Has Charles improved leaps and bounds or is 155 a weak division outside of khabib. Most of the top guys are aging fighters who kinda just stand and trade. That’s my opinion
Both. Olivera got better and is younger.
Timing has a lot to do with people getting and holding a belt. It is his time.
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I think the division is still great, and it will always be great. Just such a large number of the population falls into that weight class, and the guys are often great athletes who were just a little too small to make it in other sports.
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That’s what they’ve always said about 155. Not sure I buy that any more. Most of them walk around anywhere between 175-180. That’s big enough to be an elite athlete in any sport besides basketball and football. Mma fighters aren’t what I would consider elite athletes. That’s why they fight for a living.
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Charles has a lot of fight experience at this point at the top level. He has seemed more durable and improved his striking a lot over the years.
Remember when he was getting 1 punch ko’ed by Cub and lost a fight by tko due to neck injury off a td attempt against Max Holloway?
He seems to have just improved dramatically including his mindset.
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Lol at the 2021 LW division being a weak division.
The current LW division is one of the deepest divisions the sport has ever seen.
Go to fightmatrix and look at the top 100.
Usman Nurmagomedov is the 99th ranked LW.
Gary Tonon is the 92nd ranked LW.
Will Brooks is the 68th ranked LW.
Ben Henderson is the 63rd ranked LW.
Rashid Magomedov is the 60th ranked LW.
If you don’t understand the depth at LW then I don’t know what to say.
The 2021 LW division is as deep as any division in the history of MMA.
If you don’t understand how good Oliveira is then you don’t know what you are watching.
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Oliveira has always been very good. 5 of his 8 losses were in the featherweight division, which he drained himself to make. 2 of his 3 lightweight losses were over a decade ago against top contenders at the time. He also has a couple of fluky losses.
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When a fighter makes Poirier look like shit, he’s a great fighter…
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Welcome to MMA, what made you a fan so recently?
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Plus he entered the UFC as a twenty year old kid, got thrown to the wolves. Look at how getting thrown to the wolves went for even guys like Pico, a world class wrestler at his peak. Its tough.
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There’s a ton of guys who fight at that weight but none of those guys you mentioned can win a fight in the ufc. Oliveria just barely made it out of the chandler fight. There’s no stand outs at 155 aside from khabib and he’s retired. Not a single fighter at 155 could beat a top 10 welterweight.
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Bendo, the former LW champ couldn’t win a fight in the UFC?
Once again, welcome to MMA. What made you a fan so recently? Was it Paddy the Baddy? Or is it Suga O’Malley that got you to watch in the last 2 months?
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The UG always comes up with new ways to surprise me.
155 a weak division? Amazing.
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“I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. How about Connor vs Izzy at 170?”
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It does not seem you really understand what you are watching. no offense.
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The 28-11 bendo who has lost 3 straight fights outside of the ufc would not win a fight in the ufc.
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Charles always had the raw materials, but just didn’t have the maturity at the time to put it all together. A lot of people forget that he came into the UFC young as fuck and had to learn the game on the fly in the toughest organization on the planet. He’s fought a lot of tough competition. The fact that he has a high level of jiu jitsu has his base is what enables him to be so dynamic on the feet, which is the same thing we witnessed with Fabricio Werdum back in the day- they can practically do whatever they want, because what are you going to do….take them down?
Oliveira is the perfect modern case study of why jiu jitsu isn’t dead in today’s MMA game.
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And no, it’s not because 155 has diminished. The dude really is that good.
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28-11 is a pimp record.
Connor has lost 3 in a row
One of his wins is against fucking Cowboy.
Do you see how stupid you look yet with that comparison, or should I really continue dismantling you?
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Pitbull and A.j. Mckee would likely beat any top 5 ufc lightweight. I’m not saying 155 is a shallow weight class in mma. It’s an overrated division in the ufc.