The Tale Of The Win Streak Unfolds At UFC 141

By Raphael Garcia

The battle to reach the top of the heap is something that every professional fighter thinks about. Even after they get there, they worry about staying on top of it. No matter what spot you hold though, one factor remains true: the win streak is your ammunition to prove where you should be ranked in relation to your peers. At UFC 141 we saw a few interesting examples of how a win streak can help a fighter’s progress in some instances, but impede it in others.

Jon Fitch, Jacob Volkmann, Alistair Overeem and Donald Cerrone were four individuals who went into the event with impressive win streaks on their resume. Overeem had created an undefeated “legacy” that spanned more than four years, while Volkmann was working with a four-fight winning streak, and both Cerrone and Fitch were undefeated over their last six fights. Now that the dust has settled, each fighter finds himself in a different position based on the continuation or disruption of his streak. What awaits these competitors will create room for interesting debates until they next step foot in the Octagon.

It is rare that the leader of a professional sports organization hopes to see one of his employees fail. However that has been the case between Fitch and UFC President Dana White. While he has never come right out and said that he wants Fitch to lose, it’s easy to tell that White has been rooting against the AKA standout each time he has stepped into the cage. In 12 seconds his “dream” came true when Johny Hendricks rocked Fitch with a left hand and sent him crashing to the canvas. Now Fitch finds himself at the bottom of the massive ladder that is the UFC’s welterweight division.

Fitch can forget about ever receiving another title shot. He would have to go undefeated for an longer period of time than any other fighter has had to do before he is ever considered to be “in the mix” again. Instead, he will now be forced to become a high level gate keeper that is used to test up and comers before they can claim to be “top guys” in the weight class. Fitch once threatened to move up to middleweight if he was forced to face friend and teammate Josh Koscheck, but I do not believe that even that would be a viable option for the 33-year old former Purdue wrestler. It will be interesting to see what he does next to solidify the standout career he has had in the UFC.

Volkmann can be eerily compared to Fitch, in that although he is riding a five-fight winning streak, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would rank Volkmann as a top contender in the lightweight division. His controlling wrestling style leaves him stuck on the UFC’s Facebook stream, or as an early attraction to free cable television events. Even though he tries to create “heat” for himself by making comments about President Barack Obama or calling out current champion Frankie Edgar, he just comes off as awkward.

Yet if you compare Volkmann’s record to the likes of individuals such as George Sotiropoulos, Denis Siver, or even Cerrone, you would find that he has defeated similar opponents along the lightweight ladder. However, while those three fighters were at one time considered fringe contenders, Volkmann would not be even close to being placed in the proverbial “mix” as a potential contender in 2012. He will likely have to find a way to win at least three more fights this year before he is even brought up. His style may be boring and not create highlight reel content, but getting your hand raised should the name of the game, and Volkmann continues to win, whether we like it or not.

Overeem has not suffered a defeat since 2007, and his legacy has grown right along with his size. Now he has an opportunity to fight for the chance to add the UFC Heavyweight to a mantle that contains the Dream, Strikeforce and K-1 titles. Even still, his resume doesn’t contain the best names that have fought in MMA’s heavyweight division.

Since his loss to Sergei Kharitonov in 2007, you can only find two names on his resume that would be considered marquee wins: Brock Lesnar (who some will dispute) and Fabricio Werdum. Those victories aren’t enought to push Overeem into the “greatest of all time” conversations, but they are still impressive in their own right. And one more victory for Overeem would be enough to stake claim to the title of greatest at this time.

Lastly, we can take a look at Cerrone, whose 2011 was characterized by a meteoric rise in the sport. A year ago very few mainstream fight fans would have known about Cerrone and his accolades in the WEC. But four fights in the UFC quickly changed that, as he found a way to excite the fans, and finish one opponent after the other. While the suggestion that Cerrone was a lightweight title contender sparked conversations about him being overhyped, the fact was that he was putting on impressive shows, and fight fans were tuning in to watch him.

Then he ran into Nate Diaz, who has always been a problem for fighters he has been matched up against. For 15 minutes Cerrone was unable to answer anything that Diaz gave him, proving that Diaz, and potentially many other fighters at the top of the lightweight division, are too much for Cerrone. This is the type of fight and beating that can alter a career. I look forward to seeing what Cerrone decides to do with his career in the aftermath.

The win streak can be a powerful but often overrated measuring stick in mixed martial arts. With four prominent fighters walking into UFC 141 with winning streaks, it was vital for us as fans and professionals to look at each one, and understand exactly where each one stood. But now, as 2012 sits in front of us, the lesson that all win streaks aren’t created equal is a valuable one, and should not be forgotten.

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