Which contender at 185 is closest to the top?

Sharp analysis Beouche!

 

I respect your opinion but 185 has been weak for a long time, we can just agree to disagree.:good

 

one word :

ROYCEGRACIE

 

Welterweight is in a similar spot right now, they're having to import fighters to give GSP meaningful fights. If both divisions were to lose their champions they'd appear a lot stronger, much the way lightweight opened up so much when Edgar beat Penn.

 

is retired

 

This has to be a trolling post , its quite possibly #1 worst post in the history of the ESB mma forum !!!! its disgusting :|:barf

 

So many intriguing matchups for Silva at 205, I wouldn't care if he abandoned the belt and never fought at 185 again. I would rather see him fight guys like Shogun or Jon Jones while he's still in his prime, possibly clean out 205, before he retires.

 

brian stann

 

Please name a BJJ world champion on the level of Maia in any UFC division.
The achievements of Sonnen and Munoz in amateur wrestling compare well with most other wrestlers active in the UFC. Akiyama was a two time Asian game Gold Medallist in Judo and reached the semi-finals of the world championships. Even Brian Stann has the experience of winning combatives tournaments in the Marines.

Note I didn't say better atheletes - just better credentialed. To me what's attractive about the middleweight division is that it has such a cool mixture of styles where welterweight and lightweight are overwhelmingly dominanted by wrestlers. It also tends to throw up really good fights. I'd put money that of the five weight classes that were in the UFC last year, the middleweight division would have the best five top matches.

 

Tim Kennedy would do nicely for me

Or Hector Lombard...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5nsUFeVsjE[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bg4cneBmME[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZik67RuB9s&feature=related[/ame]

Lynchburg

 

This. There's no one at 185 who can compete with Anderson. Hardly no one at 205 either

The Bones Anderson fight needs to happen

I know your reading this baldy.... make the friggin fight :bbb

 

Maia is a significantly gifted JJ practitioner , but what does that have to do with comparing the LW and WW division to the very very weak MW division when breaking down the type of athletes in the division .

The WW division is by far and away the deepest division in MMA , you have 2 stand out Elite level fighters with 5 or 6 borderline elite , then you have a pool of animals who can all be considered world class , and genuine title challengers , as follows :

Elite : GSP , Fitch
World Class : Diaz , Sheilds , Koscheck , Condit , Penn , Thiago Alves , Marquardt
Underneath That : Ellenberger , Hardy , Johnson , Story , Yung Kim , Kampman , Swick , Paulo Thiago , Sanchez , Hathaway , Daley etc etc etc

The division is packed with solid athletes and very skilled martial artists

GSP - World class level wrestling (asked by the Canadian national team to compete for them) , 3rd Dan BB in Kyokushin (a Karate variant) & BJJ BB .
Fitch - NCAA division 1 wrestler - BJJ BB
Koscheck - The most decorated college wrestler in MMA :deal , Brown belt under Dave Camarillo
Penn - Nova Uniao black belt , BJJ world champion
Thaigo Alves - Brazilian Muay thai champion , BJJ brown belt under ATT (Ricardo Liborio)
Sheilds - Ceasar Gracie BB , NCAA division 2 wrestler
Diaz - Caesar Gracie BB
Ellenberger - NCAA division 2 wrestler

All of the above have had excellent success in mixed martial arts as well as being world class stand outs in 1 or in some cases multiple martial arts .

The MW division does not even come close in terms of calibre of fighter , and thats even before getting into the Lighweight division .

 

:silly

 

No love for Lombard, Win?

Does anyone know what kind of awful contract he is tied in with to Bellator, whether he has shown any aspirations to really test himself as of late, and whether the UFC have ever spoken about dealing with him?

Supposedly he's a bully. But he is a helluva fighter.

 

He was interested in fighting Jacare before the Strikeforce/UFC thing.