Deuce7 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 After coming on strong towards the end of 2015, I am deeming 2016 the Year of the Little Guys! Looking at the most recent rankings, the lighter weight classes (135-155) have never been so dominant. Of the top 100 fighters currently in the game, 26 of them have fought at Lightweight or below. I want to highlight some of the guys that we all know and a few that could be future top 10 fighters........... http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/34/34w4.jpg Tuomari Hurmio (19-2) #1 P4P The #1 ranked fighter in the world, is just entering his prime at 28 years old. The former Troid Featherweight champion has been on fire since losing his title in August of 2015. Shortly after losing his title he entered the Winter Olympics as Troid's representative and battled his way to the Featherweight Gold Medal. Notable Wins: Donny Donowitz, John Jamison, Puntti Manne, John Robertson http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14526435602130.jpg Ron Lemieux (36-8-1) #5 P4P Out classing every bantamweight he has faced over the last eleven months, winning the MFN Bantamweight and Featherweight titles. The Winter Olympics Bantamweight Gold Medalist hasn't lost since his return back to his natural weight class. Lemieux was a huge underdog going into the opening round of the Olympics before beating a man, who many believe to be unstoppable, in Lil Wayne. Notable Wins: Lil Wayne, Zoran Markovic, Ice Drago, Eugene Judd http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14106008433182.png Hector Camacho (26-4) #10 P4P Another young gun, the 27 year old Camacho goes back and forth between Lightweight and Welterweight, whatever keeps him fighting. Having fought some big names (Wayne, Donowitz) at such a young age, Camacho will no doubt be among the elite for a very long time. Notable Wins: Ricky Rocker, Dennis Page, Daniel O'Sullivan http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14233953628691.jpg Akeen Coker (17-3) #64 P4P The first man I consider to be the future, Coker made a name for himself fighting in UNFC and becoming their Lightweight and Featherweight champion. Having recently signed to CEC, he is taking a big step up in competition and there is even a rumor that Coker and Camacho are looking face each other very soon. Notable Wins: Shogun Iron Tyson, Idi oCrazy, Ruud Gullit http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/13975558442301.png Edward Scissorhands (23-5-2) #70 P4P The current EVO Featherweight champion isn't quite a household name like a few of his stable mates (Lil Wayne, Vanilla Ice Cold), he will no doubt be on quite a few radars by mid-year. Making a name for himself coming up through Destiny, Scissorhands was nothing short of dominant, winning 14 consecutive fights at one point. Notable Wins: John Jamison, Tuju Kilju 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjs2442 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Very nice work, and I am not just saying that because Coker is my boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Nice this was a good read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornmma1 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I personally have always assumed it would be easier to dominate at lower weights because the chance of a lucky punch is smaller but somehow the highest ranked guys have been big guys for a long time. But yeah, I definitely agree that the lower weights are taking over and I like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyosullivan Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I definitely agree with you that 2016 is seeing a shift in popularity of lower weight fighters compared to the heavier guys. I think Donny Donowitz winning the 2015 Fighter of the Year has really shown just how dominant the lower weights are atm. I'm excited about it because the Lightweight fighter I have, Daniel O'Sullivan, lost his last fight against Camacho but once he fights Norman Parke for the title, there's still a host of great fight possibilities after that fight. We've been treated to some great fights recently in the lower weight divisions so fingers crossed it'll continue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK16 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Reason for the surge in lower weight popularity imo is go back a couple of years and there were a lot of Heavyweight fighters around, while the lower weights weren't that popular. I'm guessing a lot of guys saw less people in the division so figured they could have more success there and it's lead to a lot of people making the lighter guys and it's dominance in the rankings today, plus with a slight decline of the heavyweight guys in terms of retiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwang Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 As someone who's accidentally ended up with a roster over half of which are lightweights or lighter I'm all over it! Really my favourites are welter and middleweight though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I think it may be more due to the lighter weights are more balanced i.e grapplers can achieve good success there as can strikers. Where the heavier weights are dominated by strikers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylib Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Glad to see the CC represented well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 this year will be a year of lhw imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjs2442 Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 After coming on strong towards the end of 2015, I am deeming 2016 the Year of the Little Guys! Looking at the most recent rankings, the lighter weight classes (135-155) have never been so dominant. Of the top 100 fighters currently in the game, 26 of them have fought at Lightweight or below. I want to highlight some of the guys that we all know and a few that could be future top 10 fighters........... http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/34/34w4.jpg Tuomari Hurmio (19-2) #1 P4P The #1 ranked fighter in the world, is just entering his prime at 28 years old. The former Troid Featherweight champion has been on fire since losing his title in August of 2015. Shortly after losing his title he entered the Winter Olympics as Troid's representative and battled his way to the Featherweight Gold Medal. Notable Wins: Donny Donowitz, John Jamison, Puntti Manne, John Robertson http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14526435602130.jpg Ron Lemieux (36-8-1) #5 P4P Out classing every bantamweight he has faced over the last eleven months, winning the MFN Bantamweight and Featherweight titles. The Winter Olympics Bantamweight Gold Medalist hasn't lost since his return back to his natural weight class. Lemieux was a huge underdog going into the opening round of the Olympics before beating a man, who many believe to be unstoppable, in Lil Wayne. Notable Wins: Lil Wayne, Zoran Markovic, Ice Drago, Eugene Judd http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14106008433182.png Hector Camacho (26-4) #10 P4P Another young gun, the 27 year old Camacho goes back and forth between Lightweight and Welterweight, whatever keeps him fighting. Having fought some big names (Wayne, Donowitz) at such a young age, Camacho will no doubt be among the elite for a very long time. Notable Wins: Ricky Rocker, Dennis Page, Daniel O'Sullivan http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/14233953628691.jpg Akeen Coker (18-3) #2 WC #14 P4P The first man I consider to be the future, Coker made a name for himself fighting in UNFC and becoming their Lightweight and Featherweight champion. Having recently signed to CEC, he is taking a big step up in competition and there is even a rumor that Coker and Camacho are looking face each other very soon. Notable Wins: Hector Camacho, Shogun Iron Tyson, Idi oCrazy, Ruud Gullit http://www.mmatycoon.com/gallery/0/13975558442301.png Edward Scissorhands (23-5-2) #70 P4P The current EVO Featherweight champion isn't quite a household name like a few of his stable mates (Lil Wayne, Vanilla Ice Cold), he will no doubt be on quite a few radars by mid-year. Making a name for himself coming up through Destiny, Scissorhands was nothing short of dominant, winning 14 consecutive fights at one point. Notable Wins: John Jamison, Tuju Kilju I updated your post for you ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentor Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 The lower weight classes offer more diversity + the better managers prefer to rely less on luck (ie KO power or a poor chin), so there has been a shift among the better managers to create 135-155lbs fighters. The other advantage is they can often compete in 2 or even 3 weight classes, although that is less of a factor. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortfuse122829 Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I think it usually switches back and forth, not exactly sure what the reason for that is. But years ago it was guys like Tonal and Victor Creed that dominated the rankings for a long period. Then we went through the phase of Otso Jokinen and Danny Powers and Sly Randolph's and that era of little guys who seemed to dominate the rankings. Then it switched again to the likes of Womba and then Rinky and Leo. Now it's shifting back again it seems. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.