I think they're stuck in a tough spot with Gus. He's had two very tough title fights and lost both which looks pretty bad on paper when you see he's also lost to rumble emphatically. They have to build him up again but not against cans... Maybe a fight with top 10 opponents like OSP or Bader to get him a little win streak going... I know Jones wants to fight him again but wouldn't make sense at the moment...
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When did Jones do a u-turn on wanting to fight him again? He clearly didn't pre-suspension....maybe because he knows he has to now win people over and can't really pull rank anymore given Dana allowed him back.
But yeah mostly agreed, the LHW has a setup for Dana if it all clicked.
Jones* vs Cormier II
Bader vs Gus*
Jones* vs Johnson
Cormier vs Gus*
Jones vs Gus II
Gus seems to come up short dispite bringing the best out of the best, so I expect this to end with Bader vs Jones in a nothing fight instead. Think all of the above matches for Jones easily do a million though should it go that way. But where he goes that I don't know, but new talent is always coming and we're talking 18 months to 2 years away.
But yeah mostly agreed, the LHW has a setup for Dana if it all clicked.
Jones* vs Cormier II
Bader vs Gus*
Jones* vs Johnson
Cormier vs Gus*
Jones vs Gus II
Gus seems to come up short dispite bringing the best out of the best, so I expect this to end with Bader vs Jones in a nothing fight instead. Think all of the above matches for Jones easily do a million though should it go that way. But where he goes that I don't know, but new talent is always coming and we're talking 18 months to 2 years away.
Jones still seems interested in fighting at Heavyweight at some point so there's that direction for him eventually. I really like the idea of Rockhold/Jones as well if Rockhold ever made the decision to step up to LHW which he's talked about before.
Got my UFC 200 ticket yesterday, it was so much easier than anticipated but that must be because no McGregor. Literally took thirteen hours of refreshing for UFC 194, took one minute yesterday.
I heard cage side seats were going for $1250 yesterday. I'd imagine they would've been more if Conor was involved.
Yep, prices went from $205 up to nearly $1,500. Still bringing my Irish flag, Joe Duffy got added to the dos Anjos Alvarez card so will have to go support him.
The trouble with Alex is he's lost 3 of his last 4 fights which makes it difficult to justify another fight with Jones or DC. As I see things now, the pecking order at LHW should be Jones/DC, Rumble/Teixeira, and Gus/OSP
Not sure I'd be having Gus below Teixeira. Glover still has a lot to prove IMO, would be interesting to see him against any of Gus, DC or Rumble who are all a step up from anybody he's beaten. Got to remember that outside of that Davis loss way back in 2010, Gus has only lost to three of the absolute best in the division. And when you look at it closer, the fight with DC was a split decision and some argue he won it, while many including myself feel he beat Jones on the scorecards too. Rumble is the only guy to go in there over the last few years and finish him. Looking at the fights with DC and Jones show us that Gus is right there even if he has now lost three of his last four.
I think Gus is right up there with Jones, Cormier and Rumble. I'd personally like to see him get Teixeira next.
I don't have him below Texeira but lets face it. Teixeira is on the upswing whereas Gustafsson has lost 3 of 4. A matchup against OSP would allow him to reestablish himself as a top contender. Teixeira would also be suitable imo. He can't face Jones or DC again until he demonstrates he can beat a Texeira or OSP calibre opponent.
Glover has asked for Rumble at the end of his fight, and i think it's a good fight to make. I'd like to see Gus vs Bader.
Completely forgot about that. Wouldn't mind that match. Both Johnson and Gus need to take something, both of those make sense. I think Bader would be a good rebound fight for Gus too which he'd win, didn't buy into Bader what so ever when they were bigging him up as a title contender.
Bader would be a decent Gus fight as well. He's already beaten OSP and lost to Texeira so that would be a decent compromise. LHW is probably the best division in UFC right now.
Just went through a handful of Rumble's fights on fight pass. If not for the fact that Cormier's head is made out of cement, Rumble should 12 fight win streak. He definitely must fight the winner of DC/Jones 2
Seriously ? I find it very shallow, one of the worst divisions actually.
