Will the real Champ-Champ please stand up....

All I know is there are 5 pictures of some of my all-time favorite fighters in here!!!


WAR YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!!
 
Not sure why they didnt let Cejudo go after the FW strap as soon as he smashed Dom. That woulda been a hard one to beat, 3-division champion.
 
Not sure why they didnt let Cejudo go after the FW strap as soon as he smashed Dom. That woulda been a hard one to beat, 3-division champion.
<WellThere>

....That answers it.
 
The problem is that going from contender to champ is dependent on being granted a TS and matchmaking in general.

Top contenders might suffer from poor management or just not be very marketable and get screwed out of rightful title shots for years. Think guys like Fitch, T Ferg, Raphael Assuncao. The reigning champ may not even be acknowledged the best fighter in the division and that's why these kinds of debates are subjective. MMA math and styles making fights are also factors in defining who is the "best."

McG had a decent claim to being the best at 145 (although he never fought Frankie and IMO full camp Mendes would have beaten him), but in Alvarez he was matched with certainly one of the weaker 155 champs of his era and McG never defended either belt. Ditto for GSP taking out Bisping. Those guys becoming Champ Champ is hella impressive but IMO can't compare to Jones, Anderson, GSP (and Aldo) cleaning out their divisions while taking on all comers for years and remaining on top.
I understand that and a lot of title contenders can be champions. I'm just saying it's harder to beat an actual champion at the time of the fight because they have something they don't want to lose. They are fighting to keep something, their status as a champion.
 
I understand that and a lot of title contenders can be champions. I'm just saying it's harder to beat an actual champion at the time of the fight because they have something they don't want to lose. They are fighting to keep something, their status as a champion.

Agreed. Risk-reward in Champ champ match-ups always favor the lighter champ. If they lose like Adesanya or BJ, they still retain belt at their original weight. But heavier champ must win to stay champ or has to get back in line.

But of all the Champ Champs out there, the guy I might be most impressed with is Patricio Pitbull in Bellator. FFS the guy KO'ed Chandler less than 2 years ago for the Bellator 155 belt. That guy could make waves in the UFC at either weight but sadly we may never see it.
 
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Nunes is the only real "Champ-Champ". She regularly defends both belts. The others are just pretenders and one-hit wonders.

Jarl
 
Agreed. Risk-reward in Champ champ match-ups always favor the lighter champ. If they lose like Adesanya or BJ, they still retain belt at their original weight. But heavier champ must win to stay champ or has to get back in line.

But of all the Champ Champs out there, the guy I might be most impressed with is Patricio Pitbull in Bellator. FFS the guy KO'ed Chandler less than 2 years ago for the Bellator 155 belt. That guy could make waves in the UFC at either weight but sadly we may never see it.
Interesting. I hadn't considered him. And you're right. There's so many match ups I've wanted to see him in over the years that I'll probably never see. Even if I do get to see a couple, it will almost certainly be poor timing in careers.

People are gonna shit on me for it, but I always low-key thought he could have been the one to give Khabib his toughest match at 155.
 
I dislike nunes the most. And I kinda see Cejudo and DC as frauds in this category. GSP would be my favourite of them. but the original would have to be BJ or Randy. (I can't remember off hand who did it first)

Conor is in his own leauge for being the first to actively hold two titles simultaneously. DC and Cejudo did it too, but each of them won a vacant title that was not lineal, (dc vs johnson, Cejudo vs morales) and i feel that that diminishes the accomplishment a little. Never for a minuite did I think that DC was the best LHW or HW in the world, but he just happened to hold both belts. and for what it's worth I thought Cejudo lost to johnson also.
 
Interesting. I hadn't considered him. And you're right. There's so many match ups I've wanted to see him in over the years that I'll probably never see. Even if I do get to see a couple, it will almost certainly be poor timing in careers.

People are gonna shit on me for it, but I always low-key thought he could have been the one to give Khabib his toughest match at 155.

He's a talent, that's for sure. I don't know if he's big enough to take Khabib but seeing him still in his prime vs. any of the UFC top 5 at 145 would be a treat. But re. weight class he's mentioned wanting to go down to 135 to become a Bellator champ champ champ. If Chandler wins the UFC belt, hopefully it raises Patricio's stock enough for him to get a good buyout offer from the UFC but that's a long shot.
 
Agreed. Risk-reward in Champ champ match-ups always favor the lighter champ. If they lose like Adesanya or BJ, they still retain belt at their original weight. But heavier champ must win to stay champ or has to get back in line.

But of all the Champ Champs out there, the guy I might be most impressed with is Patricio Pitbull in Bellator. FFS the guy KO'ed Chandler less than 2 years ago for the Bellator 155 belt. That guy could make waves in the UFC at either weight but sadly we may never see it.
It's harder moving up than moving down. Difficulty level is harder. Just not a lot of people try to cut down to try and gain a second belt, most try the weight class up since they don't want to be viewed as trying to take the belt in the division under them. Basically they are going for the harder challenge of fighting with a size disadvantage. Same results happen if they lose, doesn't matter if they move up or down in weight. TJ lost going down in weight and still had his BW belt and only lost it after failing his PED test.
 
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It's harder moving up than moving down. Difficulty level is harder. Just not a lot of people try to cut down to try and gain a second belt, most try the weight class up since they don't want to be viewed as trying to take the belt in the division under them. Basically they are going for the harder challenge of fighting with a size disadvantage. Same results happen if they lose, doesn't matter if they move up or down in weight. TJ lost going down in weight and still had his BW belt and only lost it after failing his PED test.

