Kid Nate takes a look at the MMA heavyweight division -- a division that was at an all-time high 20 months ago but now even the brand new, relatively unknown champ has been diminished by injury. Read it at MMA Nation. Photo by Esther Lin, MMA Fighting.
7 months ago
Nate Wilcox
25 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
still the same guys fighting.
The only thing that has changed is.perception. Fedor fell off, that’s about the only difference. Werdum , alistair , Jds , and Cain are still the toughest guys. This has been true for awhile now. Imho
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Nov 14, 2011 11:02 AM EST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
The only thing that has changed is.perception.
by the-gentle-way said it best.
No, the division is not thin.
No, the middleweight or the LHW division is not thin.
I’m sorry, I don’t think any of these divisions are thin, weak, bland, dry or starved.
A division may be starved for really great challengers for the belt but the situation will fix itself. Now I will actually read the article, I just hope the sky is not falling in this ever-evolving MMA world.
--------
"but if there's anyone who wants to finish fights it's me." - GSP
Wait a minute, I'm reading the article right now
and realized that Nate is discussing the entire MMA heavyweight division.
Wow. Just wow.
--------
"but if there's anyone who wants to finish fights it's me." - GSP
so you think the Strikeforce pool
is as exciting as it was 18 months ago?
Then: Fedor, undefeated, now in exile; Arlovski, still semi-credible, now regional mma, ditto Brett Rogers. Overeem was diminished by his weak win over Werdum; Werdum diminished by the loss to Reem. Event the prospects like Shane Del Rosario are injured and diminished. Barnett and Cormier are the only undiminished guys from SF.
In the UFC name one fighter whose stock has risen in the last 18 months — JDS just got seriously injured and will be out for who knows how long and when he comes back will he be Shogun-esque?
Look at the difference between Cain then and now. Then undefeated and fearsome, now dealing with multiple injuries, looking pudgy and getting blasted.
Name one new prospect in the heavyweight division outside the UFC. One. Cole Konrad? He’s really got people buzzing.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Nov 14, 2011 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
the meniscus surgeries are great now days compared to 10 years ago. he will be traing in a month after surgery.
it’s the tendon injuries that wreck careers. So Jds will be fine more than likely.
As far as prospects…… Jon bones will be a hw in 5 fights or so. Cormier has looked great. Big Nog has healed his chin and is finally moving his head when he boxes. Browne looks as good as Cain did early on. Pee wee will be back soon. big country bounced back nicely. Big foot will be in the UFC soon and so will Barrnett. I won’t be suprised to see Spong in the UFC soon since K1 has about died. I hope lots of k1 guys give it a whirl over in mma.I am foaming at the mouth for all the great UFC match ups that are headed this way. Also the strike force grand prix is still on. Hw is solid.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Nov 14, 2011 12:17 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
you're missing my point
I’m not saying it’s not solid, I’m saying its down from where it was. 20 months ago we had a bonafide superstar as the UFC heavyweight champ and an undefeated cult superstar as the Strikeforce champ. Plus both promotions had the shelves stacked with up and coming contenders.
Now we still have some up and comers but not as many — for every Cormier (who’s really a LHW anyway) there’s 2 Todd Duffees.
JDS < Lesnar as champ and Lesnar will never again be what he was circa UFC 100.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Nov 14, 2011 12:19 PM EST up reply actions
so youre saying the popularity of the fighters is what makes the division stacked?
by RashadsLeftNipple on Nov 14, 2011 12:24 PM EST up reply actions
I'm saying that's a big part of it
a division with a superstar at the top, or a division with 2 superstars (brock and fedor) at the top is much stronger than a division with a new, relatively unknown champ.
But its what happened to that crop of rising contenders that is more of a loss to me.
Travis Browne has zero buzz. Zero.
20 months ago we had fans buzzing about JDS, Cain, Carwin, Nelson, Schaub, Todd Duffee, Mitrione, Herman etc etc
even Shane Del Rosario and effing Bobby Lashley had people talking.
Now, not so much.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Nov 14, 2011 12:27 PM EST up reply actions
and stacked is the wrong term
I changed the headline to “red hot” instead.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Nov 14, 2011 12:30 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
i feel what you are sayin.
That’s a better title.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Nov 14, 2011 12:34 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I hate being that guy….. But Brock was never what he was hyped to be.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Nov 14, 2011 12:32 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
i'm not talking about actual ability
I’m talking about fan perception.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Nov 14, 2011 12:42 PM EST up reply actions
sorry i kinda missed the point.
I feel ya.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Nov 14, 2011 12:50 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Name one new prospect in the heavyweight division outside the UFC.
In all fairness, this can be said of almost every division from FW up at least.
Locating, signing, developing and nurturing young, up and coming talent, has always been a weak point for the UFC imo.
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid." -John Wayne
Death before dishonor, drinks before lunch.
Never send sheep to kill a wolf.
by The American Ronin on Nov 14, 2011 5:02 PM EST up reply actions
...There's still a lot of interest in Overeem
A co-worker of mine came up to me the other day saying he heard Brock is gonna be fighting some giant dude next month. I showed him one highlight video of Overeem and he’s now convinced he’s going to destroy Brock. The interest for Brock and Overeem might not be as high as it was a year ago but that PPV is still gonna be huge.
sure
but the point of the post is that we’ve come down from the peak, the all-time high of the division, not that we’re in the bottom of Death Valley.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Nov 14, 2011 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
I'm not saying the division is weak
I’m saying 18 months ago it was red fucking hot. Now, not so much.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
disagree.
Hw has a very solid top 10. Olympic wrestler, adcc champs, k1 champ, mythical creature, Brazilian ko artist with a Nog brown belt, ncaa champs.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Nov 14, 2011 12:22 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
In addition to what the-gentle-way said,
it is also the lack of numerous exciting prospects and up-and-coming fighters now, which were there recently…
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid." -John Wayne
Death before dishonor, drinks before lunch.
Never send sheep to kill a wolf.
by The American Ronin on Nov 14, 2011 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
There are viable options to fight JDS for the next year....
Obviously Lesnar/Overeem winner, then potentially Mir, or the Barnett/Cormier winner.
On the prospect front, there does seem to be a little bit of a lack right now. The two new undefeated guys to the UFC Miocic, and De Fries didn’t make me think that they will be challenging for a title in 18-24 months after their debuts, but we’ll see. UFC could get a boost with Shane Del Rosario, but his game has some flaws, and it will be interesting to see how he comes back from a serious car accident. One last point though is who really had heard of Cain Velasquez and his 2-0 record, or JDS before they were signed by UFC? There could be a gem out there right now, that Joe Silva is watching the tape on right now.
sure Cain and JDS were unheard of before coming to the UFC
but 20 months ago they were both established UFC veterans.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Seriously?
So because UFC on FOX didn’t beat Kimbo Slice numbers the division is now weak? I don’t understand the negativity. You’d think the sky was falling or something.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
