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LESNAR <> MIR

Lots of relics on this one. Eddie Sanchez. Soa Palelei. Colin Robinson. Mike Wessel. Jake O'Brien. Randy Couture. Assuereo Silva. Dan Evensen. Andrei Arlovski. Fabricio Werdum. By release or weight cut, all gone from the UFC's heavyweight division.

That leaves a very shallow pool of talent for matchmaker Joe Silva to work with.  As a result, a prospect like Cain Velasquez, with all of seven professional fights, is thrust into the deep end of the championship pool.  And that's without mentioning Shane Carwin (11 fights), Junior dos Santos (11 fights), and that Brock Lesnar guy (5 fights).

There's a perpetual and inane argument within the MMA community about the depth of the heavyweight division inside and outside of the UFC.  If there's any significant advantage to either side (and I don't think there is), it's so marginal as to be a worthless talking point.  The real point is this: the heavyweight division, as a whole, is incredibly shallow.