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Originally Posted by Zeke's Chaingun
I'll disagree somewhat on this. Arona is good, but he's fought twice in 2 years going 1-1. His last victory was over a guy ranked between 14-18 at LHW. He's got a suspect chin and would be hard pressed to beat anyone he couldn't take down. While having him at 205 would be an assett, it isn't required. The UFC has a monopoly on the 205 lbers. Arona just isn't necessary even if I do want to see him there.
As for as the 155 lbers... sure, some very good 155's aren't in the UFC... however 95%? No way. The UFC 155's are getting the shaft in the rankings. People like Sherk, Penn, Florian, Stevenson, Edgar, Griffin, Tavares, Huerta, Thomas, etc are ALL amazing fighters and would take at least as many of those Eastern Hemispherian fighters as they would lose. In fact, I think the trend lately shows that the Western Hemispherian Lightweights are better. They just got put on the back burner when the UFC dropped their Lightweight Division a few years ago and it's taking some time for them to reclaim their rightful place in the Top 15/Top 10 range.
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I won't debate the Arona issue. He has the best takedowns in the game, and he's one of the absolute best LHWs in the world. Period.
Yes, the UFC has some amazing lightweights. And some of them are even elite - Penn (not ranked top 10 due to too few recent LW fights, but talented), Sherk, Edgar, Griffin and Tavares, but to compare Florian, Thomas, Stevenson, Huerta, etc, to the likes of JZ (#1 or #2 top LW in the world), Gomi (other #1 or #2), Aoki (top 5), Hansen, Kawajiri, Vitor Ribiero, Gilbert Melendez, Ishida... even Caol Uno... the fact is, you cannot compare these inexperienced, up and coming LWs that the UFC has with these veteran, proven elite LWs that fight overseas. Yes, they might be as good one day, but right now they absolutely aren't and they can never be considered as equal until they prove it.
To think that the UFC has the better lightweights is truly ridiculous.