Everyone Wants a Piece; Who Deserves One?
By Josh Stein on Mar 12, 2010
It’s immediately obvious that the two loudest mouths calling out UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC, #2 IWMMAR) consist of more hype than substance. James Toney (0-0 MMA, 72-6-3-2 Boxing) and Mariusz Pudzianowski (1-0 MMA) aren’t in a position to talk about a shot at Brock, give that neither has even fought in the UFC yet. Of course, it’s traditional for newcomers getting even the littlest bit of hype should call out someone with a big name, and no one is bigger right now than the behemoth holding the UFC strap.
Of course, we all laugh at the discussion of Pudzianowski jumping to the top of the contender ladder, and we should. The caricature of a staredown between Pudzianowski and Lesnar is a comic-book artists wet dream, but what’s interesting is that, for the first time in a while, there really is a serious contender ladder in the UFC heavyweight division.
It’s hard not to recognize that there are at least four solid contenders for the UFC heavyweight title, at the moment. Three are on sizable win streaks, all with wins over major opponents, and one holds a 1-1 split with Lesnar in a series that has consisted of three very high profile title fights. Two of those competitors are fighting for the interim belt, so Lesnar will fight the winner of that bout for sure. Both Frank Mir (13-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC, #3 IWMMAR) and Shane Carwin (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) are deserving competitors for the interim belt, and both will make for incredibly exciting matchups with Lesnar, when the time comes to unify the belts.
Cain Velasquez (8-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC, #4 IWMMAR) has finally cracked the top five with a huge win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC, #5 IWMMAR) and is now (as the record indicates) on a 6-0 run in the UFC with three wins over solid opponents. A win over a debuting Ben Rothwell (30-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is not that big a deal by itself, but sandwiched between a solid win over a good gatekeeper in Cheick Kongo (14-6-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and a top ten heavyweight in Nogueira, it’s starting to look like a serious argument for the top contender position, or at least a very interesting matchup with the loser of the matchup between Mir and Carwin.
At the bottom of the ladder, though still a very interesting opponent (who, in another time, could have been a contender for the belt as his resume stands now), is Junior dos Santos (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC, #6 IWMMAR). He has four straight finishes in the UFC, all over fighters who are respected by hardcore fans. Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic (26-7-2-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) isn’t the fighter he used to be, but to beat a solid K-1 veteran standing up is respectable, and beating three, once you add Dutch kickboxers Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Stefan Struve (19-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC), basically makes dos Santos the top dog among strikers in a UFC heavyweight division that sees a lot of striking. While pretty much any of the other top fighters (Lesnar, Mir, Carwin or Velasquez) would definitely look to get a fight with Cigano to the ground, that’s what makes Cigano an interesting opponent for them. Junior’s standup is intimidating, even for the top guys in the division, and the fact that he can knock out a guy coming in on him, like he did with Fabricio Werdum (13-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC, #9 IWMMAR), makes him a much more interesting opponent. I’m not entirely sure what level his jiu-jitsu is at, though I hope to find out when he takes on world champion blackbelt Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) later this month.
This is not the UFC’s best division. Not even close. It’s hard to say if it ever has been. However, the division is stronger than it was a year ago, definitely than it was two years ago. It’s an interesting ladder right now, with a number of solid competitors and some solid matchups. Any matchup of these four fighters will make for a great bout, and any matchup of these four fighters with Brock will make for a matchup worth talking about, and worth watching. With Brock’s health a serious question, any opponent is interesting, but these are some good stylistic matchups and they’d make for a test for Brock even if his health wasn’t a matter of speculation. It’s definitely a better division than it used to be, and there’s something to be said for that.
Some people may have noticed that Shane Carwin doesn’t have a ranking from the Independent World MMA Ranking panel. Carwin was ineligible to be ranked this month as he has been inactive for twelve months. He will regain his eligibility for the April rankings when he fights Frank Mir on the 27th. In February, when Carwin was last eligible, he was ranked at #5, above Brett Rogers and below Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Comments (3)
Get 1 Now
Get Free Gear
Good points Josh. As bad as it is to say Lesnar’s condition may have been a blessing in disguise. It has certainly given the HW division a chance to establish viable contenders (unlike say MW, WW, or LW) which some of the other divisions have not had a real chance to do as the UFC wants to throw title fights on the cards. I think despite Noguiera’s loss to Cain you could throw him in the mix as well if he comes back with an impressive win over someone. There are also less deserving match ups like a Roy Nelson who has to still work his way up and even dare I say it a Kimbo vs. Lesnar match down the line (of course from a business stand point). But right now outside of maybe LHW the HW division has the most potential in fighters deserving title shots.
Bill
[...] Maybe that’s because I’ve already used up most of my weekly allowance of optimism on the UFC heavyweight division, and maybe it’s because I’ve been making this same argument over and over again since [...]
Carwin and Velasquez are the only two that have a legitimate shot at beating Lesnar when he is back in the mix. Junior is Dangerous but the smart money says Lesnar will get it to the ground.