When did the Welterweight division get so stacked?

[Dacha]

Topuria is knockout machine.

But against someone as good as him but lankier in ww, you know what i mran.

 

[wrb]

Tbh honest GSP era was really weak
Actual era is also overrated

Your get shit for this one. lol

 

[World eater]

Shavkat will likely rule it in future imo.

A few years ago I thought the same, but he’s been so inactive and plagued by injuries, that I have no illusions anymore. If it happens, it happens. If not, oh well…

 

[Ozze]

Usman, Belal and Leon are kind of old news, but they'll serve as good gatekeepers. The rest is very good, hopefully the UFC doesn't fuck it up with the matchmaking.

 

[Ozze]

What was the top 10 during Usman's reign? I can't remember.

But when your defenses are Colby and Masvidal x2 it's definitely not a good look.

 

[andgonsil]

1. Carlos Prates
2. Ian Garry
3. Michael Morales
4. Shavkat Rakhmonov
5. Jack Della Maddalena
6. Islam Makhachev
7. Leon Edwards
8. Sean Brady
9. Kamaru Usman
10. Bumlal Muhammad

 

[Paolo Delutis]

I remember just last year Lightweight was the strongest division.

The top 10 in Welterweight could all be UFC Champions in a different timeline... straight killers.

1. Jack Della Maddalena
2. Islam Makhachev
3. Belal Muhammad
4. Sean Brady
5. Shavkat Rakhmonov
6. Leon Edwards
7. Ian Garry
8. Carlos Prates
9. Kamaru Usman
10. Michael Morales


Also, rank them from best to worst

U just been sleepin my guy...

WW never went nowhere ...just no dominant GSP

 

[mkt]

It's been stacked (at least periodically) for a long time. I remember when GSP was champ but there were prime or at least prime-ish

1. Fitch
2. Hendricks
3. Koscheck (still prime in the Hendricks fight...then fell apart)
4. Wonderboy (totally different animal than today. He KO'd Whittaker)
5. Young and upcoming Rory
6. Condit
7. Lawler, Shields and Woodley just coming over from Strikeforce
8. Alves
9. Maia right after he moved down from MW and before he was old
10. Palhares (not well rounded but a threat to anyone)
11. Hector Lombard (only fought briefly at WW but looked MUCH better there than MW. See his fight vs. Shields)
12. Nick Diaz, briefly. Tough opponent for anyone who couldn't wrestle him....and even for wrestlers with questionable submission defense

While I agree WW is getting more and more stacked now, I don't see Belal and a few others being champ during GSP's reign obviously or for the next few years with Hendricks/Lawler/Rory/Wonderboy in their primes.

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

Right around the time all the lightweights went to WW

 

[Beastslayer47]

When people used to say LW was the most stacked division, I disagreed. I always thought WW was the most stacked.

 

[mkt]

Shavkat will likely rule it in future imo.

I don't know. Giving Garry his first loss was impressive, but he barely won and didn't look like dominant champ material in a stacked division to me. We'll see

 

[Prazeres]

It "got stacked" because the UFC allowed for prospects to develop independently until they get in the top 15, having a bunch of guys on long win streak looks really good but it also means that they haven't fought each other as of yet.
Like not long ago, you would have Buckley on that list, because he looked really good on his win streak fighting old men until he faced one that he couldn't beat.
I'm not sure the likes of Prates or Morales are any better than him to be honest.

Obviously the division is in a really good spot at the moment with a lot of young and impressive talent, but the perception of it as the absolute best in the UFC derives just as much from the way it's been managed imo.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Does beating WB really have significant title implications though? It’s a decent win for an up and comer, but that’s about it, imo. Bonfim isn’t really in the “WW is stacked” discussions. He just cracked top ten and I suspect his ceiling has been realized.

I believe the reference is to WB being Shavkat big win to earn a title shot. Which people still think he should get 2 years after the fight.

Anyways ppl been sleeping ww > lw since probably the end of Charles reign as champion.

 

[laleggenda27]

The division is interesting right now, but I'm not sure I'd call it "stacked."

• Shavkat hasn't fought in a year and has some mystery injury. At this point, it's unclear how he'll even look when he comes back.
• Usman and Leon are on their way out of the sport.
• Prates is one of the most one-dimensional fighters in the division.
• Morales is still completely unproven. Hopefully he turns out to be the real deal.

 

[Brigfa2]

It was always stacked but your casual brain only realized it when Islam came.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

I believe the reference is to WB being Shavkat big win to earn a title shot. Which people still think he should get 2 years after the fight.

Anyways ppl been sleeping ww > lw since probably the end of Charles reign as champion.

Yah Shavvy gonna need a tune up imo. Been gone too long. WB’s time as an elite WW has come to a close, for sure. People still thinking Shavvy comes back to an instashot are out of touch.

 

[Westbrick]

"Nothing has ever been good"

WW is overrated as fuck forever, when that shit was good GSP quit

 

[HHJ]

WW is overrated as fuck forever, when that shit was good GSP quit

Ya mama

 

[kingmob6]

add Amosov to the mix

 

[mkt]

It "got stacked" because the UFC allowed for prospects to develop independently until they get in the top 15, having a bunch of guys on long win streak looks really good but it also means that they haven't fought each other as of yet.
Like not long ago, you would have Buckley on that list, because he looked really good on his win streak fighting old men until he faced one that he couldn't beat.
I'm not sure the likes of Prates or Morales are any better than him to be honest.

Obviously the division is in a really good spot at the moment with a lot of young and impressive talent, but the perception of it as the absolute best in the UFC derives just as much from the way it's been managed imo.

Morales will get a somewhat similar test tonight. Buckley showed the TDD of a 1990s kickboxer against old, weak-knee'd Usman. If Usman could simply touch his leg, Buckley went down. He couldn't get back to his feet either. He finally started stuffing TDs in the last round, but it was way too late.