Not long ago, the UFC’s heavyweight division was in need of some serious talent. It was completely devoid of true, heavyweight-sized competitors who shared the same athletic abilities as their smaller counterparts. To emphasize this disparity, the division was ruled by Randy Couture—an excellent martial mixed martial artist, but a natural light heavyweight. As far as anyone could tell, this was going to be the status quo—there just weren’t enough large, talented men to populate an entire division.
Fortunately, everyone was wrong. With the arrival of Brock Lesnar, the development of younger fighters, and the signing of fighters from other organizations, the UFC’s heavyweight division has become one of the most talent-rich weight classes in all of mixed martial arts.
The development of this division has also created a number of interesting match-ups and title fights. Many people thought that Frank Mir would be able out-think and out-maneuver Brock Lesnar in their second bout, but Lesnar’s superb ground-and-pound proved to be far too devastating. In another great bout, Cain Velasquez defeated the highly favored Antônio Minotauro Noguiera by knockout at 2:20 of the first round. Although Noguiera’s striking appeared to be crisp and technical in his bout against Randy Couture, it was no match for the powerful hands of Velasquez.
In addition to the dynamic, talented fighters that the UFC already has in this division, they are constantly looking for new talent in other organizations. There has been perpetual talk of finding a way to sign Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, two exciting and talented heavyweights from the Strikeforce organization. A contract with either of these fighters, especially Emelianenko, could mean big money and extremely high pay-per-view draws for the UFC, not to mention extremely exciting fights for both the casual and hard core MMA fans. The UFC isn’t just looking in other organizations for fighters either; they even have their own reality show—The Ultimate Fighter—where a number of up and coming heavyweights have been discovered. Most recently, Jiu-Jitsu ace Roy Nelson won a contract on the season 10 finale and has proven to be a top contender in the division, winning his last two fights by knockout.
Most fans can now legitimately agree—the UFC’s heavyweight division is home to a number of exciting, talented fighters who have the potential to create electrifying fights. With all of the possibilities for potential match-ups, 2010 is sure to be a sensational year for heavyweight entertainment.
Photo Credit: Flavio Scorsato www.flaviophotography.com/blog
Tags: Heavyweight, UFC
