No, not at all, I'm not saying all of Khabib's wins are irrelevant. That's just plain wrong.
Just that all the best ones are quite dated.
Tony beat RDA 4 months after he lost to Alvarez, so you could make an argument that he fought a better RDA, correct? He got KO'd, but he had won the title only a few fights prior, when Khabib beat him he hadn't beaten Benson, hadn't completely murked Pettis. Up to that point he was on the first real win streak he had had in the UFC, his best win being his first fight with Cerrone.
You could say he wasn't his best after the Eddie KO, but he was certainly an improved fighter from when Khabib beat him, his record shows that.
RDA just beat a good WW in Neil Magny aswell and 2-0 at WW, so he's still got it. We'll see how he does against the rest of the division.
Kevin Lee is only 25, 16-3, this will be a learning experience for him, if he's really any good, he'l continue too improve and get better. They always say you learn more from a loss. RDA is proof of that right there.
You're right to say that Tony's record is somewhat similar too Khabib's on paper, it is, but he still has beaten better guys. I'd take Kevin Lee over several of Khabib's notable wins, Edson too and he beat a better RDA.
Michael Johnson might have beaten Tony 5 years ago, but again, that's half a decade ago, lets see that fight again. Another reason why time is a factor here. Again, fighters learn more from losses, clearly Tony learned a ton from that one cuz he hasn't lost since.
At the end of the day Khabib needs to get healthy, stay in shape, make weight and get back in the cage. As of right now, I say he should take a drop in the rankings.
I'm not trying to shit on Khabib or anything, I'm just saying, given his inactivity and the current landscape of LW, he's ranked a bit high. He needs more wins against the current top 10 to stay where he is.
I'm a fan of Boxing's model to strip champions and demote fighters in rankings due to inactivity. You can't cling too a few good wins forever, you gotta keep active and winning, or else someone young and hungry will come and take your spot.
