he’s right, if he beats florian then he deserves a shot at the title…i can see maybe having him fight one more time before a shot at the belt if he beats florian, but i don’t think tyson griffin or thiago tavares deserve a shot before he does

I hear what he’s saying..I don’t blame him for expressing himself like this..he has a point. Let’s see after he faces KenFlo..if he can beat him..Sherk is he or isn’t he??..BJ title shot..Stevenson..broken nose?? Maybe BJ vs Din ( if he beats Kenny ).. part2??

why not have him fight Roger Huerta for a number 1 contender’s match at the end of the year if Din wins against Florian?

[quote comment=”138016″]why not have him fight Roger Huerta for a number 1 contender’s match at the end of the year if Din wins against Florian?[/quote]
love this idea

who the hell is din thomas?

[quote comment=”138020″]who the hell is din thomas?[/quote]

Sarcasm? Or do you really not know?

If Stephenson isn’t ready in time the winner of this fight should be first in line. Huerta needs to beat someone who isn’t making his debut first. Guida got fucked on two decisions or he should have a shot. I think he won the Thomas fight and the Griffin fight. Add beating Aurelio on top of that.

To me the Thomas Florian match is a spiritual sucessor to the light-weight title. I’m actually surprised that it’s on free TV because it has all the makings of a main event IMO.
When Sherk loses his appeal the title should go to the winner of Penn vs Stevenson and the winner of Thomas vs Florian should be the first light-weight title defense.

THIS ONE IS FOR KEVIN KELLY….I couldnt help but see that Din mentions Thiago possibly already getting a shot at the title. When he manhandles Griffin he will have that shot. I will then laugh at you and accept your apology like we discussed a month or so ago. Thiago will get his shot and then be champion..YOU WATCH!!!

[quote comment=”138020″]who the hell is din thomas?[/quote]
Well if you don’t know din,but you know roger huerta,you are a mma newbie and i’ll let that statement slide

I think Edgar should be up there for a title shot.

IMO

Edgar vs Huerta
Griffin vs the winner of Thomas vs Florian

The winners of those 2 fights should fight for a shot at the title. In the meantime, Stevenson vs Penn for the vacant title

If Din beats Florian, he DOES deserve a title shot, with the current state of the division.

Sherk will be stipped of belt
BJ Penn vs Joe Stevenson for the belt.

Then who gets first crack at that winner?

Roger Heurta = NO WAY. He has not fought even half way decent competition yet. Only fought UFC newcomers. His fight against Crane was a joke, literraly - I laughed out loud like 4 times.

Franca - out for roids

Spencer Fisher - Still needs another win or two after gettin KO’d by Hermes Franca

Tyson Griffin - lost to Edgar who is not top 5, and won a split decision against Guida where most people thought he lost the fight and Guida won. Honestly, at this point in time, I think Guida should be ranked higher than Griffin. Well maybe not, but the should be a and b.

Thiago Tavarez - this kid will be champ one day, but he needs at least 1 more fight after beating Griffin to be considered to be in a #1 contender match.

Kenny Florian - Undoubtedly in the Top 5 of the division.

Din Thomas - should be in the top 5 instead of Franca and Huerta (I’m looking at the ranking at this site).

SO, the most logical fight for the winner of Penn/Stevenson would be winner of Florian/Thomas. But Penn/Stevenson won’t happen till at least November. So the next fight wouldnt be until at least Feb. That’s a lot of rest for either Florian or Thomas. So maybe what they’ll do is have the winner of Florian/Thomas face winner of Griffin/Tavarez for the next #1 contender just becuase of the timeline.

But the FLorian/Thomas winner truely does deserve a title shot.

[quote comment=”138032″]I think Edgar should be up there for a title shot.

IMO

Edgar vs Huerta
Griffin vs the winner of Thomas vs Florian

The winners of those 2 fights should fight for a shot at the title. In the meantime, Stevenson vs Penn for the vacant title[/quote]

This is a good idea. I like all 4 of these guys sucks that some have to lose. O well. Guida will come in next after these guys with another win over a tough oppenent.

yea i agree that Thomas deserves a title shot if he beats Florian…Huerta is SICK but needs to start being put in conteder figts, his last 2 fights he destroyedddd the competition…Stevenson vs Penn…winner of the Thomas/Florian fight get a title shot n then put one Huerta against 1 of the losers from these 2 fights or even Hermes Franca…

He does deserve the shot, even if most of us realize that he has no chance at getting it.

