I know I'm somewhat stating the obvious. But the lightweight divisions are the absolute sweet spot for exciting MMA fights. It's no accident that the new ultimate fighter series, are lightweights. As the fighter's punching power goes up through the weight classes, so often you see fighters become timid and so cagey that it's absolute drivel to watch. Take the Paul Daley and Keith Jardine fights, after hundreds of punches and kicks thrown, Paul and his opponent had no face damage and Keith was cut by one elbow. And these were all strikers. They were punching out of range, I don't blame them it's just too dam risky to be caught by even one punch. Whereas in the light of divisions, taking a punch in a brawl is not going to shatter you, so naturally they seem to get really stuck in which is great for us to watch.
I have always liked the light heavyweights,so many talented people there,lightweights were the second division I liked the most.
More co-ordinated, more stamina, more agility, more explosiveness etc However they aren't as big, strong or powerful. Personally I love em all but thats the general view. Same applies to boxing. In recent times though the small guys have been appreciated in MMA and boxing - and rightly so.
A lot of wrestlers down at lightweight in the UFC.....most of the top guys are. Edgar-Maynard sounds boring as hell.
ive always thought the lighter weights were exciting but then again i think every weight class is exciting...lol,but if i had to choose one weight class thats the most exciting i woulg choose light heavyweights cause there are so many good fighter across the world at that weight....not to dis-credit the others though i still enjoy them too.
Have you only just realised? Mate WEC puts on stacked and entertaining shows almost without fail. The little guys are awesome but get much less exposure.
OMFG!!! Yes, that card will ****ing quality. You know a card must be stacked when Mike Brown is on the undercard. I'm pretty gutted that we won't be able to see it in the UK.:-(
155 is probabley the deepest division in the sport but I still think LHW and HW at the very highest level provide the best action in MMA. One of the big things thats lacking lower down in the sport is IMHO striking ability. Alot of fans try and convince themselves we see great striking contests lower down but I think thats more of a holdover from boxing than a reflection of the action itself. Look at the way people were raving about Torres or BJ's striking, both got brought down to earth with a bump. Really elite skill in MMA still almost always comes from extensive training before joining the sport and the higher weightclasses offer more money to get some serious strikers to switch.
How on earth were Torres or BJ "brought down to earth with a bump"? Both went on long undefeated streaks before running into a rough patch - it happens to all fighters at some point. Doesn't negate the excellence of their runs before. And Penn's boxing is great - his problem was that his style doesn't play well against somebody like Edgar. Both matches had a classic puncher vs. out-fighter dynamic. Now I think your wider point that a lack of money hurts the ability of featherweights and bantamweights to truly develop has some truth. Particularly in the fact that many talented featherweights instead campaign at 155Ibs because of the better money on offer - I'm always slightly wary of putting Aldo at Number 3 in P4P lists because I don't think the division is as strong as it would be if it were properly incorporated into the UFC. The split between the UFC/WEC is one of the stupidest things in MMA; why Zuffa would ignore its two most exciting division and miss out on the chance to market a further two world champions is utterly baffiling to me.
Well said, lightweights never get enough exposure. Talented as feck, more fitness it's just they arnt as imposing to jacked up **** heads.
With BJ humanised and Edgar and Maynard on the scene the division is alive again. Throw in Melendez, Alvarez, Aoki, Thompson etc and its serious **** worldwide.
