Does UFC Have the Top Fighter in Each Weight Class?

SokoudjouFanboy said:
Almost certainly not if for no other reason than MMA is wildly hard to predict and fighters outside of the UFC are perennially under rated by virtue of not fighting in the UFC.

I would disagree with a couple of the OP's picks though. I'd actually pick Ngannou over Jones. I think 170, 135 & 185 are tough calls that would probably go 2-1 in either direction.

The best 145er outside of the UFC is Islam Omarov, not anyone in PFLlator but I couldn't pick him over Topuria because of how good Topuria been over slightly better opposition. I wouldn't be massively surprised (like I'm assuming most would be) if Omarov pulled it off though. Omarov is Khabib 2.0 and fights more like Khabib did than the other Islam. If you haven't watched him fight you're doing yourself a disservice.

Also at 170 I'm picking Leon.
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I'd pick Ngannou over Jones too. I said I think the betting market would pick Jones over Ngannou.

Did you see Khizriev the other night? I'm thinking the market would take him over Topuria. Frankly, a bunch of the Caucuses region fighters are looking freaky good these days, and PFL the other night really highlighted that. Lack of drug testing is helping for sure, but UFC seems to be moving in that same direction!

I think this is the first time in a long time in which all or nearly all the UFC champions would be underdogs against someone outside the UFC.
 
Nemkov at LHW and Francis for sure over Jones and I suspect also over Aspinall.
 
ReasonableMan said:
Who would be the betting favorite in cross-promotional bout between top fighters in each weight class?


BW: Mix would be favored to beat O'Malley. (1 point for PFLlator)

FW: Unclear if Topuria would be favored over Khizriev or Loughnane or Braga.

LW: I'm guessing Makhacev would be the favorite over Usman Nurmagomedov, though the skill gap is probably minimal. (1 point for UFC)

WW: I think Edwards would be the underdog against Umalatov or Musaev. (1 point for PFLlator)

MW: Eblen vs du Plessis...unsure who would be favored.

LHW: I think Nemkov would be the clear favorite over Pereira. (1 point for PFLlator)

HW: Ngannou v Jones...I'll guess Jones would be the favorite but not sure. (1 point for UFC)


That's 3-2 for PFllator.


Your thoughts?


Saudi money has transformed combat sports.
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Mix and O'Malley would be close to even.

Topuria would be -300 over Khizriev/Loughnane/Braga. Not even a question.

Makhachev would be a favorite over Usman. Could see -200 or even -300.

Literally zero chance Leon is the underdog to Umalatov or Musaev. Leon is a minimum -200 favorite over both. Before Amosov lost to Jackson, I'd say Amosov/Leon would have been even.

Eblen/Duplessis would be close to even.

Nemkov/Pereira would be close to even

Jones/Ngannou would be close to even
 
ReasonableMan said:
I'd pick Ngannou over Jones too. I said I think the betting market would pick Jones over Ngannou.

Did you see Khizriev the other night? I'm thinking the market would take him over Topuria. Frankly, a bunch of the Caucuses region fighters are looking freaky good these days, and PFL the other night really highlighted that. Lack of drug testing is helping for sure, but UFC seems to be moving in that same direction!

I think this is the first time in a long time in which all or nearly all the UFC champions would be underdogs against someone outside the UFC.
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From a betting perspective in a hypothetical, never going to happen crossover event the UFC champions would all close as favorites, even if they didn't open that way. Also worth pointing out PFLlator doesn't have 135 but Cyborg and Larissa are likely better than anything the UFC has above 125. Kayla is probably still improving though, in all fairness.

I have followed Timur Khizriev's career for years now. He's outstanding but I would worry about him against Topuria because he's got a free-flowing style that doesn't create a lot of finishes. I think the closest contemporary I can think of for him is Belal Muhammad. He'd give Topuria too many chances to hurt him to pick him to win. Same problem Evloev has though they're a bit different stylistically. Omarov has the best chance IMO. I think it's obvious that Khizriev is the class of the season though. The money is his to lose.
 
I'd like to see some cross-organizational superfights here and there like when Chuck had his stint in Pride to just settle things. But, I am afraid Dana is too scared to have his organization exposed for not having the cream of the crop at the top in some weight classes.
 
Black9 said:
Bantamweight, you can say Mix would be favored over O'Malley but Umar, Cory, Cejudo, Merab you can say has a good chance of beating Mix.

Featherweight, it's really between Volk, Max and Topuria each beating eachother except Max/Topuria

LW: it's clearly UFC with Islam

WW: Until someone beats Leon he's top he showed incredible TDD last 2 fights not even including Shavkat right below him

MW: Eblen got rocked, almost lost to Impa Kasegenay and looked terrible his last fight. I'd say Izzy and DDP beats him

LHW: Nemkov could probably beat Alex, but Jiri already beat Nemkov in the past and Anka would probably beat him as well

HW: Tom i think would beat both Jones and Francis atm

Champion vs Champion wise you might have a point, but UFC has far more depth and the people below them are far better matchups.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^This
 
Black9 said:
Balls to the Wall Jiri i think still beats him, who knows now? I'd probably put it like 70/30 Nemkov because of wrestling.

