At UFC 238, Tony Ferguson can become the lightweight GOAT

[old school 2]

The beating Vannata put on Tony in round 1 (4 knock downs, a stanky leg and a damn near finish) has never been done to Khabib who may never have even lost a round . You can’t rank them 1a and 1b . Khabib is 1 and Tony is 2-4 depending on who you ask.

 

[Joshuaace]

Tony is probably the most hittable fighter on the roster.

His striking defense stats do not support that.

 

[Babaganoosh]

To be considered an all time great, you have to win a title and defend it. Not just defend it but clean the division and own it for years.

 

[Martialarts123]

To be considered an all time great, you have to win a title and defend it. Not just defend it but clean the division and own it for years.

Who at lightweight has cleaned and owned it with a title for years? I’m assuming you think BJ is goat?

 

[Babaganoosh]

Who at lightweight has cleaned and owned it with a title for years? I’m assuming you think BJ is goat?

He has not even won a title let alone defend it. How does beating Cowboy make it so when the best at LW holds the real title? “GOAT” is thrown around for pretty much everyone. GOAT is reserved for the very best, You don’t get it by default. You have to prove it. Guys like GSP and Fedor are examples of all time greats in their divisions.

 

[Dark Individual]

Lmao at anybody being the LW GOAT when we have Khabib. If he beats Khabib, he can lay claim to that title, until then nobody else comes close to Khabib.

 

[Dark Individual]

A win Saturday night makes him a lock for top 2-3 I would say. If he ever beats Khabib he is without a doubt the LW Goat.

This is a very reasonable answer

 

[boss429]

He can become shit. Stop this bullshit, he never become champ. Until now, he is only a good fighter and nothing more.

Well to be fair he became champ by beating a fellow top contender (at the time) for the interm belt while Khabib became "undisputed" Champ by beating a guy ranked out of the top 10 (at the time) on one days notice.

It kind of seems he has just as much claim to the title as Khabib does since he's never lost since and has beaten another top guy while Khabib has a title defence against a guy who somehow remained ranked 2nd despite being inactive for two years.

That guy has also managed to kill the championship lineage of 2 divisions titles by being stripped of them.

 

[Fahrenheit1221]

He’s greater than khabib
Finishing Tibau in a round>Decision win
Pettis >McGregor(pettis has way more wins at lightweight)
Barboza =barboza
Trujillo =Trujillo
2016RDA>2014RdA
Kevin Lee>one day notice AL, AL only had one day making this gatekeeper win weaker for khabib
Thompson >Healy
Castillo<Johnson
Lando is another win for Ferguson
Yves Edwards>Tavares and everyone else on Khabibs resume

Ferguson is clearly the greater lightweight and if he adds cerrone to his resume he stakes a claim for goat status

Tibau = not relevant anymore

McGregor > Pettis based on name recognition alone and I loathe McGregor.

Barboza is a quality win for anyone.

Trujillo = meh

RDA = great fighter but incredibly inconsistent

I like Lee and Al but they are both overrated.

Definitely agreed on Thompson > Healy

Johnson > Castillo (No brainer, records be damned Johnson is the better win at this point.)

lol @ Lando even getting a mention, he will be in Bare Knuckle FC within a year or two.

Yves is a badass and a pioneer but I wouldn't sleep on Tavares. Yves was in the twilight of his career. At least Tavares had a little gas left in the tank.

A win over Cowboy will be a big step but Cowboy has a tendency to disappoint in big fights. Tony merks him. He is too well rounded and the technically superior grappler.

 

[IloveTHIS]

Lol, no it isn't. A bunch of people do think Penn won that fight, but it was really close.
Edgar dominated Penn in the following rematches anyways. Make any excuses you want for that, it happened. It is delusional to rank Penn above Frankie.

Penn went up in weight and won the belt over the most dominant champ in the UFC. Edgar cant get another belt going DOWN multiple weight classes.

And again...losing the second and 3rd fight doesnt change the first fight of what Penn did before.

But I really dont care if you disagree. I hate BJ. I'm not emotionally invested in this.

 

[Pakman]

dude, you can't be the "GOAT" of a division if you've never been the actual champion nor defended your belt a few times at the least.

Get the fuck out with this nonsense.

 

[ExitLUPin]

Current era records:

Tony 14-1

• top tier wins: Pettis, Lee, RDA, Barboza, Thompson
• mid tier wins: Vannata, Tibau, Trujillo, Castillo, Kikuno, Edwards
• low tier wins: Rio, Riley, Nijem

Khabib 11-0

• top tier wins: McGregor, Iaquinta, Barboza, Johnson?, RDA
• mid tier wins: Healy, Trujillo, Tibau
• low tier wins: Horcher, Tavares, Shalorus

Dustin 9-1 (1)

• top tier wins: Holloway, Alvarez, Gaethje, Pettis
• mid tier wins: Miller?, Green, Duffy, Medeiros, Ferreira
• low tier wins: /

agree with most of this but Healy was on 7 fight win stureak and just choked out Jim Miller. His only loss in the decade was to Josh Thomson in a back and forth fight (Healy took the 2nd clearly) and he was ranked top 10 going into the Khabib fight

not a top tier win but def higher than those mid tier guys. Id say high tier

 

[corrupted]

He is definitely capable. He needs better game planning and he has to beat Khabib. Khabib is the bar, he beats Khabib and defends the belt against the current top 5. The argument can begin. But with a guy undefeated in his entire career holding the belt .. The conversation surely only begins after you've beaten him.

 

[wearetheromans]

Uh George sotiropolous won like 8 in a row too

Let Ferguson win a belt first, if he can

 

[DM1982]

No belt, no GOAT.... simple as that.

You mean the belt that can be won by guys making their debut in the division?

GTFO with that.

GOAT is ultimately decided by resume of fighters beaten.

Not who UFC brass want to gift favourable title shots to.

Spoiler

Just a reminder Matt Serra and Michael Bisping won UFC belts - shit can happen. The belt does not have much integrity in UFC

 

[Bronn]

Ferg beats Khabib but gets knocked out by Dustin

 

[Communion]

I just wish BJ stayed at 155 his whole career

11-3-1 record at 155 (11-1-1 before Edgar). 5-11-1 not at 155. Why would you have wanted him to stay at 155?

 

[ConditFan]

To be considered an all time great, you have to win a title and defend it. Not just defend it but clean the division and own it for years.

I disagree. Factors out of a fighters control could prevent them from getting a title shot. Ferguson is a living example of that.

I would say Ferguson's resume of wins is more impressive than khabibs. The MJ loss hurts him though

 

[Po]

He’s greater than khabib
Finishing Tibau in a round>Decision win
Pettis >McGregor(pettis has way more wins at lightweight)
Barboza =barboza
Trujillo =Trujillo
2016RDA>2014RdA
Kevin Lee>one day notice AL, AL only had one day making this gatekeeper win weaker for khabib
Thompson >Healy
Castillo<Johnson
Lando is another win for Ferguson
Yves Edwards>Tavares and everyone else on Khabibs resume

Ferguson is clearly the greater lightweight and if he adds cerrone to his resume he stakes a claim for goat status

Almost getting knocked out by Barboza = barely touched?

 

[MPD-Psycho]

He has to beat the beeb.