Out of the 578 fighters on the UFC roster, 75 are in the lightweight division. This is the deepest division in the UFC. The top ten has long been the hardest to crack. Anyone holding the belt has been forced to prove their championship status against increasingly brutal opponents. Some of the best to do it only get to sniff at the belt. Eddie Alvarez held the belt at one time. Tony Ferguson put together an historic win streak, then got struck down by the “Just Bleed” gods at every turn. Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, two elite fighters with world class talent in multiple combat sports disciplines, ran into the generational talent and Sambo buzzsaw that was Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Image – MMA Mania
The Champ, Islam
As the last generation of fighters age out of the sport, the new guard begins to surge in the standings. Khabib has passed his torch to teammate Islam Makhachev. In the lead up to his title defense against Alexander Volkanovski, I realized that a lot of the good will Khabib earned throughout his career has been transferred to Islam. People mention Khabib and Islam interchangeably. After the fight, I realized that such transference isn’t necessarily applicable. In fact, this is a symptom of “Khabib Derangement Syndrome.” This is a rare virus outside of the MMA community. Symptoms include mistaking any Russian grappler with a weird beard as Khabib Nurmagomedov, and reposting Hasbulla memes.
Image – Punch Newspapers
Of course Islam is the best lightweight right now, as he holds the belt. During the fight, I realized that Islam is less Khabib 2.0 and more his own fighter than people may realize. The comparison, while flattering, is unfounded. Islam’s striking is much cleaner, he has less to prove on the feet than Khabib did. His wrestling, rather than being the thing he bases his game plan around, is more integrated into the rest of his skills.
Image – The West Australian
Gaethje Vs Poirier Vs the Rest of the Lightweights
Very few people are calling for Justin Gaethje to fight for the belt, again. This might be a symptom of the aforementioned “Khabib Derangement Syndrome.” It’s interesting that Islam has called out people from two different divisions, as opposed to the top five of his own division. What makes Poirier and Gaethje unworthy of title fights? There might be a little bit of MMA math behind that. Oliveira and Khabib beat them both with submissions. This begs the question; does Islam Makhachev pose more of a submission threat than Khabib or Chucky Olives? My answer is maybe.
There has been more talk of Poirier vs Gaethje 2 than for any other fight involving those two. I could get excited for this as long as it’s a title eliminator. Both men have had absolute banger fights against Michael Chandler. Poirier has only lost two fights since 2016, and those fights are against former champs Oliveira and Nurmagomedov. He’s been a mainstay in the top five for years and it’s my opinion that he should be one win away from fighting for the belt at any given time.
Gaethje is riding a two fight win streak and just turned Rafael Fiziev’s face into absolute oatmeal. Gaethje has long been one of my favorite fighters. He throws so hard he looks like he could lift himself off the ground at any given moment. In his post fight interview, he talked about making one more run at the belt and retiring. His style is one I would call, “not here for a long time, here for a good time.” Gaethje marches forward and chucks his left hook like a hammer. He has proven that he is the one fighter Trevor Whitman has been unable to ruin.
Beneil Dariush; The Grey Horse of the Division
Beneil is riding an eight fight win streak in the lightweight division. He hasn’t lost since March, 2018. It’s my opinion that Dariush deserves the next shot at the lightweight belt, followed by whoever wins Poirier vs Gaethje 2. Dariush needs a title shot before he looks like Steve Martin. Dariush vs Makhachev isn’t just a good fight because it’s the fair thing to do for the division, it’s a good fight because I want to see those two grapple. Beneil used solid jiu jitsu to nearly pull Tony Ferguson’s leg off of his body in a heel hook. He’s clean on the feet and ridiculously strong. The one fault of the depth of this division is that people like Beneil Dariush, incredibly talented fighters, get repeatedly passed over for title shots in favor of easily marketed fights. This does in fact suck.
Image – MMA Junkie, USA Today
Michael Chandler, the Rest of the Division, and *sigh* Conor McGregor
Since coming to the UFC, Michael Chandler has given us some of the most compelling fights we fans could ask for. His record on paper doesn’t reflect his impact in the least. Chandler is a beast in the cage, but the possibility that he has reached his full potential is daunting. Iron Mike delivers, but for whatever reason, he hasn’t held UFC gold. He’s promised a fight with Conor McGregor at 170, so it seems like he is cashing in his chips and taking the money fight, as opposed to making another run at the title. I can’t blame him. Chandler has achieved more than most fighters can dream of. He turned out to be a way better trade than Ben Askren.
Image – Bleacher Report
Conor, on the other hand, has won one fight in the lightweight division. Conor also needs special considerations to bypass USADA’s regulations in order to fight. Since the real champion of any division in the UFC is a metric butt ton of money, we will see another McGregor main event. As someone who was inspired in a lot of ways by Conor’s rise through the featherweight division, it’s hard to see mental gymnastics his current fans still tumble through to keep him relevant in their minds. I see a future where I have to hate watching another Conor press conference. Please, MMA gods, spare me.
And the rest…
In summation, the lightweight division has some great fights coming up. Its influx of new blood, literally and figuratively, keep it one of the most engaging divisions in the UFC. Fighters like Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot also continue to climb the ranks. Believe that they’re coming for the spots that fighters like Chandler, Gaethje, and Poirier will vacate when they retire.
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