A Trifecta of Stalled Divisions?

by Leland Roling on May 26, 2009 12:48 PM EDT Comment 23 comments

With Lyoto Machida's win on Saturday evening and the added mystique surrounding his style that has yet to be solved, are fans looking at a future of the UFC having potentially three stalled divisions? It's quite possible.

Many fans read into the hype surrounding Rashad Evans' phenomenal hand speed and boxing skills as a potentially devastating combination that could put Machida into dangerous territory during their championship bout at UFC 98. Little did many of us know that Machida's range and short, accurate shots would provide the perfect weapon against Rashad's attempts to counter Machida. With Rashad barely even putting a scratch into the armor of Machida, we beg to ask the question if anyone can dent the exterior of "The Dragon".

The UFC has already announced that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be the next fight for Lyoto Machida, and it's likely that they will both be featured as coaches on the next season of the Ultimate Fighter. While the show will provide Machida with some much needed exposure to the casual fanbase and give "Rampage" a chance to hype their upcoming matchup, I'm still very hesitant to pick against Machida.

While Evans supposedly had the hand speed to outpunch Machida, Machida's range nullified those opportunities along with his own quickness that couldn't be figured out by even the great Greg Jackson. Can "Rampage" Jackson contend with Machida?

In my analysis of both fighters, Jackson presents an interesting challenge. While Rashad tried to use quickness to counter Machida, Jackson will likely use his more technical boxing along with his power to try to catch Machida. The only major problem is that Machida won't be standing in front of Jackson, and Jackson isn't the fleetest of foot in chasing down Machida. Add in the fact that Machida's kicks could pay huge dividends on Jackson's legs, and I'm willing to bet Machida can handle Jackson's skillset.

If Machida happens to defeat Jackson, the possibilities of new contenders that can give Machida a run for his money begin to dwindle. Much like the Middleweight and Welterweight divisions in the UFC, the Light Heavyweight division could also become a division that will begin to see a gap between the champion and his challengers. It'll be even more of a gap if we don't see any solid gameplan that can even remotely put Machida in danger in the "Rampage" Jackson bout.

We may also see the Lightweight division added to that list of stalled divisions if Kenny Florian is defeated by B.J. Penn, and I think that'll really make Joe Silva's job a bit harder by the end of the year into next year.

What are the solutions? For the Light Heavyweight division, we'll have to hope for some strings of wins by either Keith Jardine or Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to bring a top notch bout, but the other divisions are already in a stalled state. With the exception of Demian Maia at Middleweight, there aren't too many solid contenders that can be argued as giving either Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, or even newly crowned champion Lyoto Machida problems within their respective division.

The UFC has hinted at the possibility of a Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva matchup, and many fans believe if the UFC threw the big money at both Silva and Machida, that's a possibility. Are we seeing a trend here? With three stalled divisions ranging from 170 to 205 pounds, we could begin seeing these great fighters cross weight classes to challenge themselves. I'd be willing to bet if the stalemate continues that the UFC will likely get on board with some of these bouts, or they'll have to go out and sign somebody who can truly give any of these champions a run for their money.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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I don’t believe that LW will be stalled. There’s tons of top contenders for the next title shots after Penn-Florian. And if Florian doesn’t win, Penn may retire soon.

At WW, GSP is the only fighter who will truly have cleaned out a weight class (for all intents and purposes, at this time) if he beats Alves.

at LHW, it’s hard to pick a guy who would be favored to beat Machida, but there are at least several top LHW fighters for Machida to fight to fill his docket for the next couple years. LHW has tons of talent to provide good contenders for quite a while.

by Hardcharger on May 26, 2009 1:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You may be right, but as far as good contenders for LHW, it all depends. If Jardine wins, then loses, he won’t get a shot. Same with Rua. If they are all battling it out below Machida, we may see the UFC push a guy up against Machida that shouldn’t be up there.

LW, I think you’re right. WW and MW, I think will remained a bit stalled, but I think LHW has a good chance of stalling out as well.

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by Leland Roling on May 26, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There may be a good chance if it stalling out, but not anytime soon, IMO. Much the same could’ve been said at WW after UFC 65. At that time, Thiago Alves was not even a real contender (was going to face DeSouza at UFC 66), Fitch hadn’t yet shown he was title contention worthy, Koscheck hadn’t gotten a big win yet, etc. LHW at the present at least has enough top talent to give challengers to the belt for quite a while (while always cultivating the next star, like the Jon Joneses, etc).

by Hardcharger on May 26, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

While I also find it hard to not pick Machida in the Rampage match-up, I think the key is to get him down. I don’t know if its the answer to the Machida riddle yet, but its the only place I think Rampage can have the advantage. Rampage did a number on Henderson with top control and getting inside his range and I don’t think Machida has the level of ground game that Anderson Silva has. I think Machida’s clinch work is good, but nowhere near his range skills. Rampage doesn’t have a shot from outside and must get inside. Keep him close and stay on top of him.

Outside of that, and rampage is not really the guy to do this, I like someone that will pull guard and work from the bottom. Someone with a tight closed guard. Problem at LHW, not a lot of those guys exist. There are a lot of good guys with a lot of striking styles and Machida seems to be there kryptonite. Not a lot of great bottoms at LHW.

by szucconi on May 26, 2009 1:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think Rampage is the guy to do this at all. Getting him down would definitely present problems, but I almost think I would lean toward Rome’s take that a guy with capable… everything is going to be the guy to do it. Iron chin, good at almost all areas of the standup and ground game, and would most likely have to get lucky.

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by Leland Roling on May 26, 2009 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just don’t understand why a champion only fights once every 5-6 months. Anderson Silva, GSP, BJ; all should be defending the belt every 2-3 months barring injuries and TUF stints. Instead, Joe Silva just babies them until the hype machine can get churning for the bigger fights. There are tons of guys out there who want a shot at the title, and it’s depriving not only the audience but it prevents a lot of fights from happening that could happen easily. And it’s not like there are too few fighters to make this a possibility. The UFC could run a show the third weekend every month and have fighters left over for Fight Nights and Finales.

by Ahhhoki on May 26, 2009 1:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That’s not how it works. If they fight that often then they will fight undeserved fighters and get paid less to do it. Champs fight less, its the nature of the beast. The higher up on the chain you are, the less you fight and the less fighters there are for you to fight. Anderson Silva wants to fight every three months, but there are not enough MWs for him to fight that often, solution: he takes some fights at LHW.

by szucconi on May 26, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So you want the champs to fight 4-6 times a year? That’s going to lead to a lot of title fights featuring up and coming fighters who aren’t ready yet or fighters who just plain aren’t worthy of a title shot. You’re going to wipe out all potential challengers without allowing time to build up more fighters to take their place.

In your scenario, Anderson Silva defends his belt against Marquadt, Maia, Okami, Bisping, and Hendo in a single year. Then he defends against Wanderlei probably (who hopefully would have won at 185 in the meantime). Then he fights…? Yoshihiro Akiyama? Chael Sonnen? Silva would mollywhop those guys. A rematch with Leites sure isn’t going to happen. The title is dead at that point. Long term sustainability was lost in favor of short term gain.

by ricker2005 on May 26, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As much as I was rooting for Machida in that fight, I like that picture much more.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on May 26, 2009 2:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

LW is only stalled because BJ fights twice a year. They’re are plenty of good fights.

by gunranger on May 26, 2009 2:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I can’t wait for the line to come out on Machida/Rampage. Machida’s performance against Evans was impressive enough that I expect a descent value bet

That's great, but how does it affect Lyoto Machida?(This changes nothing, it was a sweet fight though)

by beery_pbr on May 26, 2009 2:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think the concept of stalled divisions is an illusion

especially with LHW considering that Machida, as skilled as he is, just won the title this weekend.

Frankly, each and every champ needs to simply fight whoever is in front of him. If that person is undeserving, but still the best of those fighters available, then dispatch him justly. If that champ grows complacent…then we might see that legendary upset that everyone worries about.

by Razreshat on May 26, 2009 2:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s true, it’s a bit early to tell, but looking at the styles down the division, I don’t think there are too many options to defeat Machida. Some are saying Jardine’s odd standup style, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. And the Rua believers, I’m not convinced he has the speed at all. He still looped those punches at Liddell, but caught him. I don’t think Machida would be susceptible to that. A PRIDE-era Shogun has potential, but I doubt we’ll ever see that again.

