Having recently approached the heavyweight division, it’s time to take the striking rating down a weight class and examine the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Unlike the big boys of the UFC, ranking the promotion’s 205-pounders is going to produce an extremely daunting challenge.
There are some remarkably skilled strikers taking up residence at 205, and with nearly 40 fighters clogging the division, isolating and accurately ranking the absolute best of the best isn’t a feat to scoff at. It’s tough, and a few fans will likely feel as though “their” fighter was slighted.
That’s just the nature of the ranking beast.
Before I launch into this list, allow me to issue a note to you—the reader—and outline, to the best of my abilities, the criteria being dealt with. First, expect the obvious factors to come into play: speed, mobility, defense, power, and durability. Common opponents and subsequent outcomes will be mulled over, as will the deterioration of a fighter, the ascension of one’s skills and the level at which each man has competed.
Developing a list of this nature is no exact science, mind you, so try to avoid flying into an uncontrollable rage if you’re under the impression I’ve got this all wrong. I’m human, and this is an opinion piece.