The win streak used to be something of importance in mixed martial arts. A fighter who put together three to five straight wins in a promotion was expected to get a shot at its champion sooner than later. Unfortunately for many competitors in the UFC, that situation has changed. One such example is Ryan LaFlare, who is due to headline his first event at UFC Fight Night 62, where he faces Demian Maia.
LaFlare will walk into the Octagon tonight boasting an 11-0 record, one which includes four straight wins in the UFC. That resume seems worthy of praise, but LaFlare has flown under the radar for most of his UFC run. He is ranked number 14 in the UFC’s media-driven internal welterweight rankings. This fight against Maia, who is ranked number 7, will be LaFlare’s first bout against another opponent on the list. If he pulls off the victory, this will be his biggest win to date, but he could still find himself well outside of the title picture.
Lightweight and welterweight are two of the deepest divisions in the sport. LaFlare is battling for recognition in a division that includes names such as Tyron Woodley, Carlos Condit, and Hector Lombard. Even Matt Brown, who lost his second-straight fight at UFC 185 to Johny Hendricks, is ranked well above LaFlare at this point. It’s clear that he has a long trek in front of him if he’s planning on securing a title shot. Even if he remains undefeated in 2015, he shouldn’t expect a crack at Robbie Lawler, or whoever the champion may be, until next year.
That turns the conversation to an interesting point: what happened to the value of a long win streak?
Well first, more competitors are joining the UFC roster with undefeated streaks that were built on regional circuits. LaFlare cut his teeth in Ring of Combat, a promotion that helped to mold UFC champions such as Frankie Edgar and Chris Weidman. ROC is one of the more well-known regional promotions, which should aid LaFlare in his continued development within the UFC. But unfortunately for others, that is not always the case, as many fighters accumulate gaudy records in less-established promotions that lack the pedigree of ROC and other “feeder” promotions. This is especially true for international fighters. Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao entered the UFC with a massive win streak, but it was questioned at every opportunity. This shows that while many competitors come in with strong ledgers, there is still room to question the value of all those wins.
Even within the UFC roster, because the promotion wants to host more fights each year, the company continues to open its doors to fighters who at one time would not have made the cut. Wins against a handful of fighters on the UFC roster do not carry the same cachet that they once did. This hurts fighters such as Neil Magny or LaFlare that have put together the type of streaks that would have granted them title shots in the UFC of old, but have barely scratched the surface of the contendership pool. Fans complain about the oversaturation of MMA, and while fighters have benefited from additional opportunities to earn paydays in their craft, the tradeoff is the expectation that they will have to do much more in order to get a crack at becoming champion.
A win tonight over Maia would be a huge boost to LaFlare’s career. He could see his name placed in the top ten of the division, both inside of the UFC and within MMA as a whole. The New York native has done his job very quietly up to this point in his career. However, UFC Fight Night 62 provides him with the opportunity to announce his presence within authority. Even still, no matter how the fight goes, he will be a long way off from a position to challenge for the coveted title.
• Demian Maia vs. Ryan LaFlare
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UFC Fight Night 62: Maia vs. LaFlare (formerly UFC Fight Night 62: Faber vs. Assuncao) takes place on March 21, 2015 at Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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