The heavyweight division has long been the darling of combat sports fans. In boxing, names such as Joe Louis, Muhammed Ali, Mike Tyson, and Lennox Lewis are among the greatest and most well-known fighters in the history of the sport. Mixed martial arts has its own list of star heavyweights that includes Brock Lesnar, Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira, Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, and others. But currently, heavyweight MMA is in a state of crisis.
Cain Velasquez is currently ruling the heavyweight division with an iron fist. The list of top ranked fighters in the weight class is composed of combatants that he’s either already defeated or would be a huge betting favorite against if they stood across the Octagon from him. The champ is scheduled to defend his title against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180 in November. This is an intriguing matchup because Werdum does pose a number of challenges that he has not yet faced. However, another dominant victory for Velasquez seems to be the early prediction for the fight. And if he blows the doors off of his Brazilian opponent as expected, that will leave a major void at the top of the division, one that would be felt well into 2015.
Velasquez has the opportunity to become the most dominant champion that the heavyweight division has ever seen. But unfortunately, he doesn’t “move the needle” as a competitor that gets MMA enthusiasts up for his fights. Forget about the fact that he is constantly struggling with injuries; even when he is healthy he doesn’t do as much as a Jon Jones or Ronda Rousey to get people excited to watch him compete. This, combined with the fact that his slate of potential opponents is almost bare, doesn’t bode well for the division that, at one time, drew the most attention whenever a conversation erupted about mixed martial arts.
Most of the other divisions within the UFC are filled with a number of contenders that would be viable opponents for the champion. Heavyweight isn’t blessed with that same situation. Junior dos Santos is dealing with a number of injuries, and his return is questionable at this time. He was also defeated by Velasquez the last two times the fought. Velasquez has also crushed Antonio Silva — who fights tonight at UFC Fight Night 51 — twice already. Travis Browne recently stopped Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett, only to be dominated by Werdum months later. Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson, who fight in the UFC Fight Night 52 main event, are also not too far removed from definitive losses. That leaves only Stipe Miocic as a heavyweight fighter on a winning streak, but he is dealing with back injuries of his own. That list doesn’t elicit any type of excitement or promise for MMA fans.
Perhaps the potential of either Jon Jones or Anthony Johnson moving up a weight class would spark some anticipation, but neither have made serious mention of doing so, as there is a lot of action at 205 for them both.
The UFC is in need of big men. The promotion should implement a program to attract larger athletes to mixed martial arts, and develop them into high level professionals. However, that’s not an immediate solution, because the truth is, something needs to be done right now. The division is on the verge of becoming obsolete (if it isn’t already there), and without drastic measures, 2015 could bring us the most barren landscape for heavyweights that MMA has ever seen.
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UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski is due to take place on September 13, 2014 at the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil.
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