[quote comment=”138035″]This is a good idea. I like all 4 of these guys sucks that some have to lose. O well. Guida will come in next after these guys with another win over a tough oppenent.[/quote]

Only problem is I forgot about Griffin’s fight with Tavarez, cause I’m retarded.

In all honesty, the lw division needs a gd tournament. It is SOOOO stacked right now. It will take years to figure out who is the best

i still love the idea of a tournament. That will settle all of this 155 mayhem.

Not to pull mma math out, but Florian went all five with Sherk. Thomas beats Florian, Thomas gets title shot. both Huerta and Griffen need a little more experienced competition before they are in contention. Although Huerta looked great this last go around

I cant beleive this idiot is looking past kenny, ken is going to kick his ass. Dana the all knowing saw it in a dream i just know it. . . .

[quote post=”3193″]Not to pull mma math out, but Florian went all five with Sherk. Thomas beats Florian, Thomas gets title shot. both Huerta and Griffen need a little more experienced competition before they are in contention. Although Huerta looked great this last go around [/quote]
i dont think its MMAth at all. Kenny went all five with Sherk. He looks way better now and if Din beats the improved Kenny then i definetly think that he should get a title shot. I am hoping that Sherk keeps the belt cuz i really want to see him face Bj for the belt.

I was just kidding. Doesnt he have staph right now?

Stunnalator surprised that you even remembered that lol. But I’ll help ease some of this controversey with my expertise, or lack thereof haha.

Everything is contingent upon Sherk’s hearing, however if he does in fact lose his appeal, it is clear that the UFC has intentions of a championship fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson for the vacant title. No one should worry about Joe Stevenson’s recent injury becaue like it or not, Dana would PROLONG/PUT OFF/DELAY this fight until December or January.

Now with this Kenny Florian / Din Thomas fight, I have these guys ranked #3 and #4 respectively because there arent too many better than these guys. Kenny Florian is still evolving and Din Thomas has some of the more accurate boxing in the 155 class not to mention good ground work. The winner of this fight will clearly be the # 1 contender, providing Sherk loses his appeal. Otherwise they move up to the # 2 contender slot.

Now we can get in to the guys beyond the top 4-5 guys

We have Frank Edgar who is slated to fight in New Jersey. Two more wins lines him up for serious title contention.

Spencer Fischer - Showed incredibly accurate boxing and a strong chin in his last fight. A fight with Edgar or even Clay Guida makes sense.

Tyson Griffen - Has a fight coming up with Thiago Tavares your typical flavor of the month. If he does his job and gets a win, he may see Roger Huerta.

Clay Guida - As tough as they come, needs to string 2-3 more wins together for late 2008 title picture.

Roger Huerta - It is clear now that Dana and company will stop padding his record and allow a more high profile fight in his next bout. Maybe Fischer or Edgar even ?

Quick Recap

Champion : Sean Sherk

Contenders
1. BJ Penn
2. Joe Stevenson
3. Kenny Florian (argument could be made for Thomas)
4. Din Thomas
5. Frank Edgar (UFC is set on making him a name, especially to bring more venues to the East Coast : Jersey)
6. Spencer Fischer (based on UFC experience and toughness, could have been him fighting Sherk instead of Franca that night)
7. Tyson Griffen
8. Roger Huerta (argument could be made for Guida)
9. Clay Guida
10. Does it matter at this point ?

Please save your Hermes Franca arguments just because he “maned up” and said he took illegal substances, doesn’t make it right. For the Sean Sherk bashers, allow this too unfold and then take your shots if he is suspended by the UFC.

On the horizon
1. Melvin Guillard (only a couple of more months of suspsension)
2. Thiago Tavares (happy Stunnalator ? he beat a railroad worker for god sakes who looked no more than 145 lbs.)
3. Gray Maynard
4. Nate Diaz

The 155lb division in the UFC is by far in my opinion the DEEPEST division they have. Maaaaaaaaad players in that game. But yeah… I could see Din getting a title shot in 1-2 more wins. Its just hard because of how Sherk has been laid up for almost a year since his last fight… not exactly a ‘fighting’ champion. Id love to see Din go after a hard player in that divions, Id put money on him over almost anyone outside of BJ… guy has HANDS and some great grappling talent.