LW and WW are the two standout divisions in my book, but FW and MW are also both better and deeper divisions than LHW.
To each his own, i guess.
LW is decent but not nearly as stacked as LHW. With McGregor's future at LW up in the air, Edgar himself may leave and Aldo really has nothing else to accomplish other than regain the belt. Mendes is also starting to fade a bit. MW is decent as well, but you really can't get the depth of competition as you have at LHW with Jones/DC/Rumble/Gustafsson/OSP/ and Bader each competing at a high level.
That's FW. LW is Dos Anjos, Nurmagomedov, Ferguson, Cerrone, Diaz, Alvarez, Pettis, Barboza...
Whoops, you're right. I don't really see much competition at the top of LW. It's basically a matter of RDA and Khabib .
For me LHW is one of the most shallow divisions. Bones and rumble are great. DC is one loss to Jones away from retirement and Gus has lost too many times to be in title picture. All the fighters below then are leagues away. I can't ever picture the likes of bader, osp etc giving bones or DC any problems
If you mean at the very top, i.e. true title contenders, i agree. Then again, in pretty much every division, 2, 3 or 4 fighters are clearly better and are fighting it out at the very top. The issue i have with LHW is, like @Dirty Schwein said, that the next contenders are lightyears away. A deep division for me is full of potential contenders, who may not be there yet but could be at some point in the future. I see no one at LHW.
That's pretty much how i see things as well - but I don't see legitimate contenders at LW or MW as I do at LHW, where you literally have at 5 fighters who are capable of winning the belt. Excepting Mighty Mouse, Jones is the greatest fighter in the sport and Cormier/Rumble/Gus/Teixeira/ and OSP are right on his tail. Once Cormier and Glover wind down due to age, it will be a bit more sparse, but i think they have about 2-3 years left in them. But at a minimum, you currently have Jones/DC/Rumble/Gustafsson - all exceptional fighters who are each capable of winning the belt at a moment's notice.
Light heavyweight isn't a great division but I guess any of the top five could knock each other out, same goes for the heavyweight division. Lightweight and welterweight are definitely the most stacked divisions, Anthony Pettis is on a three fight loss streak!
That's one of the reasons I didn't count LW - If this were a year ago when Pettis was still considered a top contender, it would be more competitive.
Surely it's more competitive that last years champion has been beaten three times in a row?
Depends how you define competitive. For me, its about fighters who have a legitimate chance of winning the belt, as opposed to ancillary competitors who are generally fodder for the top two fighters in the division. At LHW there are at least 4, of possibly 5 if you count Texeira, who are realistically capable of taking the belt at a moment's notice.
What nonsense.
Barring Rumble, Jones has completely cleared out the division. Along with mighty mouse he's also the most dominant champion in the sport.
LHW is the Bundesliga of the UFC.
Barring Rumble, Jones has completely cleared out the division. Along with mighty mouse he's also the most dominant champion in the sport.
LHW is the Bundesliga of the UFC.
Cleared out infers that he's been dominant, when the reality is he needed decisions to get past Gustafsson (who sent Jones to the hospital) and Cormier. I think there's a valid case to be made that the entire division has been rebooted after Jones' suspension and there's no guarantee that the old order of when Jones was dominating will be reinstated, especially not with Cormier willing to basically die before losing to Jones, and the recent emergence of Rumble as a potential belt contender, the recent reemergence of Teixeira, and Gustafsson and OSP still waiting in the wings. Jones was criticized for being rusty against OSP and was not able to finish him despite OSP having a broken arm for at least two rounds.
Pound for pound: Jones or DJ?
As of last weekend, definitely DJ. He's currently the most dominant fighter in the sport imo.
I don't see how people think LHW is not shallow. It's probably due to the way Jones looked in his last fight but unless DC beats Jones, that division is pretty much dead in the water. Yes that's rumble and possibly Gus but beyond that, there is no up coming fighter there that excites me. I can't see the likes of Corey Anderson causing any problems for someone like Jones or rumble.
