TL;DR Featherweight is P4P deeper than higher weight classes.
"There's four or five Jon Jones-skilled guys at that Featherweight class." From the latest ep of Chael's podcast while talking with The Fighter and The Kid --- http://podcastone.com/chaelsonnen. And to be clear, for those who haven't heard it yet, Chael had already spent a good chunk of episode praising Jones both as a fighter and as a person earlier in the episode, so this isn't him having a dig at his former rival. Chael is a Bones fan.
It also makes plenty of sense when you consider that the best 5'8"/5'7" athletes on the planet aren't being creamed off the top of the possible MMA population by higher-paying sports like they are from about WW on up.
The average top level WW is 5'11", 185-194lbs. There are a bunch of players in the NFL who would be WWs. Then factor in other major MMA countries like Canada and Brazil and factor in how many tough, talented athletes that size are playing NHL or in any one of the half dozen major soccer leagues. (And don't be fooled soccer-haters, sure there's a few strikers and wingers who fall down as if they've been shot whenever a defender even breathes on them, but there are also tons of defenders, midfielders and goalkeepers who are tough as nails. And if you didn't know by now that professional tough bastards Jose Aldo, Tom Watson, Leandro Silva and Kenny Florian used to play soccer, now you do.)
Even allowing for the fact many athletes in the big dollar sports would not have the mentality to become fighters even if the NFL/NHL/major soccer leagues didn't exist, the numbers of athletes in those leagues are so huge it's impossible to argue they don't have an impact on the level of talent in MMA's Welterweight pool. And if it's true of WW, it's obviously also true of MW, LHW and HW. It's even likely that soccer in particular affects LW.
But if you're Mendes or Edgar at 5'6" or Aldo or Swanson at 5'7" or Ricardo Lamas or Nick Lentz at 5'8" you're not getting a megabucks contract at the Packers or the Penguins or Portsmouth. The Featherweight pool doesn't lose anywhere near as much talent to big contracts at the Rams or the Red Wings or Real Madrid as WW, MW, LHW and HW do.
That's just good science.
It's also worth noting that the average North American/Brazilian man is 5'9". That's why, if you understand anything about the bell curve, LW is the deepest weight class by population.
The top FWs average just under 5'8", which by population distribution (ie the number of men who exist at that size) is second deepest.
The top WWs average just over 5'11", so it's third deepest, although the UFC has employed more of them than FW partly because the division has been around longer and partly because WW sells better as a spectacle than FW.
brahmabull81 - So then what about losing most of the best smaller athletes to being jockeys in the horse racing business? MM would be the goat jockey imo.
MM would be the GOAT jockey and the GOAT F1 driver.
P4P is and always will be a retarded arguement. Sorry shrimps.
Burt Reynoldz -
P4P is and always will be a retarded arguement. Sorry shrimps.
You spelled "fun" wrong.
I'm sure they're ... big ... enough to accept your apology though.
12hitterquitter - LOL at "Jones skilled guys" like if Jones is super skilled. Wheres the "skill" in what Jones does? Im being very honest and sincere here so no troll responses from the Jones fan trolls please. watch Jones fight. He throws ZERO combo punches, has ZERO countering, terrible defense and footwork....Jones' boxing is LAUGHABLY bad...im not hating...thats just real talk...His kicking tech isnt that great either...Jones really is just all size/reach/youth/and clinch wrestlingDid you see what he did to an Olympian??
There are a 10000 guys in the UFC with wayy better boxing and or kickboxing than Jones. Its just NO ONE has the reach and size advantages Jones has to the extent Jones has over all his opponents....
But anyway I can see how on average the lower weight guys would be more skilled than the bigger guys....with less mass, more speed, better cordination and balance etc....thats why when a big guy "can move like a little guy" its always complimented...plus there are simply more average sized guys in the world so the talent pool is bigger at the lower weights....why Gsp >>>>>>>>Anderson and Jones....but there are still always exceptions...and you have to take it on a fighter by fighter basis...like Fedor at his size up against the opponents he faced...what Fedor did was legendary..the HW division at that time was stacked and Fedor ruled it...Fedor is the #1 GOAT...Gsp is the #2 GOAT...then theres Aldo and everyone else
Burt Reynoldz -
P4P is and always will be a retarded arguement. Sorry shrimps.
Ranking fighters based on skill is retarded?
dushtin -When you're a 300lb neckbeard.Burt Reynoldz -
P4P is and always will be a retarded arguement. Sorry shrimps.
Ranking fighters based on skill is retarded?
I agree with him. I won't say the lighter guys have better technique but their smaller size and quickness allow them to move better. It's like gymnastics, the body mechanics just work better when small. Gas tanks last longer as well because fuel economy is better
Watching the 125 pound wt class vs the 285 in wrestling is almost like 2 different sports.
Now, for straight up hand to hand combat with no weight classes, big guys all day long. But for watching a sport, I like the small guys better 
12hitterquitter - LOL at "Jones skilled guys" like if Jones is super skilled. Wheres the "skill" in what Jones does? Im being very honest and sincere here so no troll responses from the Jones fan trolls please. watch Jones fight. He throws ZERO combo punches, has ZERO countering, terrible defense and footwork....Jones' boxing is LAUGHABLY bad...im not hating...thats just real talk...His kicking tech isnt that great either...Jones really is just all size/reach/youth/and clinch wrestlingFinally some one writes my thoughts ...VTFU!
There are a 10000 guys in the UFC with wayy better boxing and or kickboxing than Jones. Its just NO ONE has the reach and size advantages Jones has to the extent Jones has over all his opponents....
