Whenever somebody drops down a weight class, everyone expects them to be better. This couldn't be further from the truth, because ultimately you have to fight the other champion/highly ranked fighter at THEIR WEIGHT. I'm sure DC might have had more success wrestling jones if he got to come in with his HW body, and all the strength that comes with it, but he didn't. He had to cut, and in the fight Jon and Him were the same size, if anything jones was bigger than DC. Nobody DC fought could have prepared him for jones' skill level, especially no one at HW. It happened with edgar to. Because he did so well against bendo people thought he'd be able to take aldo down at will. Um no... A fight with Aldo at his weight is harder than a fight against benson, because aldo is a more skilled fighter. The only reason it's been working in the opposite way for guys like bisping, machida, and vitor is because MW is a less skilled division than LHW is.
Weight does matter, but the skill of the top guys can overcome that. Cormier clearly has easier fights for him at LHW overall, but he also wasn't automatically going to beat Jones because of that(Similar to Frankie-Aldo)
MOst guys move down when they are losing a lot, and it often helps to be fighting in a lower weight class. Look at lombard, or even your example of edgar. Edgar commonly won by narrow margins at LW, but is crushing guys at FW. It just so happens that Aldo is good enough that it doesnt matter. The champion is not the only fighter in lower weightclasses.
DC could be top 3 with ease at HW and I see him a solid number 2 at LHW.The guy is very good p4p , he might win the belt if he can make a MW )
They expect them to be better because they are heavier. They have weight classes for a reason, to protect lighter fighters.
Bones is a different animal to anyone at LHW. He has a base in wrestling but hes like Liam Neeson in Taken, he has a specific set of skills and body specifically perfect to rule the LHW division. Those spinning elbows are probably the deadliest attack in MMA. Besides a flash KO which anyone can get on the day he is unbeatable at LWH. In saying unbeatable I mean definitively flogged not just a touch and go decision aka Gus. The problem for any challenger is he is accustomed to a 5 round fight and everyone he has faced has wilted in the 4th or 5th round. He is amazingly coached and in saying that I hate his personality but as a fighter he is amazing.
your last paragraph isnt true "The only reason it's been working in the opposite way for guys like bisping, machida, and vitor is because MW is a less skilled division than LHW is." you base on what to claim that?
He was more succesful at HW because fighters in HW have such sloppy striking usually with a few exceptions. DC will have a lot of trouble in the future with guys like Gus and maybe even Anthony because of their superior striking, speed and excellent takedown def.
Well if you are fighting guys heavier then you and doing well it makes sense you would do better fighting guys smaller then you.
Sidekickpro24: You seriously believe that MW is a less skilled division than LHW? Both Machida, Anderson Silva are far more skilled than Jones but they happen to be smaller and less physical which is a huge factor in MMA. Machida could be a WW and Jones a HW, of course that played a huge factor in their bout. Jones is good, but he's not nearly as skilled as Machida or Silva in the striking department.
I agree with the general idea of your post, but MW is a shark tank. It might have been weak a few years ago, it certainly isn't now.
Depends on the who the champion is when you step down and the competition. For Example, Robbie Lawler stepped down and took the WW belt. But he couldn't find much success at MW.
Im pretty sure though that DC's motivivating factor for dropping to lhw from hw had to do with Cain his friend/training partner being champ, not because of a belief the comp was easier @ 205.
I never thought it was about taking a step down in competition. I thought DC did it because he wanted a title, and his buddy Cain was the HW champion. Also, a lot of guys do it because of things like height and reach. If you're 5'10 at HW and fighting a guy who is 6'7 like Browne, why not move down and fight guys with similar height and reach?
Edgar was crushing guys at lightweight also. Only his title fights were closely contested. He's just small.
Watch his fights against Sherk and Swanson. There is an obvious difference in how much his strikes hurt his opponents.
