The sudden Aljo ‘GOAT’ chat lol…

[Istryker]

He’s not the GOAT today, but a win over O’Malley is so impressive that it takes him up that notch - is that what I’m hearing?

Yeah.

 

[Willek]

Featherweight has had 4 GOATs in the last 7 years apprently

 

[Nelly]

Cruz still has 4 more top ten ranked wins than Sterling; one of Sterling's top ten wins was via DQ and another was against an injured post-prime Dillashaw.

In their primes, Sterling also had losses against worse competition (including getting knocked TF out).

Cruz getting submitted early in his career to Faber and avenging the loss (twice) isn't nearly as bad.

And that first Faber lost was at FW not BW.

 

[TheAmericanGazelle]

Aljo is close to Dom in skills and abilities/eye-test.

Aljo is not particularly close to Dom in terms of era-adjusted resume.

Having him at 2 is fine though, especially considering Dillashaw's PED issues.

 

[trenton123]

Back when GOAT talk wasn't a thing

It's crazy that Frankie is the smallest guy up there, what lineup of champions at that time though!

 

[corrupted]

Couple of wins and all of a sudden it's "Goat time"? Longevity is 100% a factor. Having a couple years in the sun isn't that. It just isn't. You have to rule over a division for a decent amount of time. Being better than the guy that is being put above you in this argument isn't enough IMO

 

[d2s]

Well it ain't Cruz for me. Sitting on the sidelines for literal years while Barao and Faber fight all the contenders doesn't make you the greatest.
Aljo can become the GOAT just by defending his title once more this weekend in my eyes. The bar was not set high.

 

[RonDante]

LOL Sterling beat Mizugaki too, and if you're going to include him and Jorgensen as good wins, then Sterling should get credit for beating guys like Eduardo, Stamman and Johns.

And why is Jimmie Rivera not on Sterling's list? He was top 5 when Aljo beat him and had only lost to Moraes (when Moraes was a beast).

Also, the version of Demetrious that Cruz beat wasn't in his prime because he was still spending more time in a warehouse driving a forklift than training. It wasn't considered a super impressive win for Cruz when it happened, and DJ was considered the worst guy in the tournament for the Flyweight title when the division opened a few months later.


If Cruz hadn't had the injuries, then he'd be hands down the BW GOAT, but his resume ain't that deep and his third best opponent, who gave him his toughest fights, was a career 125er.

Then add mizugaki, I don’t care, cruz ko’d him a fight before aljo did. And dj became flyweight champion less than a year after cruz 49-46’d him. I included Jorgensen becuase it was a title fight.

 

[RonDante]

Benavidez and mighty moose were 125ers, and that was early in mighty mooses career. The only impressive win was Dillashaw to me. Aljo's resume is better imo or is right there with Cruz.

Benavidez and dj during their flyweight careers both weighed in the low 140s so if this is a weight issue for you then do you think they weighed more or less when they fought at bantamweight? And just becuase they went to flyweight doesn’t mean they weren’t successful at bantamweight, benavidez only had 2 losses in his 15 and 2 career before going to flyweight, and both of them were cruz. Dj became flyweight champion 11 months after losing to cruz

 

[krelianx]

Anyone who puts Aljo above Cruz is either insane or an idiot.

 

[GordonMMARamsey]

Cruz still has 4 more top ten ranked wins than Sterling; one of Sterling's top ten wins was via DQ and another was against an injured post-prime Dillashaw.

In their primes, Sterling also had losses against worse competition (including getting knocked TF out).

Cruz getting submitted early in his career to Faber and avenging the loss (twice) isn't nearly as bad.

What do you mean "In their primes, Sterling also had losses against worse competition (including getting knocked TF out)."...?


Are you saying his prime was 2016 and 2017 when he was 2-3 and not after that when he went on a 9 fight win streak?

 

[Bojka]

He isn't even the best current bantamweight.