Sorry for such a long post, just got in to it while keeping productivity at work down.

[quote comment=”138031″][quote comment=”138020″]who the hell is din thomas?[/quote]
Well if you don’t know din,but you know roger huerta,you are a mma newbie and i’ll let that statement slide[/quote]

Well put…

Assuming Sherk gets stripped, the immediate 155 title picture goes no farther than Penn, Joe Daddy, Ken-Flo and Thomas. I like the idea of the Din-KenFlo match fighting the winner of Penn-JoeDaddy. Everybody below them can start scrapping it for title shots after those fights happen.

Violent Mike is pretty accurate on this one….. considering Jlo was the previous #1 contender, and has an impressive win since the loss to Sherk, I see the winner of Kblow and Din to be the next in line if AStevenson can compete.

Sherk - Champ (will be stripped of the belt when the appeal falls through)
BJ Penn #1 contender
Joe Stevenson #2
Kenny Florian #3
Roger Huerta #4 (I don’t think he is top 5, but I think the UFC sees him as top5)
Spencer Fisher #5
Din Thomas #6 (If Din beats kenny by any kind of early stoppage I think he slides into #3)

Which could slid him into a fight with BJ if Daddy can’t fight.

Sorry to burst some bubbles, but Thomas hasnt beaten anyone of note yet in this run of fights. If he beats Florian he is definatly top 4. Penn #1, Stevenson # 2. The only way Florian/Thomas gets a shot is if the UFC cant wait for Stevenson.

If he beats KenFlo he shouldbe next in line for a title shot

It depends on who the other competitor is. If BJ Penn fights for the open belt, Din should not be part of that fight as Penn already clearly dominated him. I think it should be Joe vs Penn. The winner of thomas/florian gets the next shot. Huerta has fought NOBODY!!! While i am impressed, he has gooten no more than “stylistic challenges”… nobody that even cracks the top 15.

I know the Japaneese fighters dont usually but weight, but i bet Sakurai could make 155 if he wanted. I would make him the number 2 fighter under Penn.

[quote comment=”138082″]Sorry to burst some bubbles, but Thomas hasnt beaten anyone of note yet in this run of fights. If he beats Florian he is definatly top 4. Penn #1, Stevenson # 2. The only way Florian/Thomas gets a shot is if the UFC cant wait for Stevenson.[/quote]
Din beat the current champ, at a higher weight class. Guy has always been a 155 fighter, ifnot a 145lb fighter. He is VERY impressive from an MMA standpoint.

I think alot of you guys are accurate with Tavares, Huerta and even Fisher being a couple wins out of contention, literally, all three of them are just 2-3 wins away from being a solid fighter in this division. Im also with alot of you guys, BJ-Stevenson and Kflo-Din, winners fighting for the belt.

The other thing to think about, is the marketability of contenders/challengers/champion. Obviously Huerta is a popular fighter, BJ prolly the most popular for any long time MMA fans, Din is also EXTREMELY marketable along with Kflo… simply for TUF. Tuf fighters bring a LOT of fans… anyone remember the boos that Koschek got Sat? His (un)popularity springs from the show..

But yeah, I see the BJ-Stevenson and Kflo-Din to contend as being the route Silva/White go with. Unless someone rocks BJ hard (which I think only Din has a shot at doing that out of the other three) BJ is gonna hold that belt, prolly for a while too.

If he beats Florian, he should definitely be given a title shot. Now, if Sherk is stripped of his title, then I think he should fight BJ for it. I know everyone is saying Joe Daddy, but his ass hasn’t fought any of the top guys yet. Pellegrino was good, but not a top 5 guy. Plus, Joe is still on his chump ass TUF contract. If he waits it out, he could make much more for his effort at a title shot.

Yo, what up 2 da White Rhino. Din has been around 4 a while. Maybe he hasn’t beaten the best…but would you have said the same 4 Serra b4 he won the 170lb belt? Right on Rhino!!!………….newbies.lol

[quote post=”3193″]who the hell is din thomas? [/quote]

WHAT!!!!!!!! Please read the articles and the comments for a few months, while you watch as many MMA fights as you can on YouTube and DailyMotion. And remember, there is more to MMA than the UFC. THEN and only THEN should you bother posting again. I mean, even if you just started watching a year ago, you would know who he is from TUF. And even if you don’t have the money to order the PPV’s, he fought for FREE on SPIKE on last Nov. 26th and January 5th. That is less than 7 months ago!

