The year 2012 represents the end of a celestial era. Various
interpretations of ancient calendars and scriptures have lead some (mostly
capitalists in the entertainment or survival supply businesses) to predict the
end of the world. However, the
celestial shift is not really up for much debate. On a different scale another shift is occurring. The
dominance of the Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions is faltering and
the emergence of a strong and stable Middleweight division is evident. Granted,
big fighters with knockout power are never going to go out of style but it
seems that on the tales of introducing three lighter weight classes the MMA
giant Ultimate Fighting Championship has also seen a shift downward in its
show-stealing performances. Middleweights aren’t just fighting their preverbal
asses off out their they are becoming more recognizable, getting their names
out, and in the process they are building one of the strongest divisions in the
sport. Anderson Silva sees no less
than 5 potential contenders knocking on his door, fighting to earn a title shot
or begging for the next, none of which he has fought yet. At their side sits a
number of contenders that he has bested.
This comes as Silva finally overcomes his stiffest challenge to date by
putting away Chael Sonnen for the second time. To break down what has made this division the hottest in MMA
I will address a number of the top fighters in the division and why they are
important the rise of the middleweight division.
Anderson Silva – The
King of the Middleweight Mountain did no less than solidify himself as greatest
fighter in MMA history when he emphatically finished his arch nemesis Chael
Sonnen. But more than that he
shook a huge monkey off his back and stepped out of the shadow of what Sonnen
rightly characterized as a 23-minute ass beating. After the dust settled on the
Sonnen/Silva rivalry the clamor began for super fights, picking up the “there
is nothing left” discourse that has characterized Silva’s career for some time
now. Once everyone took a step
back though they seemed to realize the landscape had the potential to
completely change and it did.
Silva only has so many fights left in him and it is hard to tell how he
will want to use them. Super fights might be desirable and could place an
exclamation point at the end of his legendary career. This is echoed by rumors
that The Spider is leaning toward taking a fight with Georges St. Pierre.
However, a move away from the MW division will not be from lack of talent as
there are plenty of very worthy contenders waiting their turn.
Chael Sonnen – It is
tough to tell what is next for Chael Sonnen since falling for the second time
to Anderson Silva. Another title
shot seems maybe not out of the question but highly unlikely as long as his
nemesis has the belt. Sonnen has
left a void at the top, allowing for other contenders to claim the title of
“true” number one contender. A move to light heavyweight seems possible but a
shift to a more commentary/personality oriented career is far more likely. A
glimmer of hope has come from a small spat between “The American Gangster” and
“Rampage” Jackson. Jackson already
has his last fight booked but if two of the most entertaining mouths keep
running at each other you can never rule out the possibility that Sonnen will
take his personality to a heavier weight class.
Chris Weidman – The
new bee’s knees, Chris Weidman has emerged as the hottest thing in MMA this
summer. Weidman went from bottom
of the top 10 to arguable number one contender in the matter of two rounds as
he absolutely dominated and wrecked Mark Munoz - yeah, that Mark Munoz – the
one that was on the brink of his own title shot. Weidman showed off a rare blend of submissions, wrestling,
striking, and transitions that even inspired Sonnen to call him the best
middleweight in the world – present company included. With highly touted
Lombard falling at UFC 149 Weidman might be the front-runner for the next title
shot and might represent the most dangerous challenge to The Spider to date.
Alan Belcher – Alan
Belcher has slowly but surely solidified himself as one of the top contenders
in the division. His recent first
round victory over Rousimar Palhares in May put his win streak at 4, a win
streak that could be at 7 if it were not for a controversial decision loss to
Yoshihiro Akiyama. Belcher has
proven himself an extremely well rounded fighter, his skill set anchored in his
dangerous and technically sound stand up game. While Belcher’s last win came early in the summer he has
been booked for the biggest fight of his career, set to meet Vitor Belfort in
Brazil in October. This fight that could put one of them next in line for a
title shot if they are able to come away with an impressive finish. It is hard
to tell how long it will be before Anderson Silva signs for another fight.
Belcher might have a chance to earn the next title shot or clinch a title
eliminator.
Tim Boetsch – Tim
Boetsch is not the biggest, fastest, or even the most technical fighter in the
division. He is one of the toughest though and he presents matchup problems for
virtually anyone he runs into.