LW has RDA, with Khabib and Ferguson waiting in the wings. It also has Nate, who looks great given the right motivation. Alvarez ain't no bum either and Barboza and Pettis are very exciting despite the latter's losing streak.
Add to that the fact that there's Sage who can be decent if his time at tristar goes well and Poirier who is looking quite dangerous.
Finally, LW could also be the home of Conor McGregor should he decide to stop pissing around and stick to a division.
How can anyone say it's a thin division... It's probably the best division by a country mile.
As for P4P, if still say Jones. I don't think mighty mouse had fought the calibre of opponents as Jones to be P4P best. That would change if he went up to BW and beat Cruz/TJ but until then, it's got to be Jones.
LW has RDA, with Khabib and Ferguson waiting in the wings. It also has Nate, who looks great given the right motivation. Alvarez ain't no bum either and Barboza and Pettis are very exciting despite the latter's losing streak.
Add to that the fact that there's Sage who can be decent if his time at tristar goes well and Poirier who is looking quite dangerous.
Finally, LW could also be the home of Conor McGregor should he decide to stop pissing around and stick to a division.
How can anyone say it's a thin division... It's probably the best division by a country mile.
As for P4P, if still say Jones. I don't think mighty mouse had fought the calibre of opponents as Jones to be P4P best. That would change if he went up to BW and beat Cruz/TJ but until then, it's got to be Jones.
Everywhere has Jones number 1.
People? It's pretty much just Raoul. If Jones beats DC again and then Rumble there's nobody left for him to fight in the division. He might as well try his hand at heavyweight or call it a day.
I agree with Schwein, sadly flyweight hasn't provided the standard of competition that Jones has faced. MM has faced McCall twice, Dodson twice and Benavidez twice in his 11 fights at flyweight. This eludes to the lack of depth in the division which is unsurprising as it has been around less than 5 years in the UFC.
We already know what happens when MM meets Cruz at BW, although it went 5 rounds the decision wasn't even close and it's the reason MM dropped to flyweight as soon as the division was introduced by the UFC. It was 5 years ago but I'm not sure there is much to suggest he could dominate at the higher weight now (especially with Cruz back in the mix).
I like MM and none of that is meant to knock him, he is a fantastic fighter and continues to evolve but unfortunately he dominates in a division that hasn't had time to mature. This makes it virtually impossible to value his dominance in the same light as JJ.
Jones has fought and beat multiple ex-champions of the division (is there an active ex-champ he hasn't beat?), Cormier who has held belts at heavyweight (in other promotions admittedly) and pretty much every challenger other than Rumble. His last few fights have been closer affairs but I would argue that that is due to the strength of his competitors rather than anything else. Gus, Texeira and Cormier are all very impressive fighters.
I don't like Jones as a character but it's hard to argue that anyone has a better resume in the sport at this moment.
Also, yes Jones has recently gone 5 Rounds with a few opponents, but except Gus, he battered his opponent mostly in each fight.
I thought Gustafsson might win that before the judges decision. Jones' performance against OSP was quite poor, even he said he was basically fighting to not get clipped by Ovince so he could make it to the DC fight. Not with standing the fact that OSP fought the final two rounds with a broken arm, which if true, Jones should've easily finished him off before it ever reached a decision.
Yes I think Gus won that fight also.
With regards to the OSP fight, I have explained my feelings on that performance a few posts above. Regardless, one "poor" performance doesn't mean MM jumps ahead of Jones as P4P best.
I think Jones can go up to HW and still kick ass... Can't say I feel the same if MM goes up against the BWs
Its not so much Jones' bad fight, its the fact that Mighty Mouse has really upped his dominance since the Dodson and Cejudo fights. Jones doesn't have a guarantee on keeping the number 1 ranking just because he doesn't lose. Style and fight quality counts for a lot as well, and most viewed the OSP fight as a disappointing performance for Jones, whereas MM was stellar.
I do hope we see DJ v Cruz before too long. As good a fight as you could hope for really.
Damn, I'd forgot all about Cruz suplexing MM.