Agreed and good point - I should have said "the champ fighting out of his weight class," not "the lighter champ."

Of course the smaller fighter is at a disadvantage and that's why the lighter champ is less tarnished if he loses. But TJ is an interesting case because he went down to 125 where he had never fought (or cut down to) before. You couldn't say he was the bigger man because he legit weighed in at 125 and shed muscle mass to do so - if anything TJ was at a disadvantage because he would have been more depleted and dehydrated than usual. But fair fucks to both men as they agreed to fight at 125.

But it's also worth noting that weigh in vs. fight night weights are all over the map and can vary hugely by fighter. The best insight we have on this is fight cards under CSAC which have to disclose fight night weights.

https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/8/...ut-six-fighters-come-in-over-csac-regulations

When Garbrandt lost to TJ at UFC 227, he only weighed 142 in cage after hitting the scales at 135. That's only 7 pounds gained back in 24 hours and the same weight as Mighty Mouse and Cejudo who weighed in at 125 but gained back 17 pounds.
 
Agreed and good point - I should have said "the champ fighting out of his weight class," not "the lighter champ."

Of course the smaller fighter is at a disadvantage and that's why the lighter champ is less tarnished if he loses. But TJ is an interesting case because he went down to 125 where he had never fought (or cut down to) before. You couldn't say he was the bigger man because he legit weighed in at 125 and shed muscle mass to do so - if anything TJ was at a disadvantage because he would have been more depleted and dehydrated than usual. But fair fucks to both men as they agreed to fight at 125.

But it's also worth noting that weigh in vs. fight night weights are all over the map and can vary hugely by fighter. The best insight we have on this is fight cards under CSAC which have to disclose fight night weights.

https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/8/...ut-six-fighters-come-in-over-csac-regulations

When Garbrandt lost to TJ at UFC 227, he only weighed 142 in cage after hitting the scales at 135. That's only 7 pounds gained back in 24 hours and the same weight as Mighty Mouse and Cejudo who weighed in at 125 but gained back 17 pounds.
Yeah I didn't think that weight cut was the best move for TJ physically, but I guess he figured he would have a better chance challenging for the flyweight belt instead of the featherweight belt.
 
No I don't count Aldo as a champ champ because he never actually got the belt yet. Another poster sees him as one because he beat Frankie who had a controversial loss to Benson. I rank 2 division champs higher than 1 division champs, because I personally feel it's a harder accomplishment.
I can get disagreeing with my stance, which was semi in jest. But there is no way you can rank DC or Cejudo as greater champions than Aldo in terms of resume. Not all title wins are created equal, and some of Aldo's wins are just flat out better than the guys that DC or Cejudo took out to become double champs.
But it's also worth noting that weigh in vs. fight night weights are all over the map and can vary hugely by fighter. The best insight we have on this is fight cards under CSAC which have to disclose fight night weights.
Yeah, CSAC gave some really good insights. DJ is a lot bigger than most people think, but I still can't believe he is the same weight as Cejudo. My bets explanation is that maybe they weighed DJ earlier that day while he was still packing on weight or something.
Yeah I didn't think that weight cut was the best move for TJ physically, but I guess he figured he would have a better chance challenging for the flyweight belt instead of the featherweight belt.
Also probably a bit of Icarus since TJ, lets just say, was only as big and shredded as he was at BW with the help of science. SO he probably though the cut to 125 would be easier than it was.
 
Curious about a few things regarding the "Champ-Champ" status.

1) Who do you regard as the original "Champ- Champ"? I realize this is based on one's definition of Champ-Champ(that's why "you" is bold), I'm asking based off your definition)

2) Slightly less pertinent, but still, out of all the supposed Champ-Champs whom do you consider to be the most dominant?

3) Who is your favorite?

4) Who do you hate the most?

Is it....
Hendo?-
View attachment 852718

BJ?-
View attachment 852722

Randy?-

View attachment 852726

Conor?-
View attachment 852727

GSP?-
View attachment 852731

DC?-
View attachment 852730

Nunes?-
View attachment 852732

Or, Cejudo?-
View attachment 852733

*Honorable mention/Technacality* Vitor?
View attachment 852735

Pretty sure I put those in chronological order(with Vitor as an exception). So I'll start...

1. Original - Hendo
2. Dominant- Nunes
3. Favorite- Hmmm, tough call between Hendo and GSP, but I have to go with Hendo.
4. Hated- Easy call, Conor

So, sherpeeps, opinions-

1) BJ Penn - Warrior who fought anybody
2) GSP - Anyone not picking GSP is a hater
3) Cejudo - Henry is the man
4) Conor - Too many reasons to list
 
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Randy
Nunes
Conor
I dont hate her but I guess I have rooted against Amanda the most. Has to do with her being so dominant and beating Meisha.
 
I dont count GP titles as part of this.

DC was actually defending both which was kind of awesome,but overall this distintction can be a little overrated at times. Context matters.
 
He beat Edgar at FW while the latter was effectively champion at LW. Im mostly joking but also pointing out champ champ is pretty arbitrary and more a promotional achievement than raw skill achievement.
And everyone likely believes Aldo would have taken Pettis at LW when they were flirting with each other, before Dana put the Kibosh on that cuz he wasnt about to allow some stupid champ champ shit...
 
And everyone likely believes Aldo would have taken Pettis at LW when they were flirting with each other, before Dana put the Kibosh on that cuz he wasnt about to allow some stupid champ champ shit...
Thats too bad that it wasnt ok for Aldo but now its ok for...everyone else.

But...Aldo was tough to deal with for Dana,when he was champ.
 
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