feel free to discuss divisions that you’ve lost interest in as well.

None at the moment. If I had to pick, it'll still be lightweight being the most interesting if Conor is back and active but really I don't care about any division. I only care about fights right now. Right now I want to see Izzy Jan then hopefully Izzy wins and he can face Jon. Whether that's Jon as hw champion or Jon coming back to lhw.

 

[Peli]

I feel the same way. If tony became LW champ it wouldn’t be the same right now.

This reminds me of michael jordan when they said him winning too much was going to kill ratings and make it boring.

It's not the same parallel, almost the opposite but same principle. The new champion won't be as respected because he didn't go through the man to be the man and rightfully so imo.

Lightweight has definitely lost its appeal. I'm spoiled by khabib. I can't look at guys who's gone through wars to be champion and think this dude is the champion. At least not in the lw division where the last champ to do it always almost looked flawless each time.

But if I had to pick, gun to my head it's still the most intriguing division right now at least.

 

[Paynebringer]

I tend to watch divisions where my own natural weight lies MW or if not being lazy and getting into hard condition WW but I also have a hard interest in the LW division because that class brings so much action and various body types that can that class. From LW - LHW is where I find most interest HW as always been more spectacle than skill to me with the exception of a few Big Men that can actually bring game with their size...

 

[Doughie99]

I tend to watch divisions where my own natural weight lies MW or if not being lazy and getting into hard condition WW

It's an interesting point and I'm also a bit like that.
Obviously our bodyfat percent is not what a fighter's is (well.... i'm sure SOME Sherbros' are 5% bodyfat!) so I tend to "relate" to fighters around my height which is a smidge under 6feet, so that's another reason why 155lb and 170lb division is of interest. Most of those guys tend to be 5'10 to 6feet, typically.

 

[Pizza Werewolf]

 

[Adamant]

At this point, probably LW.

Ferguson
McGregor
Chandler
Poirier
Gaethje
Oliveira
Islam
RDA
Khabib (Potentially 1 more)

Aside from one or two, that's not even really getting into the prospects. It's stacked.

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

How is MW most interesting? Izzy has dominated the entire division. The heir apparent (killa gorilla) got worked by Bobby who got destroyed by Izzy. Paulo is a balloon animal, Till has proven overrated and Yoel is over the hill.

entire MW division >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Izzy

Thanks for the clarification I guess I no longer care about any of the 185 lb fighters I thought I did before your brilliant post. Thank you sir.

 

[315MMAFighter]

Its hard to be invested in the weight divisions for me nowadays. I used to be big into LHW & HW but not so much anymore if at all. I find myself following individual fighters now more than divisions