After scoring two strait upsets over top 10 fighters in Okami and
Lombard, he is now, according to Dana White himself, positioned nicely for a
title shot. Boetsch will likely
need one more fight though and will undoubtedly have a tough opponent in his
way. The Barbarian was gaining a
ton of momentum and loading up his bandwagon before the Lombard fight but a
lackluster win following Weidman’s coming out party the week before slowed his
hype train a bit. However,
there is no doubt that Boetsch’s fate is in his own hands right now and when
you see his name on the marquee next time you can be assured it will be an
important fight. .
Vitor Belfort –
Since his memorable knock out loss to Anderson Silva Vitor Belfort has been
nothing but successful if not impressive. The Brazilian knockout artist has
managed to climb his way back into serious contention. Injury knocked him out
of the headlining fight of the UFC’s most recent trip to Brazil, a fight
against Wanderlie Silva. While the
setback is unfortunate the rebooking against Alan Belcher might be a boon from
the MMA gods, a fight that, depending on Anderson Silva’s next booking, could
earn Belfort a title shot.
Belfort’s talents have been on full display over the past few years yet
his defeat at the hands of the champion sticks firmly in the memory of most
fans making his case a somewhat more difficult one. However, Belfort’s talent and his experience make him an
absolutely paramount piece to the current middleweight puzzle.
Michael Bisping –
Anyone who has read my blog before knows that I am not a huge fan of Michael
Bisping. The boxing Brit just rubs me the wrong way and almost always seems to
be booked in favorable match-ups.
However he won me over a little bit when he took Chael Sonnen to the
distance, putting on what I still believe was a winning performance.
Unfortunately Bisping was subsequently another victim of the MMA injury bug and
forced to pull out of his date with Tim Boetsch. Bisping isn’t far removed from the title picture though and
his upcoming bout with Brian Stann is just the opportunity he needs to look
good and regain some momentum.
Bisping’s most powerful weapon in the battle for a title shot might just
be his divisive personality. Fans either seem to love him or hate him, usually
the later. That means that if all things are equal the UFC will likely favor
The Count and give him a title shot. Love him or hate him Michael Bisping sells
tickets.
Hector Lombard –
Lombard is in a tough tough spot right now. He has spent years running through
lesser competition, looking like the unstoppable monster at the end of all
those martial arts tournament movies – you know the one that the clean cut hero
should have no chance against. As soon as he stepped into the UFC people were
clamoring for a title shot but he was expected to win just one fight before
that would be set in motion. Unfortunately he dropped an awkward and close
decision to Tim Boetsch who, despite being one of the toughest middleweights in
the world, is not a sexy contender.
All is not lost though. Lots of people lose fights. Lots of fighters
drop their UFC debut. However the
pressure is on for Lombard to win his next fight and prove that he isn’t the
product of soft match-making. No
word has broken to this point about who might take the Brazilian on but whoever
it is will have a chance to steal the last bit of thunder Lombard carries
around, thunder Lombard will need if he hopes to remain relevant.
Mark Munoz – I, like
many fans, were extremely high on Mark Munoz coming into his headlining fight
against Chris Weidman. I wouldn’t
say I have so much lost faith in him but it is really hard to look at any
fighter the same way after being wrecked in such a profoundly convincing
way. Munoz is a highly skilled
young man all the same and the future is very bright for him. He strikes me as the kind of guy who is
going to get a big fight before years end, perhaps against the likes of Lombard
or Sonnen. He took a huge step
back but he will have an opportunity to jump back into the top tier soon and
eliminate someone else in the process.
Rich Franklin – Who
can hate this guy? Seriously? Who can hate Rich Franklin? If there is anyone in
the business who has saved more MMA cards and in turn UFC brass more often I
don’t know who it is. After taking some time to test his metal at 205 pounds
Ace looks like he is back to the Middleweight division to make one more run at
the champion. For his part,
Silva’s camp seems to be quite open to the idea, no surprising considering how
dreamily Franklin matches up with the champion. Franklin has pleased enough
people to probably be a lot closer to a title shot than he should be. On top of
that the guy is just legit good. There isn’t anyone on this list outside of
perhaps Silva that I would expect to run through Franklin and if he says he
wants to be relevant at Middleweight I fully believe he will be. A fight with Hector Lombard, Mark
Munoz, or – most compelling – Tim Boetsch would make a lot of sense at this
point and could line Rich Franklin up for one final shot at the Middleweight
Title.
