Bro first of all don't come at me with this "you don't seem to grasp for a poster of your tenure (what?)" BS. It's a passive aggressive punk move to foreground a bunch of opinion you're about to spout with nothing backing it up, either historically or logically. Just say what you have to say. Second, you either can't read or are just so intent on white knighting for your hero Khabib that you're not reading.
None of what I've said is a criticism of Khabib the human, the fighter, the dude getting his money however he can. He is taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him. I ain't mad. What I'm onviously offering is a criticism of championship management by the UFC. There are people who for years across multiple forums debated how to preserve the integrity of what it meant to be a champion in MMA (whistleblower, ShanoknowsMMA, Herring in a Fur Coat-Fight Matrix, Full Contact Fighter, MMAWeekly and even Jeff Sherwood). The lineal title matters (#1 ranked fighter at that weight in the world) when its broken there are culturally agreed upon parameters for replacing it (#2 vs. #3 or #4) otherwise the promotions can do whatever tf they want. The depth of the division and your completely arbitrary definitions of parity mean nothing. LW has always been deep. Without historical backing, a title is just something someone hands you, like a Sales Associate of the month certificate.
Khabib isn't to blame for the situation he's in and has earned a right to be in a title fight if they're stripping Conor, but there's no way we can recognize a fight with Iaquinta, who wasn't even eligible for the title in the event of a win, as a legitimate passage of the championship. Also, if Conor becomes active again at FW or LW, it's the lineal title being contested, just as if GSP fights at WW or MW again, his lineal titles are reactivated and if Jones fights at LHW again his lineal title is reactivated. Sadly, almost all of the lineages are completely broken now, but no attempts at replacement have been as egregious as Khabib vs. Iaquinta for the title. Under every previous precedent where a last minute replacement has happened in a main event title fight, rankings have determined whether it was for the belt or not. This fight it's obvious the UFC wanted to wring whatever attractiveness they could to get people to buy that PPV and not demand massive box office refunds. Keeping it a title fight is the oldest promotional trick to doing that in the book. You'd have to be blind or hopelessly naive to think otherwise. Khabib is a paper champ, but he can become a more legitimate champ with a win over Ferguson if Conor stays out or can become the real champ if Conor returns and he beats him.
