- Joined
- Sep 10, 2016
- Messages
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BJ's peak was phenomenal, even more so than Khabib's.
You could absolutely make the argument that the gap between him and his closest divisional peers at his peak was wider than Khabib's. BJ vs. Diego was the biggest mismatch in a title fight I had even seen (and still might be). Diego simply had zero chance.
The other side is obviously that his longevity was somewhat lacking, and his bouncing around in weight class, fighting out of weight class, etc...sort of limited his volume of career accomplishment and (along with a relative lack of work ethic some of his career) probably drained his batteries more quickly than might have otherwise been.
"Top 5/10" win has a different connotation over time as the game moves forward, which it certainly has for the smaller guys (unlike LHW and HW) and divisions get deeper in talent internationally. A win against a 7th ranked guy in 2008 is likely to not be as impressive straight across as a win against a 7th ranked guy in 2023, so a little bit of mental curving is required on that front comparing across eras.
I've always cataloged him in my head as a third-tier great:
(In no order):
1st Tier: GSP/Jones/Silva/Fedor
2nd Tier: Guys like Mighty Mouse/Aldo/Hughes/Volk/Khabib/Israel
3rd Tier: Guys like Big Nog, Stipe, Max, Hendo, etc...
You could absolutely make the argument that the gap between him and his closest divisional peers at his peak was wider than Khabib's. BJ vs. Diego was the biggest mismatch in a title fight I had even seen (and still might be). Diego simply had zero chance.
The other side is obviously that his longevity was somewhat lacking, and his bouncing around in weight class, fighting out of weight class, etc...sort of limited his volume of career accomplishment and (along with a relative lack of work ethic some of his career) probably drained his batteries more quickly than might have otherwise been.
"Top 5/10" win has a different connotation over time as the game moves forward, which it certainly has for the smaller guys (unlike LHW and HW) and divisions get deeper in talent internationally. A win against a 7th ranked guy in 2008 is likely to not be as impressive straight across as a win against a 7th ranked guy in 2023, so a little bit of mental curving is required on that front comparing across eras.
I've always cataloged him in my head as a third-tier great:
(In no order):
1st Tier: GSP/Jones/Silva/Fedor
2nd Tier: Guys like Mighty Mouse/Aldo/Hughes/Volk/Khabib/Israel
3rd Tier: Guys like Big Nog, Stipe, Max, Hendo, etc...
