Media Who is Justin Gaethje’s Best UFC Win?

[Ken Fresno]

Agreed he doesn't have any one big win. But his body of work still ranks him in the top 5.

Unfortunately, too many fans view rankings as static things. They're not. They're dynamic and constantly changing. One year's top 5 may not be comparable to another.

It should never be "has he done enough lately to deserve a top 5 ranking"; it always has to be "has he done more than any other 5 guys lately". And there are not currently 5 other LW's who deserve to be ranked higher than him today. There are definitely 3, and maybe (debatable) Conor.

Sure he got there by only beating Vick, Barboza and Cowboy. But he's rightfully ranked ahead of Felder (who got there by beating Vick and Barboza but lost to Perry) and Hooker (who beat Vick but lost to Barboza). And after Tony & Justin you have to go all the way down to Ferreira or Oliviera to to find someone else with a 3 fight win streak.

And then of course there's how he won those 3 fights.

And not that it's exactly pertinent, but Poirier and Conor got their LW title shots by beating FW's.

So where does all this leave us? Simply put, rankings are inexact models but they're all we've got. And Justin is rightfully up there in the top 5. Now all we can do is hope that his LW title shot doesn't get leapfrogged by a guy who refuses to fight LW's at 155....

Agreed on most of this, just not how rankings work. I agree that they’re dynamic and very complex, if done correctly. But they do take history into account.

Look at college football, for example. The reason they make such a big deal about pre-season rankings is because it affects future perception, and your movement through the rankings. Like if Alabama starts at #1 and loses 1 game in the middle of the season, they fall to around 6, and can easily climb back to the top 4 by the playoffs.

But if Michigan starts at #15 and they get to #10 by mid-season and lose, they fall to #20 and can never get back to the top 4.

That’s just how rankings work. Which is why Conor is above Gaethje. He was # 1 at 155. He is currently 1-1. His win was against the #1, and his loss was against the #1. Gaethje has never even beaten a title challenger. There is no way Gaethje is higher than him with 2 KO losses to guys that Conor KOd, until Conor loses to someone ranked lower.

Gaethje is on a nice little run. But he is Boise State, playing in Boise State’s conference.

Conor is Alabama

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Agreed on most of this, just not how rankings work. I agree that they’re dynamic and very complex, if done correctly. But they do take history into account.

Look at college football, for example. The reason they make such a big deal about pre-season rankings is because it affects future perception, and your movement through the rankings. Like if Alabama starts at #1 and loses 1 game in the middle of the season, they fall to around 6, and can easily climb back to the top 4 by the playoffs.

But if Michigan starts at #15 and they get to #10 by mid-season and lose, they fall to #20 and can never get back to the top 4.

That’s just how rankings work. Which is why Conor is above Gaethje. He was # 1 at 155. He is currently 1-1. His win was against the #1, and his loss was against the #1. Gaethje has never even beaten a title challenger. There is no way Gaethje is higher than him with 2 KO losses to guys that Conor KOd, until Conor loses to someone ranked lower.

Gaethje is on a nice little run. But he is Boise State, playing in Boise State’s conference.

Conor is Alabama

Funny that we twisted this into a Conor thread, when it originally wasn't. I suppose it was inevitable.

Becuase my entire point was that his body of work puts him into the top 5. And by every reasonable measure, it's a fact that he should be ranked above Hooker, Felder, Lee, Al I, etc, etc, etc. Regardless of the fact he doesn't that one defining win yet.

And until very recently, Gaethje was the one and only obvious choice for the next title shot, whereas now he's only one of two obvious choices. So hopefully they put this fight together, since it's the obvious #1 contender fight. Then we'll find out how good your American Football metaphor was. Cheers.

 

[Ken Fresno]

Funny that we twisted this into a Conor thread, when it originally wasn't. I suppose it was inevitable.

Becuase my entire point was that his body of work puts him into the top 5. And by every reasonable measure, it's a fact that he should be ranked above Hooker, Felder, Lee, Al I, etc, etc, etc. Regardless of the fact he doesn't that one defining win yet.

And until very recently, Gaethje was the one and only obvious choice for the next title shot, whereas now he's only one of two obvious choices. So hopefully they put this fight together, since it's the obvious #1 contender fight. Then we'll find out how good your American Football metaphor was. Cheers.

Ya I would rather they fight each other than both sit out. But we didn’t twist anything, as this was definitely a Conor thread. Or at least a response to Conor haters saying that Gaethje is getting leapfrogged. When he’s not. He is rightfully below Conor. If they fight, they fight, and we find out. If they don’t, Conor is first in line for the title shot.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

But we didn’t twist anything, as this was definitely a Conor thread. Or at least a response to Conor haters saying that Gaethje is getting leapfrogged.

if you came into this thread from a vacuum and with no baggage and read the OP, you wouldn't believe it was a Conor thread. because the OP isn't about Conor at all. it's asking what Justin's best win is. now, neither of us are stupid but re-read the OP, you'll see what i mean.

Or at least a response to Conor haters saying that Gaethje is getting leapfrogged. When he’s not. He is rightfully below Conor. If they fight, they fight, and we find out. If they don’t, Conor is first in line for the title shot.

and that's just where i disagree. and no, you don't have to repeat your arguments to me. we can agree to disagree.

Ya I would rather they fight each other than both sit out.

let's hope.

 

[Mamou]

Cerrone is better than Barboza

Both head-2-head and on paper

Maybe 6 years ago lol

 

[JKS]

Cerrone no question

 

[OmegaRugal]

Cowboy

 

[Ulti1]

Cowboy is

 

[Doughie99]

I liked the Michael Johnson win. Came back from adversity to get it done.