If you're the no1 contender to a belt...

[Spicoli]

If I was a number one contender I would refuse step aside money...though they can still drop the belt........and fight a dominate champion, maybe get my azz kicked with big time exposure rather than fighting for the vacant strap against another so-so 'unknown' fighter even though I might be more likley to win the belt .

Look back in any alphabet soup ranks and they usually held a vacant spot at the very top to at times shuttle in suspect 'contenders' for champs to knock out of the park.Then again,simply because we have never heard of them does not make them unworthy.Its a fine line but you can usually tell when they are being 'manipulated' but have always been in favor of a Champion meeting his top credible challengers,cleaning up division as opposed to jumping up to name network events.

[RP33]

If I was a number one contender I would refuse step aside money...though they can still drop the belt........and fight a dominate champion, maybe get my azz kicked with big time exposure rather than fighting for the vacant strap against another so-so 'unknown' fighter even though I might be more likley to win the belt .

Look back in any alphabet soup ranks and they usually held a vacant spot at the very top to at times shuttle in suspect 'contenders' for champs to knock out of the park.Then again,simply because we have never heard of them does not make them unworthy.Its a fine line but you can usually tell when they are being 'manipulated' but have always been in favor of a Champion meeting his top credible challengers,cleaning up division as opposed to jumping up to name network events.

yeah, i feel that there really aren't any "up and comers" that are getting denied good fights, or fights for a belt.. if anything it's not really that hard to get a fight for a belt considering there are 4 champs in each division.

the only time when this stuff bugs me is when some fighters are avoiding other fighters.. i know that it's hard to get business deals signed and what not, but it would be nice if there were some sort of standard where if you're a champ you have to fight another champ within a certain period of time or else you lose the belt.. and the money situation is split 50/50 or whatever.. that would be a nice "mandatory" fight because you would see the best vs the best as opposed to fighting some no name mandatory just to KO him.