There are all these great lightweights who seem to fight nobody’s at every UFC… it’s getting pretty annoying. It’s time to start pitting these guys against eachother.

hahaha, why is everybody so insulted. i posted that i was just kidding. you might want to read all the posts before you waste your time typing that whole paragraph.

also why does everybody think that they’re such experts on mma. puhlease spare me your little lecture. so what if i really didnt know about din thomas? he isn’t even in a top contender position right now. why should i know who he is. who cares if he fought in TUF. everybody knows the next in line for LW is BJ, Kenflo, and Huerta.

to clarify, i do know who din thomas is but i don’t give two bits about him.

[quote post=”3193″]I mean, even if you just started watching a year ago, you would know who he is from TUF[/quote]

REPHRASE - …you would know that he was on TUF.

Obviously, Din is not from the TUF series, he was on the TUF the comeback. He had great UFC experience prior to being on TUF. I should have made that clear in my post above.

Din Thomas for the belt??? give me a break. His argument that he has been fighting in UFC since 2001 does nothing to grant him a title shot.

His record since 2001 until he re-emerged in 2006 was (2-2).

His win against Matt Serra not very convincing since Serra was a very mediocre fighter at that point getting beat up left and right. Serra was (2-2) when he fought Thomas and ended (4-4) until he came back on 2006(Serra)

Thomas’ career form 2001-2005 sucked. He should not even refer to it. Since he came back on 2006, who has he fought?

Thomas’ win over Guida was pure luck and should have been a decision on Guida’s favor. Who else has Thomas beat???? Rich Clementi(1-4) and Jeremy Stephens (0-1) Please!!!!

Thomas, WAKE UP. The list of fighters that are at much superior level is countless. Why have you not gotten a title shot since 2001? Because you have not proven yourself and simply you do not deserve it.

I do not have anything against hi but please, who wants to see Din goinf for the Title?

First prove yourself against worthy opponents and then justice will be done and you will have your title.

[quote comment=”138103″][quote post=”3193″]who the hell is din thomas? [/quote]

WHAT!!!!!!!! Please read the articles and the comments for a few months, while you watch as many MMA fights as you can on YouTube and DailyMotion. And remember, there is more to MMA than the UFC. THEN and only THEN should you bother posting again. I mean, even if you just started watching a year ago, you would know who he is from TUF. And even if you don’t have the money to order the PPV’s, he fought for FREE on SPIKE on last Nov. 26th and January 5th. That is less than 7 months ago![/quote]

Wow, you are violent. Who is Roger Huerta? Ken Flo would be his ash, no doubt.

So anyone who has beaten a current champ is always going to be a contender? Thats the stupidest reasoning I have ever heard. That would mean that Din could easlily beat GSP and in all likelihood kill him. I dont see the point of Penn/Stevenson, 1&2, fighting the winner of 3 & 4 Florian/Thomas.

big ups to i bread keepin it hood like always,but imo i think they should hold off on the belt like alot of people said an let
penn vs. stevenson
kflo vs din
the winners of them fights fights for the belt in early 08

He’s saying he deserves a title shot IF he beats Florian. If he does beat Kenny then is absolutely qualified to fight for the title. More so than many other lightweight contenders that you guys rank so highly(i.e. Huerta, Fisher, Griffin, Florian).

Im not sure if I would be interested in seeing Thomas vs PennII, Thomas is tough and shows alotta heart when he fights but it still dosent sound appealing to me. What will be interesting is how it all plays out its a deep weight class

[quote comment=”138049″][quote comment=”138035″]In all honesty, the lw division needs a gd tournament. It is SOOOO stacked right now. It will take years to figure out who is the best[/quote]

Let me save you some time. BJ Penn is the best.

[quote comment=”138110″]hahaha, why is everybody so insulted. i posted that i was just kidding.

also why does everybody think that they’re such experts on mma. puhlease spare me your little lecture. so what if i really didnt know about din thomas? he isn’t even in a top contender position right now. why should i know who he is. who cares if he fought in TUF. everybody knows the next in line for LW is BJ, Kenflo, and Huerta.

to clarify, i do know who din thomas is but i don’t give two bits about him.[/quote]

Sarcasm doesn’t translate very well through bare text. The reasons: stupidity and ignorance. They exist in society and we all know it so we can’t be sure of where you’re coming from when you post something like that. By the way, there are no lines to read between here (just to be clear). I’m NOT calling you stupid or ignorant. Then again, after reading this last post I’m not saying you’re not either.

For MMA fans, it kind of is a big deal to not know who Din Thomas is. Thomas is a bad man, and personally is one of my favorite fighters. He’s fast and well-rounded, easily capable on either the ground or the feet. The dude trains with American Top Team, so you know he’s getting top notch training day in and day out.

Huerta is not next in line for the LW title. He’s being groomed by the UFC because he’s a perfect posterboy for the UFC in the states and a good fighter to help sell the organization in Latin America. If you think he’s next in line for a title shot, you’re buying into the UFC hype machine too much. Huerta is good, but we won’t know how good until he fights someone of championship caliber. If he fights Thomas (a great idea, btw marcbjr) and wins, then he can start being called a contender. Until then, to say he’s a contender is pretty much like telling people that you’re a fan of “ultimate fighting.”

Not knowing about Din Thomas is like saying you’re a huge fan of MMA but have never heard of Denis Kang.

[quote comment=”138017″][quote comment=”138016″]why not have him fight Roger Huerta for a number 1 contender’s match at the end of the year if Din wins against Florian?[/quote]
love this idea[/quote]

Because Joe stevenson’s nose might be broken, and someone is gonna have to fight BJ Penn for the Title at UFC 78 in November.
If Sherk is stripped of the title, and stevenson can’t fight, and Din beats Florian, then they gotta give Din the title shot in November.

SHERK SHOULD GET STRIPPED CAUSE HE SUCKS AS A CHAMP.
FORGET ABOUT SPENCER.
FLORIAN WILL DOMINATE DIN THOMAS’S OLD ASS.
PENN WILL EEK OUT A WIN FROM STEVENSON.

IT WILL BE PENN AND KEN FLO.

PENN WILL TAKE THE LW DIVISION.
EXPERIENCE WILL PLAY A BIG PART IN THIS.
UNFORTUNATELY NOT FOR DIN THOMAS.

HUERTA IS THE NEXT BEST THING.

[quote comment=”138135″]big ups to i bread keepin it hood like always,but imo i think they should hold off on the belt like alot of people said an let
penn vs. stevenson
kflo vs din[quote comment=”138103″][quote post=”3193″]who the hell is din thomas? [/quote]

WHAT!!!!!!!! Please read the articles and the comments for a few months, while you watch as many MMA fights as you can on YouTube and DailyMotion. And remember, there is more to MMA than the UFC. THEN and only THEN should you bother posting again. I mean, even if you just started watching a year ago, you would know who he is from TUF. And even if you don’t have the money to order the PPV’s, he fought for FREE on SPIKE on last Nov. 26th and January 5th. That is less than 7 months ago![/quote]

He was on the comeback TUF. He’s been a UFC veteran for what 6 years? Who’s dean thomas? Thats nutts, he’s the man, and he’s always challenging boxers to get in a cage wit him, He’s a tough vet. Like he said he has beaten matt serra and is been on a lil winning streak. Since guida always gets ripped off and his record is weak. Tyson griffin is still a puppy (a beastly puppy). Roger Huerta has fought no 1. Naturally if stevenson is out, Sherk is stripped, and din beats Florian, I definitely deserves to fight BJ for the tittle in November!

For some of us that have been watching MMA for a while. I’d have to say that BJ vs Din would be fun to watch.

Frank Edgar is scheduled for a undercard fight on the tentative BJ Penn vs Sherk card. If Din wins this fight against Florian he could request that fight. Two decisive wins will surely get him a title shot.

I am old school. I beleive if you want a title shot and are upset other people are getting it when you think you should then I say put yourself out there fight those guys and still their thunder!!!

I for one would rather anyone fight for the belt besides Stevenson. I just dont like him, he is a good wrestler and has some decent submissions but I have not been impressed.

Roger Huerta needs to step up his level of opposition and prove himself. Start fighting some contenders or other people with equal experience and victories as yourself. Guida vs Huerta would be a very entertaining fight.

john Aug 29th, 2007 at 6:33 pm Quote this comment

UFC Fan: We both misunderstood each other, I wil also appologize to u for being defensive. There are like 50 posts on each thread , Unfortunately I dontr get to read all of them. I do look to try to read bloggers that I am familiar with, who I know don’t mess around on here. U have to admit a lot of people come n play around, so that sometimes might keep me from reading everysingle post and I might miss really inciteful ones. I wasnt trying to knock you and all the other bloggers that I didnt mention. I was just saying how much I appreciate ones that take this serious because a lot of people r just a waste of space. McCenna for example will argue with the world that Bisping will beat Fedor. That stuff drives me crazy. Just cuz he is his countryman he is supposed to be the greatest mma fighter ever. That stuff pisses me off.

Like I said no offense to you or anyone else that:
Takes this serious
Only offers oppinions on what he knows about
and is objective and not all Favorite fighter oriented posts!

Sorry if I came off wrong, I apreciates everyone that takes this serious. And if u look at my posts I often ask questions and look forward to all of your educated answers. I just get pissed wit the goofing arournd.

For instance: if I only know 1 out of the 2 fighters in a match, and the fighter I am familiar with is great, but I dont know about his opponent, I wont offer an oppinion.

I have no problem saying i dont know anything about him. I said it about Alberto Crane last week.

This discussion is a waste of time, Florian is going to bring Din back down to earth. I’ll say K-Flo second round submission probably a triangle choke.

[quote comment=”138077″]Sorry for such a long post, just got in to it while keeping productivity at work down.[/quote]

Jason Black cut alot of weight too make 155 , hes tough and for Tavares too handle him the way he did says alot.

He’s lost 3 of his last 8 fights! He should go pound salt. There are a ton of guys that have cleaner records, longer winning streaks and who have beaten numerous big name opponents.

What a joke.

in the same regard, if Kenflo beats Din, he should have anouther go at the belt.

Sherk was probably on steriods when he fought Florian and Kenflo took him for five rounds and almost finished him due to that NASTY cut.

PLUS I’m a firm believer in skinny tall dudes ruling the 155 division. Lauzon, Cole Miller, Florian, Nick Diaz, ect

[quote comment=”138110″]hahaha, why is everybody so insulted. i posted that i was just kidding. you might want to read all the posts before you waste your time typing that whole paragraph.

also why does everybody think that they’re such experts on mma. puhlease spare me your little lecture. so what if i really didnt know about din thomas? he isn’t even in a top contender position right now. why should i know who he is. who cares if he fought in TUF. everybody knows the next in line for LW is BJ, Kenflo, and Huerta.

to clarify, i do know who din thomas is but i don’t give two bits about him.[/quote]

I’m sorry, but Huerta is not a contender. Not yet. He needs to beat someone at Din Thomas’s level first.

[quote comment=”138080″]Assuming Sherk gets stripped, the immediate 155 title picture goes no farther than Penn, Joe Daddy, Ken-Flo and Thomas. I like the idea of the Din-KenFlo match fighting the winner of Penn-JoeDaddy. Everybody below them can start scrapping it for title shots after those fights happen.[/quote]

This is the perfect idea. Dana, make it happen. Seriously, I think Din’s a top 5 guy. His 20-6 record was built against solid competition, not cans; he’s beat some good fighters and only lost to good fighters. Plus, given Karo’s recent crying about who gets title shots, Thomas has the maturity to bitch about the same thing without sounding like a whiner.

[quote comment=”138234″]in the same regard, if Kenflo beats Din, he should have anouther go at the belt.

Sherk was probably on steriods when he fought Florian and Kenflo took him for five rounds and almost finished him due to that NASTY cut.

PLUS I’m a firm believer in skinny tall dudes ruling the 155 division. Lauzon, Cole Miller, Florian, Nick Diaz, ect[/quote]
i guess thats why a short stalky guy has been the champ for forever

penn vs sakurai!!!

[quote comment=”138072″]Stunnalator surprised that you even remembered that lol. But I’ll help ease some of this controversey with my expertise, or lack thereof haha.

Everything is contingent upon Sherk’s hearing, however if he does in fact lose his appeal, it is clear that the UFC has intentions of a championship fight between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson for the vacant title. No one should worry about Joe Stevenson’s recent injury becaue like it or not, Dana would PROLONG/PUT OFF/DELAY this fight until December or January.

Now with this Kenny Florian / Din Thomas fight, I have these guys ranked #3 and #4 respectively because there arent too many better than these guys. Kenny Florian is still evolving and Din Thomas has some of the more accurate boxing in the 155 class not to mention good ground work. The winner of this fight will clearly be the # 1 contender, providing Sherk loses his appeal. Otherwise they move up to the # 2 contender slot.

Now we can get in to the guys beyond the top 4-5 guys

We have Frank Edgar who is slated to fight in New Jersey. Two more wins lines him up for serious title contention.

Spencer Fischer - Showed incredibly accurate boxing and a strong chin in his last fight. A fight with Edgar or even Clay Guida makes sense.

Tyson Griffen - Has a fight coming up with Thiago Tavares your typical flavor of the month. If he does his job and gets a win, he may see Roger Huerta.

Clay Guida - As tough as they come, needs to string 2-3 more wins together for late 2008 title picture.

Roger Huerta - It is clear now that Dana and company will stop padding his record and allow a more high profile fight in his next bout. Maybe Fischer or Edgar even ?

Quick Recap

Champion : Sean Sherk

Contenders
1. BJ Penn
2. Joe Stevenson
3. Kenny Florian (argument could be made for Thomas)
4. Din Thomas
5. Frank Edgar (UFC is set on making him a name, especially to bring more venues to the East Coast : Jersey)
6. Spencer Fischer (based on UFC experience and toughness, could have been him fighting Sherk instead of Franca that night)
7. Tyson Griffen
8. Roger Huerta (argument could be made for Guida)
9. Clay Guida
10. Does it matter at this point ?

Please save your Hermes Franca arguments just because he “maned up” and said he took illegal substances, doesn’t make it right. For the Sean Sherk bashers, allow this too unfold and then take your shots if he is suspended by the UFC.

On the horizon
1. Melvin Guillard (only a couple of more months of suspsension)
2. Thiago Tavares (happy Stunnalator ? he beat a railroad worker for god sakes who looked no more than 145 lbs.)
3. Gray Maynard
4. Nate Diaz[/quote]

Well put Kelley. The only thing I disagree with is Fisher should be in front of Edgar. Not really much else to say, you pretty much said it all.

Din Thomas will not get a title shot if Sherk is found innocent for some odd recent. Penn will get first go. Stevenson will then have to fight Din(if he wins) for number 1 contender. Edgar/Fisher shoud lock horns, as well as Griffen/Huerta. Thiago/Guida makes sense as well.

I’d love to see Sherk vs Penn. I don’t think it’ll happen. Da WhiteRino had it right, winners of;
Stevenson vs BJ…and
KenFlo vs Din…
then we’ll find out who’s who @ 155lbs…..Holla!

Hey, did anyone actually read the article that this thread links to? I am reading it now and came across something very interesting about Din’s past. He went to jail for beating up his exgirls new boyfriend. The weird thing is his jail sentence. He was only in jail on the weekends - 50 weekends. Has anyone ever heard of this before?

Here is his quote from the interview:

Thomas: Yeah, so I was going to try and walk on at one of those schools. But at the time I was with my girlfriend, and ya know, a 17-year-old kid should never have a steady girlfriend. So, she broke up with me at the time and started messing around with another dude, and boom, ya know? I just couldn’t take it and I ended up beating the dog crap out of this guy and ended up going to jail for a little while. My sentence was actually 50 weekends in jail. So every Friday I had to go into jail and come out on Sunday.

C war thanks for the props. Gotta say the matches you propose make all the sense in the world. I just dont think Dana White wants to see those guys lose against each other.

I think that Frank Edgar fight against Spencer Fischer will make for a great fight. Both guys are coming off of exciting wins (Bocek, Stout) and they are both smaller guys at 5′ 6″ . I think this would be one hell of a scrap with great striking and groun work displayed throughout.

I’d like to see Tyson Griffen fight Roger Huerta after Griffen beats Tavares (cheap shot at Stunnalator) but I dont think the UFC could afford Huerta losing in a match where he’d be fighting someone with equal strength, maybe even slightly stronger.

The Clay Guida fight against Thiago Tavares might be the most fast paced fight in the history of 155 lbs. I think this fight would last one full round and someone would get dropped in the early 2nd. It makes sense to have these two sqaure off because it allows Guida to further prove himself as an up and comer and it would allow Tavares the chance to redeem himself after Griffen manhandles him.

