The List:
Champion : Jose Aldo
1 Chad Mendes
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Ricardo Lamas
4 Cub Swanson
5 Chan Sung Jung
6 Dustin Poirier
7 Dennis Siver
8 Nik Lentz
9 Clay Guida
10 Dennis Bermudez
11 Jeremy Stephens
12 Darren Elkins
13 Conor McGregor
14 Tatsuya Kawajiri
15 Erik Koch
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Sung_Jung
I look at this list and I'm thinking that just about everyone ranked lower could beat TKZ, some of them would come in as a slight favorite, and others as a slight underdog. On the list, whom would you consider TKZ to be a heavy favorite against? Just one fighter, I think. He is Tatsuya Kawajiri. Even the lowly ranked Erik Koch, based on my assessment of his physical athleticism and past accomplishments would come in (imho) as the favorite against TKZ. Nik Lentz and Darren Elkins might come in as a slight underdog. All the others are better.
So, whom has TKZ beaten? TKZ has one great win, that was against Dustin Poirer. Before Poirer, TKZ knocked out a careless (and declining) Mark Hominick who has since quit the fight game. Hominick came out aggressive, made a mistake and paid for it. There is nothing illegitimate about this win, and TKZ was definitely better that night but not enough happened in 7 seconds to draw any meaningful conclusions. Of course, TKZ locked in a nice submission against Leonard Garcia. To remain in the UFC, you had to have beaten Leonard Garcia.
So, why is Chan Sung Jung ranked so high by the UFC? The answer is: marketing. The UFC must pay 'proper respect,' less they be deemed disrespectful, by the TKZ's rabid fans.
Champion : Jose Aldo
1 Chad Mendes
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Ricardo Lamas
4 Cub Swanson
5 Chan Sung Jung
6 Dustin Poirier
7 Dennis Siver
8 Nik Lentz
9 Clay Guida
10 Dennis Bermudez
11 Jeremy Stephens
12 Darren Elkins
13 Conor McGregor
14 Tatsuya Kawajiri
15 Erik Koch
--------------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Sung_Jung
I look at this list and I'm thinking that just about everyone ranked lower could beat TKZ, some of them would come in as a slight favorite, and others as a slight underdog. On the list, whom would you consider TKZ to be a heavy favorite against? Just one fighter, I think. He is Tatsuya Kawajiri. Even the lowly ranked Erik Koch, based on my assessment of his physical athleticism and past accomplishments would come in (imho) as the favorite against TKZ. Nik Lentz and Darren Elkins might come in as a slight underdog. All the others are better.
So, whom has TKZ beaten? TKZ has one great win, that was against Dustin Poirer. Before Poirer, TKZ knocked out a careless (and declining) Mark Hominick who has since quit the fight game. Hominick came out aggressive, made a mistake and paid for it. There is nothing illegitimate about this win, and TKZ was definitely better that night but not enough happened in 7 seconds to draw any meaningful conclusions. Of course, TKZ locked in a nice submission against Leonard Garcia. To remain in the UFC, you had to have beaten Leonard Garcia.
So, why is Chan Sung Jung ranked so high by the UFC? The answer is: marketing. The UFC must pay 'proper respect,' less they be deemed disrespectful, by the TKZ's rabid fans.