The light heavyweight division exactly 10 years ago

[blaseblase]

How does it stack up to today?



Imo this is the one division I don't think you can argue has improved over time.

 

[Stagliano]

Crazy to think that Jones dominated that killer row. At the time, LHW was one of the most stacked division.

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

Crazy to think that Jones dominated that killer row. At the time, LHW was one of the most stacked division.

He has beaten 9 on that list. Insane

 

[deanambrose]

Crazy to think that Jones dominated that killer row.

Juiced Jones*

 

[OldBoy91]

He has beaten 9 on that list. Insane

10

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

10

oh yeah, i was counting just mma
forgot about the submission of dan henderson

 

[blaseblase]

10

THAT is what cleaning out your division means. Fuck all this Islam talk of "there's nothing exciting in my division" bullshit. Get the fuck out of here.

 

[OldBoy91]

oh yeah, i was counting just mma
forgot about the submission of dan henderson

 

[Zanmato]

Probably about 1/3rd of those would still be inside the top 15 to present day, there has been very little interesting development at LHW/HW for years

 

[Xoleth]

The height of the LHW fighters has increased a lot.

 

[Striker Fox]

On that list I would favor over Pereira:

Jones, Gus, Glover, Davis, Evans, DC, Rumble, Bader, and possibly Chael (past prime MW)

 

[Contempt]

On that list I would favor over Pereira:

Jones, Gus, Glover, Davis, Evans, DC, Rumble, Bader, and possibly Chael (past prime MW)

It certainly was pretty grappler heavy back then.

I guess we will have to wait and see how Poatan does when he comes up against grapplers like Ankalaev.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

On that list I would favor over Pereira:

Jones, Gus, Glover, Davis, Evans, DC, Rumble, Bader, and possibly Chael (past prime MW)

Of course you would. Blind hater. Tell us where Alex touched you.

 

[blaseblase]

Of course you would. Blind hater. Tell us where Alex touched you.

Which of those names would you bet on Alex to beat?

 

[Stagliano]

Juiced Jones*

Yeah you just need steroid to take the LHW strap at 23, we know. And of course Jones is the one who popped on that list of 15 fighters. Hendo, Chael and Vitor didn't take anything.

 

[Stagliano]

On that list I would favor over Pereira:

Jones, Gus, Glover, Davis, Evans, DC, Rumble, Bader, and possibly Chael (past prime MW)

Personally, I would only bet the house on Jones, DC and Rumble.
I think that Gus could lose a decision and that Glover and Evans would get KTFO.
Bader would have a chance but I think that he'd be too afraid then would get caught stupidly.
Chael wouldn't be afraid to engage and he could submit him but I wouldn't bet the house. Same for Davis.

 

[Tweak896]

Ironically 10 years ago was the last year pre-USADA, which started in 2015 and every division changed after that point on really. Especially the heavier weight classes. We probably won't see anything like it again until conditions revert back to what they used to be.

 

[blaseblase]

Personally, I would only bet the house on Jones, DC and Rumble.
I think that Gus could lose a decision and that Glover and Evans would get KTFO.
Bader would have a chance but I think that he'd be too afraid then would get caught stupidly.
Chael wouldn't be afraid to engage and he could submit him but I wouldn't bet the house. Same for Davis.

I don't know about that. We all saw Pereira fight Jan. He almost got subbed and scraped by a split decision win. Gustafsson and Glover are far better wrestlers than Jan considering how their fights went. So are Davis, Bader, and Evans. Bader is the only one I would give a 50/50 chance for Pereira to beat given his iffy chin.

 

[RockyLockridge]

How does it stack up to today?

View attachment 1041633

Imo this is the one division I don't think you can argue has improved over time.

I honestly think the ryan bader of this time would be champion pretty easy



MW was better too, Same with Welterweight.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

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.