Before Aljamain Sterling defeated Takeya Mizugaki in New Jersey last weekend, the UFC bantamweight division was extremely quiet. There were no notable fights in the division after T.J. Dillashaw upset Renan Barao for the belt at UFC 173.
In fact, the only notable activity in the division has been who was injured and has to pull out of a fight.
This is not a knock on the division, as injuries happen. The bantamweights have a ton of talent and star power, and there are a ton of interesting storylines within the top 10 of the division. For example, there is the war of words that go on between Team Alpha Male and Barao or Dominick Cruz. And Bryan Caraway is a fighter who people just love to hate.
However, if you examine the top seven fighters of the division, it is easy to explain the lack of notable action among the bantamweights:
- Champion T.J. Dillashaw: He had to pull out of his title fight against Barao at UFC 186 because of a broken rib. Instead, he will face Barao in Chicago this July.
- No. 1 Renan Barao: He pulled out of his rematch with Dillashaw at UFC 177 after complications with a weight cut prior to the fight. He’ll finally get his rematch for the title in July.
- No. 2 Dominick Cruz: He knocked out Mizugaki at UFC 178, which would’ve put him in for a title shot. However, he underwent ACL surgery in late January. He should be back around October.
- No. 3 Urijah Faber: Actually, he is currently free of injuries. Faber is coming off a win against Francisco Rivera at UFC 181, but he is moving up to featherweight to face Frankie Edgar next month in Manila.
- No. 4 Raphael Assuncao: He defeated Caraway in October 2014. He was supposed to fight Faber last month in Brazil but had to pull out due to ankle injuries, according to Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com.
- No. 5 Michael McDonald: His last fight was a loss to Faber back in 2013. However, McDonald has gone through several wrist and hand surgeries since then. He told Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight that he was looking to return to the Octagon this spring (h/t Scott Harris of Bleacher Report). No further word on a return date, yet.
- No. 6 Eddie Wineland: He suffered a broken jaw during his loss to Johnny Eduardo in May 2014. According to MMAJunkie.com, Wineland plans on returning to the Octagon in June.
The only notable fight that happened in the division since UFC 173 was the Sterling vs. Mizugaki showdown over the weekend when Sterling firmly planted himself in the top 10 rankings with his victory. Right now, Sterling provides the only bright spot in an injury-riddled division.
Another fighter to watch out for is 23-year-old Thomas Almeida, who will face off against Yves Jabouin at UFC 186. Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander considers him “one of the best strikers in the division,” and his style is “an absolute nightmare for anyone who can’t get him to the ground.”
The bantamweight division will reach its potential when all the top fighters are fully healed. The intense rivalry between Team Alpha Male fighters, Faber, Dillashaw and Cruz are sure to pull more eyeballs to the division.
After all, Assuncao is on a win streak with seven and poses a threat to anyone at the top of the division.
And despite Caraway being a heel and considered “Mr. Miesha Tate,” he is a tough fighter and withstood a barrage of punishment at the hands of Assuncao (h/t B/R’s Matthew Ryder).
The bantamweight division is poised to hit an exciting level. This July, its renaissance could begin in Chicago with the Dillashaw vs. