UFC Middleweight Division Getting Interesting
by CRE on Jun 9, 2008 3:30 PM EDT
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Martin Kampmann is back fresh off an impressive submission victory over Jorge Rivera who was gaining steam himself, Kampmann now holds wins over Wallace, Leites, Mcfederies, Rivera, remaining undefeated @ 4-0 in the UFC MW division.
Michael Bisping moves to 2-0 with 2 TKO's and is quickly moving up the ranks, the Chris Leben fight should happen next as they were originally scheduled to fight @ UFC 85.
Nathan Marquardt has looked cutthroat in his last couple of fights, he seems to be fighting fearless and aggressive, Thales Leites his opponent also was impressive as usual with ridiculous ability to absorb punishment and a top flight ground game.
Yushin Okami is 6-1 in the UFC @ MW with his only loss being a decision to Rich Franklin, he broke his hand in his last fight and Anderson may be going up in weight so a title fight may be out of the picture for him, but many potentially exciting matchups are out there.
Patrick Cote v Ricardo Almeida is a fight I believe possibly for a title shot depending on how it goes, if Cote impressively KO's Ricardo, I can see him getting a chance to fight for a title shot and same with Almeida if he can win in style. Cote has a TKO win over Jason Day a year ago as well as his UFC wins recently over Smith/Grove/Mcfederies.
Demian Maia is still undefeated @ 7-0 with 2 submission wins in the UFC over Ryan Jensen and Ed Herman, his biggest test to date will be against Jason Macdonald @ UFC 87.
Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson loom in the background and a matchup between the two seems inevitable as a co-main event for the future, maybe even @ UFC 88 in Atlanta a card Chuck is rumored to be on.
Rousimar Palhares aka Toquinho quickly submitted Salaverry and is a highly regarded aggressive grappler with serious world class jiu jitsu skills. Look out for him in the future as well.
I believe this division has turned around quickly and is now one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC.
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I can understand how UFC fan deems this as a shallow division, but I disagree.
I think the problem is the perceived distance Anderson has put between himself and everyone else.
My opinion, is that it is a very interesting division, a grappling fans dream and with someone like Almeida, full of guys that are the only kind that will beat Silva. I don’t see him getting out-struck, so a sub is probably the best way to beat him.
I still would love to see Almeida/Marquardt 2. Or Silva/Marquardt 2, I think Nate was just overwhelmed by the whole build up of the fight. Not that he would beat him, but it should be much better than the first one.
Jason McDonald is still in the mix as well, and while not ready for another shot, he certainly fits in well with Bisping, Kampmann, etc…Plus Leben is always entertaining, but will never make it to a title fight, imo.
Could you imagine if they brought in Mayhem and Jacare?? Not saying they would be champ, but the match ups we could get are phenomenal.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
Clearly
Yushin Okami deserves the title shot, the man lost a decision to Rich (he almost subbed him), is SIX and one in the division and just knocked out a former champ. I’m not going to play the “race” card, but to have two non speaking gents duke it out is apparently a “lose-lose” situation for the UFC. None of the fighters you listed could even touch contention like Yushin can, save except maybe Kapmann.
"Common sense is in spite of, not as the result of education. "
-Victor Hugo
I agree that aside from possibly Marquardt, Okami should be heavily considered as the next challenger. Many of the guys at 185 are just getting to the UFC, just returning from layoffs or just beginning to step up in competition.
Some of these guys could have their confidence/career ruined by getting in with Silva to quickly, so I hope they shy away from that temptation.
Unfortunately, it seems the UFC is to infatuated with possibilities like AS/GSP or AS/Chuck. Hopefully they will just concentrate on solidifying the contenders in the division.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
Keep in mind that Okami also has a reputation (deserved or not) for a boring style; his fight with Franklin really didn’t help in that respect since lots of people saw it, and it was dead dull. If you look at patterns of matchmaking lately, one thing that causes people to stay stuck in neutral is if the UFC brass doesn’t think they’ll make for an interesting fight to watch.
by AJB on Jun 9, 2008 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions
agreed...
...just hate bringing that up. i don’t like the way fans have jumped all over the boring fighter argument. And I don’t like orgs burying winning fighters because they don’t have an exciting style to the fans.
As for Okami…
The first 2 rounds of the Franklin fight were pretty brutal due to the unwillingness to engage, but the 3rd was good and I hope he learned something from that.
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
Oh, it’s definitely a silly reason to stall a fighter’s career. And if nothing else, the Machida-Ortiz fight showed that what is exciting to some is dull to others. But I’d say it has a heck of a lot more to do with how the UFC is handling Okami than anything to do with race or language.
by AJB on Jun 9, 2008 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Kampmann and Bisping are particularly intriguing prospects. If developed properly both fighters provide a compelling title challenge for Anderson Silva. They both seem ready for a step up in competition.
Okami has to be the number one contender right now. Between his past bout with Silva and excellent UFC record, nobody deserves a shot more than Okami.
I think the UFC is scared that Okami wins and they’re left with a champion that is difficult to market and not much of a fan favorite (outside the hardcore audience)... similar to Sylvia.
Logically it makes the most sense to book Okami vs Silva, they have history, most UFC fans (casual and otherwise) are aware of Okami’s climb to top contender. I just don’t know if they’ll actually book the fight.
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