Who are the worst matchups for the best fighters in their weightclass’s history during their prime? Take the best fighter in division history, and match them with any fighters from that division at any time. Feel free to reject my GOAT designations and pick your own. Here’s my initial thoughts:
125 GOAT: Mighty Mouse
125 Kryptonite: I scored the second Cejudo fight for Demetrious, but I think Cejudo is still the toughest matchup for him. It’d be interesting to see how MM could handle Fig’s power, though.
135 GOAT: TJ/Cruz
135 Kyrptonite: Cruz/TJ. To me, this is a bit of a wash. The two most accomplished fighters in the division history fought close to their primes and had one of the closest fights ever.
145 GOAT: Aldo
145 Kryptonite: Max and Conor. Aldo’s career was as a great striker with arguably the best TDD in history. When he matched up against better strikers, he lost. I think Conor and Max be legit bad matchups for Aldo and beat him on his best day more often than not.
155 GOAT: Khabib
155 Kryptonite: This will not be a popular answer, but I think the toughest matchup for Khabib at 155lb is the Frankie Edgar who finished Gray Maynard and “lost” the second Benson fight. Great TDD, good boxing, great fight IQ, and excellent BJJ. That said, his chances of winning are still super small. I know that there is an argument for BJ – good power, great boxing, and great TDD. But, I see no version of that fight that doesn’t involve Khabib pressing BJ against the cage and totally draining him.
170 GOAT: GSP
170 Kryptonite: Prime GSP is pre-surgery GSP. We saw him destroy a national champion wrestler with heavy hands (Koscheck) twice. That said, it’s still the only hope of beating him. So, Usman and Hendricks are the worst matchups. GSP, along with Jones, beat the most diverse set of opponents.
185 GOAT: Anderson
185 Kryptonite: There’s a strong argument that Izzy would always beat Anderson. But, here, I stick with what we know. IMO, prime Chris Weidman beats Anderson consistently. Going into that fight, smart fans knew that Weidman was a nightmare: great offensive wrestler, with excellent submission defense and sound striking. That was always going to be Anderson’s biggest challenge. I think the Weidman who beat Anderson x2 beats the Anderson on the nights that he fought Chael, Vitor, Okami, etc.
205 GOAT: Jon Jones
205 Kryptonite: No kryptonite besides himself and USADA. IMO, the second best LHW we’ve ever seen was Daniel Cormier on the night that Jon Jones knocked him out.
HW GOAT: Fedor
HW Kryptonite: Daniel Cormier. The reason the Barnett fight was so compelling was we suspected that a very good offensive wrestler with solid submissions/submission defense could challenge Fedor. DC had better standup and wrestling than Josh. Even in a ring, the DC who won the Strikeforce GP or even the guy who KOd Stipe would give Fedor a real challenge.