The History: Behind the UFC 185 Pound Belt

Of all of the UFC titles, the UFC’s 185 pound belt is one of the most interesting to me, partly because it has one of the briefest histories, and partly because it is one of the few belts that remains as it has always been. As Anderson Silva looks to put the title on the line this weekend against Thales Leites, it is worth a look into the history of a belt that has been held by some of the greatest warriors in the sport.

While the UFC “middleweight” belt was the name of the 205 pound belt prior to the reign of Tito Ortiz (the name was changed before Ortiz’s third title defense against Elvis Sinosic at UFC 32), when the UFC decided to create a 185 pound championship for the event that came afterwards, they lent it the “middleweight” moniker.

The first man to hold the title is almost certainly the least known of the four titleholders. Veteran Dave Menne defeated then unbeaten Gil Castillo after five rounds to take hold of the strap. Castillo seemed to be a neophyte with a 4-0 record, but a recent win over a reputable warrior who would become a failed contender for that same belt, Nate Marquardt, lent him a great deal of credibility.

After his victory in September, Menne held the belt for the rest of 2001, but fought Murilo Bustamante at UFC 35. Bustamante decimated Menne, forcing a stoppage 44 seconds into the second round, becoming only the third warrior from outside of the United States to hold a UFC belt (preceded by heavyweight champion Bas Rutten, of Holland, and welterweight champion Carlos Newton, a Canadian). Then, though, Bustamante did something neither Rutten nor Newton had been able to: he successfully defended his belt.

In his first and only defense, Bustamante choked out Matt Lindland with a guillotine choke in the third round. Very few were sure that Bustamante would be able to beat Lindland, as the Olympic silver medalist from Oregon had posted a 7-0 record and was coming off of a TKO of five time 170 pound champion Pat Miletich. Still, Bustamante put on a display of the jiu-jitsu he learned from Carlson Gracie to finish the fight.

The title was vacated when Bustamante signed with the Pride Fighting Championships, and the UFC let go of the middleweight title until 2005.

At UFC 51, the legendary, Samson-esque warrior Evan Tanner made his second shot at UFC gold, after being knocked out by a slam from Tito Ortiz when looking for the 205 pound title (ironically, perhaps, the second time Tanner took a shot at the “middleweight title,” as his fight with Ortiz was the last time the term was used to describe the 205 pound belt.

He met David Terrell, a highly touted Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt who was coming off of a vicious knockout of that former contender Matt Lindland. In great form, Tanner defeated Terrell with a brutal display of strikes that showcased his heart. Tanner, like Menne, never successfully defended his title, and was beaten by then 18-1 Rich Franklin in his lone attempt at retaining the belt.

Franklin became the first American to successfully defend the 185 pound title and became a face for the UFC. As an articulate and well educated (not to mention good looking) guy, he became an advocate on behalf of the sport and appeared on television with Dana White on a few different occassions.

Franklin defended his belt twice, starching Nate Quarry in a highlight reel knockout at UFC 56 and putting on a display of testicular fortitude in his defeat of David Louiseau, fighting the last few rounds of the five round bout with a broken hand, punching all the while.

Still, as the nursery rhyme goes, along came a Spider.

Anderson Silva was a revolutionary champion for more than his apparent lack of desire to learn English and become a charismatic figure. He has quickly become one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, his fame closely tied to the UFC middleweight belt and the legitimacy of that title in a very competitive division internationally.

After destroying the nose of Rich Franklin, Silva defended the belt four times over the course of three years, defeating Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote and thwarting the second attempt of Rich Franklin. (the Travis Lutter fight, we sometimes forget, was not for a title, as Lutter failed to make weight).

With five straight title victories, Anderson Silva is in the highest echelon of champions. Only a few other fighters have done what Anderson has, defending their belts four times in a row. Pat Miletich, Frank Shamrock and Chuck Liddell all have five title victories.

Still, Anderson is not yet over the bar as UFC champions go, though he is certainly the greatest fighter to hold that 185 pound belt. The fight with Thales Leites gives him the chance to tie for the most consecutive title victories in history, a position which is currently held in a tie between Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz.

There is going to be a lot of talk about Anderson Silva’s win streak, but his status as a champion and his potential to be among the great and consistant champions the UFC has fostered is something worth mentioning, as well as the history of the belt he represents.