However, Ankalaev i have to disagree with i think he beats him pretty easily especially if Nemkov struggled and almost lost agaisnt Corey Anderson.

Physically Ankalaev is far larger as well which helps in any grappling exchanges.
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Nemkov completely out classed Corey in the rematch. Corey had nothing for him.

Ankalaev lost to journey man Jan and got hurt by his kicks. Nemkov low kicks would break his legs.

Nemkov is the best LHW on the planet. He beat the shit out of Jiri for 10 straight minutes but 10 minute round can gas you out if you don't ration your energy and that's exactly what happened.

Nemkov is the best LHW though. It's easy to see.
 
Black9 said:
Yeah, but Nemkov vs Anderson 1. Anderson was taking him down and beating him pretty badly before he took the DQ draw.

The 2nd fight, corey anderson did what corey anderson does and choked at the biggest fight.

I think Ankalaev has the firepower standing to give Nemkov trouble and the grappling to counter Nemkov's or even threaten him with it.

Not even talking about the size difference Ankalev has over Nemkov which plays a part in any grappling exchanges they might have.
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Corey didn't choke in the rematch. That's a weird narrative. Nemkov improved and came in prepared. He went to Thailand and trained his wrestling with Malukhin who was on the Russian National wrestling team and Corey could no longer get any takedowns. When Corey doesn't have the threat of a takedown his stand up is far more predictable and Nemkov completely outclassed him. Claiming he "choked" sounds copeish to me. He was out classed by the more prepared fighter.
 
Why would mix be favoured over o malley? O malley is one of the best strikers in mma and has shown great ability on the ground also
 
RonDante said:
Why would mix be favoured over o malley? O malley is one of the best strikers in mma and has shown great ability on the ground also
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Mix is an absolute ground wizard who has shown incredible back take skills. It's a very close fight on paper.
 
EndlessCritic said:
Mix is an absolute ground wizard who has shown incredible back take skills. It's a very close fight on paper.
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I'd love to see Sean vs Patchy.

Probably pick O'Malley, but there's not a wrong pick really.
 
Majority of people might have issues with testing except for Francis. You need money or experience to beat the constant testing. Bellator/PFL testing is old school AC testing. Even weight cut is different.

It's always been a mixed bag when champions or contenders crossed over.
 
ReasonableMan said:
Who would be the betting favorite in cross-promotional bout between top fighters in each weight class?


BW: Mix would be favored to beat O'Malley. (1 point for PFLlator)

FW: Unclear if Topuria would be favored over Khizriev or Loughnane or Braga.

LW: I'm guessing Makhacev would be the favorite over Usman Nurmagomedov, though the skill gap is probably minimal. (1 point for UFC)

WW: I think Edwards would be the underdog against Umalatov or Musaev. (1 point for PFLlator)

MW: Eblen vs du Plessis...unsure who would be favored.

LHW: I think Nemkov would be the clear favorite over Pereira. (1 point for PFLlator)

HW: Ngannou v Jones...I'll guess Jones would be the favorite but not sure. (1 point for UFC)


That's 3-2 for PFllator.


Your thoughts?


Saudi money has transformed combat sports.
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Topuria would fucking smash Loughnane or Braga, get the fuck out of here. Khizriev could make it competitive, we haven't really seen his ceiling yet honestly. Patricio is pretty washed, Pico is pretty flawed. PFellator is has a decent 145 division, especially if they can sign Salahdine Parnasse though. Not sure if Movlid Khaybulaev is retired or not, he's overrated for sure but would still smother ranked UFC guys.

I don't disagree with you about Mix being favored over Omalley, I don't agree either, hard to say. Overall UFCs 135lb division is way better though.

I'll say PFellators 170lb division is tremendous, Murad Ramazanov, Kuramagomedov, Shamil Musaev, Umalatov, they aren't afraid to sign the top Russian talent like how UFC is. I don't necessarily think the division is better but it's kinda close to comparable I'd argue. Inclusions of guys like Baki and Doumbe is nice, veterans like Koreshkov, Larkin etc I think are every bit as good as your MVPs and Luques.

Lightweight in Bellator is solid too. Archie Colgan is a great prospect, Shabliy and Usman are easily top 10 caliber guys, McKee should be a Featherweight still I think but at 155, I'm more skeptical. Tofiq Musayev is no joke, real solid as well and they just picked up Paul Hughes who...well, is a top prospect but we will see. Eduard Vartanyan says he's giving the UFC until June to pick him up then he will discuss with PFL...Another elite guy potentially.

185 is a shit heap. Eblen is decent, Novenji Jr I'm high on but there just isn't much talent. 205 is a shit heap in both promotions as is HW.

UFC for sure better but guys sleep on how good PFellators roster is. If only they knew how to run a card and not be so fucking annoying.
 
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