FightLines June Heavyweight Graph

Loops
Nogueira =  Herring
Filipovic > Barnett > Hunt > Filipovic

Interesting Notes:

-First off, Zulu makes the graph partially as a joke and partially because I'm a stickler for my own criteria.

-You can really see the split between Pride and the UFC here.  There's the top tier with Fedor, Nogueira, and Randy, a clump below them on the right with almost exclusively UFC fighters, and then the lower left clump with mostly former Pride/non-UFC guys.  It also highlights the barren state of the UFC HW division.

-Interestingly enough the two current top contenders for the UFC title are in the "wrong" clusters.  Frank Mir, who somehow received a title shot after beating a 1-0 fighter, not only resides in the Pride cluster, but is at the absolute bottom of the graph.  It's a pretty good indicator of the caliber of Frank's wins in the past 3 years.

Meanwhile Fabricio Werdum, who had been attached to title shot rumors after his win over Gabriel Gonzaga, lies firmly entrenched in the UFC grouping. 

FightLines makes it visually obvious that Frank MIr does not deserve a title shot. from a "sporting" perspective.  At the same time, I do understand the business aspect of the decision.  For one, Mir probably will never have the same momentum he does now.  Secondly, if there's a division you have to put on hold for 6 months, it's the heavyweights.  Leading me to...

-The reason you can afford to put the heavyweights on hold stems from the fact that before UFC 85, you didn't really have a clear-cut number one contender.  I personally think the Werdum/Vera result solidified Werdum as next in line, and FightLines provides a little more supplemental support for that stance.

-Minotauro has a path to 21 out of 25 of the other fighters (if you're counting, notice that Ben Rothwell has a lone path to Dan Bobish at the bottom).  However, if Fedor Emelianenko beats Tim Sylvia, he will have a path to 22 out of the 25.

-Rothwell will move towards the top of the graph, regardless of a win or loss against Arlovski.  Brock Lesnar and Paul Buentello will make their first appearances on the graph after their upcoming fights.