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by Leland Roling on May 26, 2009 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are no stalled divisions in the UFC, they are always looking to add top flight fighters and have done a good job lining up contenders over the years.

The LW division is beyond deep even if Florian loses there are more than enough contenders to challange for the belt like Sanchez, Edgar, Griffin, Guida, Sherk, etc.

The MW division also has several more challangers for Anderson to face, it’s up to him though if he still wants to fight or wants to go box but the fighters are there to face him like Maia, Nate The Great, Hendo, Sonnen, Okami, etc.

The LHW division is the most stacked and provides more challangers and threats than any other division in MMA, with names Jardine, Forrest, Rampage, Rashad, Shogun, Cain etc.

The WW division has already seen that George is far from unbeatable and with fighters like Swick, Fitch, Karo, Kampman, Condit etc any of them can provide more than a challange for GSP.

In the end all the hype and bs really means nothing because everyone has to step in the cage and prove that they are the best and even after they do, there will always be new threats for champions to face thanks to Zuffa’s dominance in MMA.

by Raker on May 26, 2009 3:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m not sure I agree. MW division has Maia, but Nate was still beaten soundly by Silva, so was Hendo, and I don’t think Sonnen really stands a chance right now. He’ll need to improve. Okami is now probably 2 fights out, maybe one… and that fight will likely be a very tough one to get a shot.

LHW… it’s all based on the perception of each fighter, which really has no bearing because White and Co. may just put the most marketable guy in there. On paper, my opinion is that none of those guys can beat Machida, but you may be right in that the UFC has enough talent to throw guys at Machida.

WW… I have contended that having Fitch, Swick, and Koscheck in the same division kind of makes for a crappy situation when they won’t fight each other. Swick has all this contender talk surrouding him, but a win over Saunders and one over Goulet under his belt doesn’t convince me at all. I don’t think Kampmann can beat GSP or Condit.

I suppose saying they are “stalled” isn’t the best word. In a sense, I’m saying that these divisions won’t change champions for quite some time. That’s my overall attitude. The UFC could benefit from that, or it could hurt as with the Silva over Leites bout. Only time will tell.

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by Leland Roling on May 26, 2009 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"I don't think Kampmann can beat GSP or Condit." Huh?

I hope that it was just a mistake that this was written because Kampmann did indeed beat Condit.

by chrisbboy82 on May 26, 2009 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mistake… I meant I don’t think Condit can beat GSP or even give him a run. As soon as that hits the floor, GSP’s power will take over. After all, he is the most prolific guard passer in the sport.

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by Leland Roling on May 26, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

alves is going to knock out gsp

by FiatJustitiaRuatCaelum on May 26, 2009 3:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Its often possible to divisions to look stalled in reality especially at the top, it doesn’t take much to shake them up.
It will probably be 4-6 months before we see rampage/machida and potentially 8-10 months before we see machida’s next fight. A lot can happen in that time new contenders may shoot to the top or other guys like shogun can at least make a case that the matchup is worthwhile.

I dislike Matt Hughes.

by MonkeyCHops on May 26, 2009 3:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1. Take #2 through to #9 ranked fighters in stalled division.
2. Create a tournament. Give it some snazzy graphics too.
3. Pick brackets.
4. Have the fighters fight hough the rounds until one fighter has one 2 fights on the trot against ranked opponents.
5. Hey presto! You have one shiny #1 contender.

by -Sam on May 26, 2009 5:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

eurgh… ‘won 3’ not ‘one 2’.

by -Sam on May 26, 2009 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

6. Pray none of the #2-#5 fighters stub a toe over a six month period.

by subo on May 26, 2009 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nothing wrong with a stalled division.

If it was always a sawmill of contenders and champions there would be no hall of fame.

I’d rather watch a great champion defend against a great contender once every 6 month than a different champion every 3 months defend against an undeserving contender.

MMA history needs to be written by great champions, not numerous title fights.

by DirtyML on May 27, 2009 5:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs