Will you consider Islam the LW goat if he wins (4th title defense)

[humdizzle]

defeats Charles
defeats Volk x2
defeats Poirier

and now... Moicano

is this as good as khabib's run of iaquinta, dustin, justin, and conor ? better?

 

[kingmob6]

Islam might as well pull out now. He won't get past Money Moicano. Benjamin Franklin is on his side.

 

[Luthien]

Moicano by KO

 

[OldBoy91]

Hard to say. 4 title defenses is more than any other LW has managed, but it's easy to make the argument that at least 3, if not all of Islam's title defenses have not been against the #1 contender.

Harder to say Volk didn't deserve the opportunity in the first fight, after an ATG featherweight run and he was the P4P top dog. But he was from the division below.

2nd Volk fight was absolutely not the top contender. Came in off the couch on a week's notice and straight off of a surgery. Also still from the division below.

Poirier was gifted a title fight as a sort of lifetime achievement award for a fantastic career. Was coming off of a single win against a barely top 15 guy after being KOed by Gaethje.

Now Moicano, again, unfortunately for Islam, is a short notice replacement but is ranked 10th I think. Also having beaten BSD and Jalin Turner before that. As much as I love Moicano, nobody could argue he's the top contender.

 

[Typrune Goatley]

No, I still have BJ Penn and Khabib ahead of him in all time Lightweight rankings. I would say Islam and Charles are about tied for 3rd and 4th best ever. Charles has a much better resume but Islam did beat him head to head, has a lot of title defenses and has been very dominant.

 

[krelianx]

He will a few more to surpass Khabib, if only because he hasn't looked as dominant as Khabib. I think if he gets this one, and one after, that should seal the deal.

 

[krelianx]

He will a few more to surpass Khabib, if only because he hasn't looked as dominant as Khabib. I think if he gets this one, and one after, that should seal the deal.

 

[laleggenda27]

Islam is great, but there would be a lot of asterisks around his title reign if it stopped after Moicano. Only 1 of his defenses was against a top 5 LW (Dustin), and I didn't think he looked particularly impressive in that fight.

In the end, I think Islam will end up with the best LW resume we've seen, but almost everyone will realize he's not the "best" LW we've seen. The best versions of Khabib and BJ were clearly better than Islam, but they didn't have the longevity.

Either way, in a sport this young, GOAT debates are pretty silly. In the next 20 years, the supposed GOAT mantle will be passed around at least 2 or 3 times.

 

[UppercutFromHades]

He is creating a great case for himself.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

No not LW GOAT. He will need to defend against reasonable #1 contenders. Volk doesn't count, Khalil Moicano doesn't count. I will give him Dustin. He needs to defend against Arman and then Charles and then winner of Gathje vs Hooker or some other winner of a title eliminator. If he speaks of moving up he should be stripped and whipped.

 

[tritestill]

Most accomplished, Khabib is GOAT LW.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Now Moicano, again, unfortunately for Islam, is a short notice replacement but is ranked 10th I think. Also having beaten BSD and Jalin Turner before that. As much as I love Moicano, nobody could argue he's the top contender.

I look at benson, Who had the same amount of title defenses as Islam and Benson Defended fought edgar twice, Nate diaz, Gilbert Melendez and pettis. That is a much harder line up for a champion.

 

[cws80us]

The fact that no one has defended the 155 title more than 3 times is a testament to how competitive the division has been. However, this would have to be somewhat suspect given that two of his defenses would be short notice fights. But at least this time it's not against someone coming off the couch. Also two were against a 145er. So it will be 4*

 

[HHJ]

People just be waiting around to try and put a nail in Khabib's legacy every LW title fight hahahahaha

 

[joy2day]

Nah. The sum total value of his resume isn't there yet.

 

[Johnnny]

defeats Charles
defeats Volk x2
defeats Poirier

and now... Moicano

All of those fighters have fought many times at featherweight in the UFC. So they have small enough frames to make 145 lbs. Not only could Islam never have made 145 lbs, but he really struggles to make 155 lbs. Dan Hardy has pointed out that Islam has cheated on the scale in Abu Dhabi. So he must have a bigger frame than fighters who were able to fight at featherweight. It is not particularly impressive to beat smaller fighters.

 

[MarioLemieux]

no lol Khabib #1 by far



Moicano is not even a real defence

- lost many rounds even in the minors
- struggled many times
- got knocked out
- got cut up and bruised many times
- loses to khabib every time they spar
- admits khabib is better
- coach says khabib is better

Islam is more well rounded but so is most of the ufc and they couldn't stop Khabib... Islam's top control and chin are not nearly as good

 

[smiles mma]

Yes. Record longest title reign and longest win streak at 155

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

No not LW GOAT. He will need to defend against reasonable #1 contenders. Volk doesn't count, Khalil Moicano doesn't count. I will give him Dustin. He needs to defend against Arman and then Charles and then winner of Gathje vs Hooker or some other winner of a title eliminator. If he speaks of moving up he should be stripped and whipped.

why doesn't volk count? He gave islam a harder fight than any lightweight and was p4p #1, is BJ penn not a good win on GSP's resume?

 

[surgeyou1]

Moicano would be a better win than Al Iaquinta