I see these 3 guys at the top of 155. If I had to put money on where they stand if they fought each other, I’d rank
Oliveira 2-0
Makachev 1-1
Poirier 0-2
Makachev looks razor sharp but I have to pick Charles over him at the moment as he’s proven to be so well rounded .
Oliveira would drown Dustin and beat him on the mat… decision win
Makachev beats Dustin via a very similar plan Khabib used against him— take him down and just out grapple and simply shut him down
Thoughts?
Btw Chandler and Gaethje are right outside of the top 3 imo … who else is dangerous and coming up the ranks?
Makhachev is good, but he hasn’t beaten anyone to justify the belief that he can beat the number 1 or number 2 guy in the world. Let’s see how he does against Moises, then a top 10 guy.
That said, I don’t really blame him, he is a high risk low reward fight for guys in the top 10 and he absolutely COULD be the best in the world. He just hasn’t had the ability to prove it against top competition.
Also, Dustin is a terrible match up for Charles and I think Charles doesn’t fare well in that fight to be quite honest. Dustin will be champ by the end of the year.
When you go out there and you beat Tibau, Tsarukyan, Ramos and Dober the way Islam did in his last five fights… you don’t need to beat Moises to prove what you are. Those are serious fighters. Islam is on a 7 fight win streak and ranked #9, he don’t need to beat #14 to get a fight vs a top 10 guy. Seven wins vs the caliber of fighter he just beat is enough. Still he is gonna go out there and beat Moises who is no joke in his own right.
You say Dustin is a terrible matchup for Charles… same thing people said about Lee, Ferg and Chandler in Charles’ last three fights. Dustin is in a way a terrible matchup for anyone right now but so is Charles. Great fight. I’ll be rooting for Charles and have it a pick-em in my mind.
Like others, I think Islam and Dustin are probably the best in the division. I’d love to see him against a top wrestler like Gregor or Chandler. Chandler might be a rough matchup for him.
I think a guy like Gaethje can ruin a lot of people’s nights. I pick him over Dustin and Chandler. But, I think Islam runs through him.
There’s just so much parity. Great time to be a fan.
I see why you say that about Islam and Dustin and for sure Gaethje can ruin nights and even still, would call Islam close to a 2-1 favorite over Gaethje right now. I’m not writing Charles off vs anyone right now though even if he is not the favorite heading to fights with Islam/Dustin/Gaethje. Charles has never looked better, confidence has to be sky high.
Its been great watching Charles and Dustin rise to the top at the same time over the past few years, might be the best fight booked in the sport this year, well my favorite fight anyway.
That said would love to see Islam get a finish on the feet as I feel that is one part of his game where there are question marks. He gets a finish in any way in this fight he gets a big step up no doubt.
Totally forgot about Gregor until wiggum mentioned him. 155 really is an insane division.
I see Gaethje and Chandler as Islam’s toughest matchups due to unpredictability. Neither Charles or Dustin bring enough of a single weapon to beat Islam’s grappling, IMO. Gregor is a dark horse.
Islam > Charles > Dustin > Gregor > Chandler > Gaethje. But really, this division could be anyone’s and is going to be tough to defend as the champ.
Islam’s grappling is different than Charles’ but still very high level. Davi Ramos never put Islam in any danger. Islam was only the second fighter to submit Kajan Johnson in 37 fights and he also just submitted Dober with ease. I’d say Islam would be the toughest LW in the UFC for Charles to submit but anything can happen in a fight so we will see.