Aoki is not top 3 , he maybe top 3 in Japanese based rules but he was completley dominated by Gil Melendez who by and large still remains untested against the best @55 Aoki has a good resume but is a one dimensional fighter who is not well versed with the cage and the rules / style of fight it brings to the table , his last outing in Strikeforce was fairly impressive but does little to effect his status / ranking in the world .
Light Heavyweight is # 1. Just look at how often the title has change after liddell lost the title. They haven't had a champion who defended the belt more than once. 205 is too deep. Lightweight is pretty deep with the addition of strikeforce Heavyweight also with the addition of strikeforce Welterweight - same champion for too long Middleweight- same champion for too long
I think you have too look at the resume of Aoki and Melendez more closely. Aoki has been fighting good opposition for longer and has been more active than anyone in the top 4 and has wins over Hansen, Alvarez, Uno(who beat Melendez) and Kawajiri. Melendez, in addition to avenging the Uno loss, has wins over Josh Thompson and Clay Guida. Edgars resume is still the best but those are not shabby as well. Edgar's best wins were pretty close fights as well which should be considered. I 100% agree on the cage thing, Aoki needs more practice in this environment and I would like to see him take on a contender such as Thompson in his next SF bout.
So, Fedor's reign in 2000s means that HW was **** at that time? Or is your criterea the most exciting division? Help a brother understand
Melendez has evolved , he isnt the same fighter he was even 18 months ago , as they say in MMA , he's now " putting it all together " , to that end its irrelevant what he's done in the past , whats relevant is who he is fighting and beating now , Aoki has good wins ive said that , but there not great , he's a top level grappler but he has holes in his game which he knows will be / have been exposed in a cage . He is not ranked in top 3 in the world , he cant be ............. The difference with the likes of Edgar and Guida is that these guys get better because the level of opposition is better , there learning , adapting and changing constantly , they have every single different type of style to deal with in the UFC and have to be versed in every discipline , Aoki can get by on his main weapon his grappling . Id like to see Aoki in the UFC but im not sure he'd last long
I dont like his style , he is one of my pet hates in MMA along with Lesnar , most things i say about Werdum you should ignore
I ignore the point because the cage wasnt an issue. Aoki's lack of stand up, takedown offence ect was. Start a poll asking if Aoki lost because of the cage
I was not critisizing Melendez at all, quite the opposite, he looks very impressive, and I give him major credit for the way he was able to neutralize Aoki in their first meeting. I don't know if you can say that the depth of the UFC at LW is that much better than in Japan, Caol Uno fought to a draw with BJ Penn a while back, and I think Hansen could give a lot of trouble to the mid-level guys. Aoki, submitted Eddie Alvarez, who is now the Bellator champ, and I think he could do this against many of the guys now in the UFC as well, including Guida.
Are you saying that for a grappler, for whom the positional habitude along the side of the ring is very important, should have no issue transitioning to a cage where this environment is much different?
The only trouble Aoki gives the top guys in the UFC is stopping themselves from laughing as he buttscoots toward them. Well maybe that's a little harsh, he'd be difficult to catch when avoiding the stand up at all costs. You cant hit him if he keeps running away