But anyway I can see how on average the lower weight guys would be more skilled than the bigger guys....with less mass, more speed, better cordination and balance etc....thats why when a big guy "can move like a little guy" its always complimented...plus there are simply more average sized guys in the world so the talent pool is bigger at the lower weights....why Gsp >>>>>>>>Anderson and Jones....but there are still always exceptions...and you have to take it on a fighter by fighter basis...like Fedor at his size up against the opponents he faced...what Fedor did was legendary..the HW division at that time was stacked and Fedor ruled it...Fedor is the #1 GOAT...Gsp is the #2 GOAT...then theres Aldo and everyone else
Doctor Strange -Bucho - It's also worth noting that the average North American/Brazilian man is 5'9". That's why, if you understand anything about the bell curve, LW is the deepest weight class by population.No real man is under 6ft 4.
The top FWs average just under 5'8", which by population distribution (ie the number of men who exist at that size) is second deepest.
The top WWs average just over 5'11", so it's third deepest, although the UFC has employed more of them than FW partly because the division has been around longer and partly because WW sells better as a spectacle than FW.
Goddammit, I'm only 6'1.5" !!!
What if I borrow some heels off of Filthy Tom Lawlor?
SUPER HLUK -dushtin -When you're a 300lb neckbeard.Burt Reynoldz -
P4P is and always will be a retarded arguement. Sorry shrimps.
Ranking fighters based on skill is retarded?
There are 7-8 Jon Jones-skilled fighters at 300lbs.
Bucho -Goat jockey paints a funny picture in my head. I wish I could photoshop a racing MM on a goat.brahmabull81 - So then what about losing most of the best smaller athletes to being jockeys in the horse racing business? MM would be the goat jockey imo.
MM would be the GOAT jockey and the GOAT F1 driver.
T1LT -12hitterquitter - LOL at "Jones skilled guys" like if Jones is super skilled. Wheres the "skill" in what Jones does? Im being very honest and sincere here so no troll responses from the Jones fan trolls please. watch Jones fight. He throws ZERO combo punches, has ZERO countering, terrible defense and footwork....Jones' boxing is LAUGHABLY bad...im not hating...thats just real talk...His kicking tech isnt that great either...Jones really is just all size/reach/youth/and clinch wrestlingDid you see what he did to an Olympian??
There are a 10000 guys in the UFC with wayy better boxing and or kickboxing than Jones. Its just NO ONE has the reach and size advantages Jones has to the extent Jones has over all his opponents....
But anyway I can see how on average the lower weight guys would be more skilled than the bigger guys....with less mass, more speed, better cordination and balance etc....thats why when a big guy "can move like a little guy" its always complimented...plus there are simply more average sized guys in the world so the talent pool is bigger at the lower weights....why Gsp >>>>>>>>Anderson and Jones....but there are still always exceptions...and you have to take it on a fighter by fighter basis...like Fedor at his size up against the opponents he faced...what Fedor did was legendary..the HW division at that time was stacked and Fedor ruled it...Fedor is the #1 GOAT...Gsp is the #2 GOAT...then theres Aldo and everyone else
An Olympian he towered over got inside and landed plenty of uppercuts, for starters. I think 12 may be putting down Jones's skills a bit much but I agree with the overall sentiment.
Anybody who thinks I'm insane go watch an Aldo or Mighty Mouse fight and see the difference. And I'm not talking about their speed, which obviously a guy the size of Jones can't match, but how effective they are at any distance, how they put together combos, how they are so difficult to get inside on. And unlike Jon they don't have a significant reach advantage on most of their opponents to rely on.
No, in terms of pure there are plenty of guys in the UFC way ahead of Jones. Aldo, Might Mouse, Faber, Cruz, Pettis, Edgar for starters.
Edit: "in terms of pure SKILL there are plenty of guys".
Still can't believe you have to be a blue to be able to edit a post without deleting dozens of HTML tags ...
Lol @ the random soccer defending rant halfway through the post. Congrats on winning your argument with nobody.
This reckoning seems to discount these considerations:
a) there is a smaller pool of men who are 5'6" (avg height in US is 5'10") and weigh 135 pounds (avg weight is 195).
b) People who have grown up well below average in size tend to insulate themselves from beatings by not fighting so much growing up. (Although there are definitely many cases where smaller guys become very aggressive in response to their size challenges).
That's why Pettis is the future GOAT
FW=fail weight
12hitterquitter - LOL at "Jones skilled guys" like if Jones is super skilled. Wheres the "skill" in what Jones does? Im being very honest and sincere here so no troll responses from the Jones fan trolls please. watch Jones fight. He throws ZERO combo punches, has ZERO countering, terrible defense and footwork....Jones' boxing is LAUGHABLY bad...im not hating...thats just real talk...His kicking tech isnt that great either...Jones really is just all size/reach/youth/and clinch wrestlingBeen wanting to use this for a while, you ready...... Fuckin 15ers gonna 15.
There are a 10000 guys in the UFC with wayy better boxing and or kickboxing than Jones. Its just NO ONE has the reach and size advantages Jones has to the extent Jones has over all his opponents....
But anyway I can see how on average the lower weight guys would be more skilled than the bigger guys....with less mass, more speed, better cordination and balance etc....thats why when a big guy "can move like a little guy" its always complimented...plus there are simply more average sized guys in the world so the talent pool is bigger at the lower weights....why Gsp >>>>>>>>Anderson and Jones....but there are still always exceptions...and you have to take it on a fighter by fighter basis...like Fedor at his size up against the opponents he faced...what Fedor did was legendary..the HW division at that time was stacked and Fedor ruled it...Fedor is the #1 GOAT...Gsp is the #2 GOAT...then theres Aldo and everyone else