 

[hoevan]

Gotta have the hype machine in full swing, if he wins, and is going to fight the GOAT FW next. That's how it'll be marketed. GOAT vs GOAT.

 

[GOATtalks]

Dom Cruz record
Benavidez 2x
Demetrious
Faber 2x
Dillashaw
Mizugaki
Brian Bowles
Scott Jorgensen (pretty good record at the time)
Munhoz


Aljo record
Yan
Dillashaw (old and coming in with a destroyed shoulder that he specifically told the ref to let him try and work through)
Cejudo (old + 3 year layoff, not the legend people pretend he is)
Sandhagen
Munhoz

Cruz only lost to garbrandt after injuries including a torn quad, torn groin, two torn acls, a broken hand, multiple multiple year layoffs, plus tendinitis in both feet during the fight. Comes back 3 years later on short notice, suffering a broken arm and torn shoulder ligaments in the meantime, loses to cejudo, two wins then at 37 with a shot chin gets finished by vera

I will argue this for eternity

Lol.

Why didn’t you count half of Aljo’s wins? Like:

Barao
Stamann
Riviera
Mizugaki
Brett Johns

Aljo’s resume is actually quite deep

 

[ChimRichalds]

He's actually got a great resume, but calling him the GOAT of anything is a skosh premature.

 

[RonDante]

Lol.

Why didn’t you count half of Aljo’s wins? Like:

Barao
Stamann
Riviera
Mizugaki
Brett Johns

Aljo’s resume is actually quite deep

Becuase I go by title wins and very good non title wins

 

[acannxr]

I'd argue that sterling only has one clear loss ever, and his two other losses were controversial split decisions against ranked opponents (by the ufc) when he wasn't in his prime. It is odd that you suggest sterling's prime was is 6-7 years ago (when he lost those two decisions), considering that he went on the longest win streak in the division a couple years after and got the title several years after. I guess his prime is lasting a long ass time. That is goat stuff.

What do you mean "In their primes, Sterling also had losses against worse competition (including getting knocked TF out)."...?


Are you saying his prime was 2016 and 2017 when he was 2-3 and not after that when he went on a 9 fight win streak?

Cruz lost in his second year of fighting (at FW) and became champion in his fifth year of fighting; comparatively, Sterling lost in his fifth and sixth years of fighting. I believe that primes generally last nine to ten years from the time a fighter debuts, so Sterling would've literally been in the middle of his prime.

And there are several asterisks next to Sterling's win streak since one of them was via DQ and two were against inactive fighters, so it's more a reflection of the division than Sterling himself.

All of this to say that I still consider Cruz to be the BW GOAT because he has more top ten ranked wins (and against better competition), even if Sterling defeats O'Malley.

 

[Dana's Conscience]

There is no clear BW Goat from a talent or legacy perspective, so yea, a few title wins is all that's needed for someone to enter the conversation.

 

[Blastbeat]

i dont think Aljo has done enough to call himself the GOAT Bantamweight. that title is still held by Dominic Cruz.
I think if Aljo can secure this win over O'Malley in a dominant fashion, as well as his next defense in dominant fashion, i would be comfortable calling him the GOAT at bantamweight. as it stands, the manner in which he got the belt and the manner in which he has squeaked by in contentious title fight victories gives off the impression that he is barely hanging onto the belt. couple that with his various injuries and he appears even more vulnerable.

Aljo needs a dominant, no-questions-left-unanswered win over O'Malley. if Aljo could sub him in the 1st round, or even get a TKO in the 1st or 2nd round, his reign as a champion would be firmly cemented in my eyes. and im sure in the eyes of others, too.

 

[VinceArch]

Except that everyone and their mother still knew that Penn and Fedor were GOATs over their counterpart on that stage.

BJ??? Not sure about that one. Sure, people were lamenting that he COULD'VE been the GOAT at 155 but he is his own worst enemy when he was actively competing.