I can agree with you here.I think the sport is evolving, but to act like this generation of UFC talent is so far improved is laughable and its a common narrative. People just ASSUME the lower divisions got better, but I mean, at the top anyways, has 155? (No)
I can agree with you here.
But not Hendo...He has beaten 9 on that list. Insane
Completely lmao at the Cain Stan arguing there is no sea level. Jan dominated the grappling, there isn't an argument otherwise. He literally got a takedown in every round. The fight went to split decision my guy and cardio obviously played a part.
The current champ came up from 185. I don't think there's any question that the version of Evans in those rankings would wrestlefuck most of the guys in the rankings today.chael was always an 85er tho
lol at couldn't threaten with subs. Am I talking to Stevie Wonder?He got takedowns, but couldn’t threaten with subs or land any gn’p. Dude was gn’p Izzy in the 4th and 5th, but couldn’t really do anything more than land a TD after 1 round with Alex. Part of being a dominant grappler is having the economy of movement to keep it up for 3 rounds, which Jan clearly does not have. He tried to expose Alex’s grappling, but instead found that he doesn’t have the chops to pull it off. Close and competitve, yes, but just not quite good enough. Jan underestimated Alex’s abilities on the ground and blew his wad trying to capitalize on a hole that wasn’t quite as big as he thought it was.
By all accounts, Ank is expected to have that level of grappling, but just doesn’t appear to prefer using it. What I would love to see, and what would silence many, is Alex to defend against Ank on the ground for a few rounds and survive to get the KO later. I’d like to see him work through some more adversity from a more highly regarded grappler than Jan.
So everyone that Striker Fox brought up except for Chael (he said possibly, not that he would favor him). I'm not seeing how that's a hater post if you mostly agree. I think you just have to accept that the division was a lot deeper back then and filled with wrestlers. Gustafsson was a striker and still dominated Pereira's toughest fight via wrestling.Made a lengthy post of my assessment. Fully and openly acknowledge that there’s waaaaay better grapplers in this 2013 era than currently. Jones, DC, Davis, and Bader are terrible matches for Alex. Chael could get TDs all day, but he’s pillow fisted with terrible sub defense. I don’t see him beating Alex, but if he did, it would be via lnp.
Middleweight and Light Heavyweight have gotten worse, undoubtedly. I'd argue 170lbs has gotten worse too but it's more debatable. 155lbs 10 years ago had prime RDA, Pettis, Bendo, Thompson, Nate Diaz, Khabib as a rising contender before getting derailed by injuries...I'd say 155 was arguably better too. The sport really isn't evolving the way idiots claim, especially not with how the UFC is afraid to sign talent but mass signs bums these days.
That MW division was pretty good and it got better when Yolo and Mousasi climbed the ladder. I think there was a lot of great matchups that could have been made during that time but somehow got lost.I honestly think the ryan bader of this time would be champion pretty easy
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MW was better too, Same with Welterweight.
Maybe an unpopular take but I think late Glover (before his war with Jiri) was better than 2013 Glover.Glover: well rounded, criminally underrated. The last of the guys on this list to hold a belt, so he was actually still competitve in this current landscape while being old. Yes, he’d be competitive now, and would never fight Alex, but has the grappling to cause him problems. He’s his professor and trainer, after all.
Well that wasn't my claim, both weren't closeThey were still dry. Looked worse than that rnc attempt imo. If we’re going to tell lies itt and claim that Alex almost got rnd’d, than let’s at least ackowledge all of the sub attempts in that round.
Chael was a middleweight and he also probably was past it after losing 2 title fights.He dominated Chael that year
If he was he definitely wouldn't lose to Lil NogGood point
Still possibly good enough tho
That must have been before Rumble beat 4 people ranked above him, including #2 and #4. But yes, it was certainly a stronger division then.How does it stack up to today?
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Imo this is the one division I don't think you can argue has improved over time.
I can already see where this thread is headed. Veiled Alex hate thread.
There’s lots of name value there, but beyond Jones and DC (debatably #1 and #2 GOAT LHWs), a lot of these guys are way past prime or haven’t quite entered their prime. The one thing this era did have that is lacking today is a diversity in styles. There’s some serious grapplers there that would give Alex some problems.
Gus: Most famous for having a close first fight with Jones. Primarily a striker. Goes on a nice run at LHW with wins over guys like the janitor, old man Shogun and James Tehuna, then faces a murderers row of Jones, DC, and prime Rumble. No shame losing there, but Gus’ skillset couldn’t get him over the hump to beat those kinds of guys. Subbed by Davis, KO by Rumble, decisioned by DC and Jones (albeit in competitive fights). Well rounded at losing to the top guys.
Shogun: 2013 Shogun was toast. 3 knee surgeries later. Last memorable, meaningful thing he did was KO Machida in 09’. I’d pick prime Shogun over any LHW ever, except Jon, but this version wouldn’t dominate today.
Glover: well rounded, criminally underrated. The last of the guys on this list to hold a belt, so he was actually still competitve in this current landscape while being old. Yes, he’d be competitive now, and would never fight Alex, but has the grappling to cause him problems. He’s his professor and trainer, after all.
Bader: We all know what happens when Bader fights a large, intimidating force with TDD and brutal KO power. But, after Rumble violated him, he turned a corner. Honestly, I think that the best version of Bader went to Bellator. ~2016 Bader could be competitve today, but this 2013 version is still susceptible to being KO’d if you could avoid his pressure or intimidate him. Definitely has the wrestling to give AP problems.
Phil Davis really stands out to me as a lock to decision Alex. He only lost to guys with legit wrestling that could stuff a takedown (Bader, Rashad, Rumble). Alex can get taken down, for sure.