Close look at UFC Light weights
Date: 2012-01-15 00:00:00
Source: http://www.headkicklegend.com/2012/1/15/2709779/mm...
Submitted By: MMAFightsDump
The UFC Lightweight division is one of the deepest divisions in the sport. Unfortunately only three men have competed for the title over the last four title fights, a span stretching back 30 numbered events, to UFC 112. As the new year begins, Head Kick Legend brings you a breakdown of the division from top to bottom, to prepare you for what is likely to be a busy year at the top of the division. As far as I can tell, the UFC matchmaking process is pretty simple: Winners face winners while loser face losers. It's a pretty good way of doing things, as it ensures that you are always have some guys who have won a few in a row and some guys who have lost a few in a row. The winning streak fighters contend for the title, while the unfortunate losers get shuffled along in favor of new blood, thus keeping the division fresh. With that in mind, I organized the division in terms of consecutive wins and losses as of UFC RIO 142: Aldo vs. Mendes. Five wins: Jacob Volkmann Four wins: Edson Barboza Three wins: Ben Henderson, Gleison Tibau, Tony Ferguson Two wins: Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon, Paul Sass, Danny Castillo, Thiago Tavares One win: Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis, Sean Sherk, Evan Dunham, Matt Wiman, Mark Bocek, TJ Grant, Dennis Hallman, Ramsey Nijem, Paul Taylor, John Cholish Rookies: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Reza Madadi One loss: Gray Maynard, Clay Guida, Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Melvin Guillard, Mac Danzig, Sam Stout, Rafael Dos Anjos, Nik Lentz, Jeremy Stephens, Kamal Shalorus, Aaron Riley, Anthony Njukuani, Mitch Clarke, Yves Edwards, Terry Etim, Michael Johnson, John Makdessi Two losses: Efrain Escudero, Spencer Fisher, Takanori Gomi, Cody Mckenzie, TJ O'Brien, Rafaello Oliveira, Shane Roller, George Sotiropoulos Looking at the division in this way illustrates the impact of the Frank Edgar/BJ Penn/Gray Maynard title fights. A handful of the top ten are on the losers side, having been forced to fight each other while Edgar worked his way through Penn and Maynard. Meanwhile, Jacob Volkmann and Edson Barboza, two guys who realistically aren't title contenders at this point in time, lead the way in terms of fight win streaks. After the jump I look at the fights that are coming up and the fights we are likely to see booked. As of this writing there are 10 lightweight matches already booked. 9 of the 10 matches follow the "winners vs winners, losers vs losers" format. The only one that does not is Evan Dunham vs Nik Lentz, which involves Lentz as a late replacement for winner Paul Sass. In order of date the fights are: SBN coverage of UFC on FX Jim Miller vs Melvin Guillard Kamal Shalorus vs Khabib Nurmagomedov SBN coverage of UFC on FX Michael Johnson vs Shane Roller Evan Dunham vs Nik Lentz UFC 144 Frank Edgar vs Ben Henderson (LW Championship) Joe Lauzon vs Anthony Pettis Takanori Gomi vs George Sotiropolous UFC 145 John Makdessi vs Anthony Njukuani Matt Wiman vs Mark Bocek Mac Danzig vs Efrain Escudero For the guys who do not have fights booked, there are 14 guys who are coming off at least one win. Gleison Tibau, Nate Diaz and Sean Sherk lead the way as the highest ranked fighters without a fight yet. I would like to see Nate get a chance for the title but he probably needs another big win before his shot. Sherk would be the biggest fight possible for Diaz, but Tibau would be a credible fight as well. Volkmann, Barboza,Ferguson, Castillo, Sass and Tavares are all young second tier guys with multiple fight win streaks. Add in TJ Grant, the only other top 25 guy with a recent win and whoever is left out between Sherk/Diaz/Tiabu and there are 8 guys for a nice little unofficial tournament. I'd like to see these fights: Tony Ferguson vs Edson Barboza Exciting stand up fighters. Barboza probably has the edge standing but Ferguson has the wrestling background, giving him the option of grounding the fight it need be. Jacob Volkmann vs TJ Grant TJ Grant has one win and a place in the top 25. He was supposed to fight Volkmann but injuries stopped the bout from happening. Why not reboot the idea? Danny Castillo vs Thiago Tavares Tavares has a strong top control jiu jitsu game, while Castillo prefers to use his wrestling to stay on top. This would be a good clash of styles between two strong grapplers, both with two straight victories. The winner is sure to crack the top 25. Paul Sass vs Gleison Tibau I figure Diaz and Sherk is a little bigger of a fight than Diaz/Tibau. Sass looks like a beast of a grappler, Tibau has already proven that he is. This would really give us an idea of what Sass' true potential is. Match the winners with each other twice and the remaining winner would be a surefire new top ten contender. The rest of the guys with one win are Paul Taylor, Dennis Hallman, Ramsey Nijem and John Cholish. Nijem and Cholish would be a good match, while I'd like to see something more exciting for Dennis Hallman than Paul Taylor. As for the fighters on the losing side of the roster, there are some clear matches to make. Clay Guida vs Gray Maynard Unless the UFC wanted to break protocol and give one of these guys to someone like Barboza, I really couldn't see any other options here. I'd like to see the Guida and Maynard face off with each other, as they've been at the top for awhile. I'm not sure where this would leave the winner in terms of the title, but it would cement their spot as a top 5 guy in the division. Jeremy Stephens vs Donald Cerrone The other top 10 with a recent loss, Donald Cerrone, had a nice win streak snapped by Nate Diaz. Jeremy Stephens is a fair gatekeeper who will show us whether Cerrone is a real top 10 talent, or if he was just beating up on weaker opposition. Sam Stout vs Rafael Dos Anjos They are right next to each other in the rankings and they are both coming off close decision losses. This would be a perfect fight to headline a preliminary card, with the winner getting another crack at the upper tier, while the loser could find themselves in tough to keep their roster spot. The rest of the pack is Yves Edwards, Terry Etim, Aaron Riley, Mitch Clarke, Spencer Fisher, Cody Mckenzie, TJ O'Brien and Rafaello Oliveira. There are eight of them, which lends itself nicely to another nice little unofficial tournament, with the losers getting cut every step of the way. Of course there are going to be moving parts as we progress through the year, what with injuries and upsets, but I think this gives us a nice little picture to refer back to as the fights happen. Thanks for reading. Mopping the Mats will be back tomorrow and there are a ton of things to talk about after the incredible weekend that was UFC 142 and I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks about the event.