[quote post=”3193″]Hey, did anyone actually read the article that this thread links to? I am reading it now and came across something very interesting about Din’s past. He went to jail for beating up his exgirls new boyfriend. The weird thing is his jail sentence. He was only in jail on the weekends - 50 weekends. Has anyone ever heard of this before?[/quote]
It’s not all that uncommon. In the city anyway. I didn’t know that though. Good Look!

[quote post=”3193″]also why does everybody think that they’re such experts on mma. puhlease spare me your little lecture. so what if i really didnt know about din thomas? he isn’t even in a top contender position right now. why should i know who he is. who cares if he fought in TUF. everybody knows the next in line for LW is BJ, Kenflo, and Huerta.
to clarify, i do know who din thomas is but i don’t give two bits about him.[/quote]

So you are saying that you only care about fighters that are in the top 3 of thier divion? SO you’re saying that you don’t watch the TUF series, because NONE of them are ranked in the top 3. Then you order the PPV, and only watch 1 or 2 of the fights, because the other are not top 3? AND you consider yourself a fan of MMA. You just sound like a bandwagoner to me!

Also, the order of LW contention is not BJ, Kenny, Huerta. It is BJ, Stevenson, Florian, Din Thomas. I currently have even Tyson Griffin and Frankie Edgar ranked above Huerta. I think that Thiago Tavarez would beat up on Huerta if they fought. It would be a great, fast paaced entertaining fight if they ever do tangle.

Nice breakdown Kevin. I like your views. I know Thiago wont get a shot before Stevenson and BJ and a lot does ride on the whole Sherk ordeal. When Thiago manhandles griffin they probably will put him up against huerta or the winner of the florrian/thomas fight, and around that time we should be seeing a shot for the lightweight title. Possibly both fights in the same event. When Thiago manhandles kenny/din/huerta..he will have his shot and eventually become champion. You just watch!!

John: I completely understand and I am sorry for even making a issue of it. Let put it behind us! I enjoy your post and now that you are familiar with me maybe I can offer a unique perspective. I too will ask questions when I don’t know something! Sometimes I get confused with the names of fighters and with some many outthere I try to write something intelligent and it comes out like a third grade book report! lol.

ViolentMike: Only doing time on weekends could be a work-release program. Does Din have family, wife and kids? This is one reason I know that a judge would allow this.

Tavares has only 2 victories in the Octagon, does anyone know where his other 14 wins came from? Is he primarily a BJJ guy or is he well rounded?

For anyone to think Bisping could beat Fedor is ridiculous, and to me that just shows the effects of drug abuse, as a judge once told me (i am now 13 years clean) “do you use drugs?”
“Yes” I responded.
“Dont You realize that distorts your perception of reality?” asked the Judge.
“Yes, your honor, that is the point!” I replied.
These people reality is so distorted they may have chemical influence playing a part, it would be sad to think they are that dillussional without it!

A lot of people have doubts about Thiago Tavarez. I’m tellin you, this kid is crazy talented - that’s why they matched him up with Tyson Griffin who always seems to be in a close, exciting fight. I can’t wait to see this one, and I will be rooting for Tavarez. Who would I like to see Tavarez fight after that (win or lose) = Roger Huerta

I need to pay more attention to the lightweights. For some reason I just never got into the division as much. I’ll have to go watch my ufc DVD’s and vids again and pay more attention to these guys.

Also, the order of LW contention is not BJ, Kenny, Huerta. It is BJ, Stevenson, Florian, Din Thomas. I currently have even Tyson Griffin and Frankie Edgar ranked above Huerta. I think that Thiago Tavarez would beat up on Huerta if they fought. It would be a great, fast paaced entertaining fight if they ever do tangle.

Sounds right to me.!

UFC Fan: its behind us man! As for your Question:
Tavares has only 2 victories in the Octagon, does anyone know where his other 14 wins came from? Is he primarily a BJJ guy or is he well rounded?

Tavares looks great in the octagon, but Im sorry, I have no knowledge about his experiences outside the octagon.
I would also like to know who is other wins came against, and in what organizations he has fought. Anyone wit Knowledge of that please let us know.

What I do know is he looks like a very promising young fighter.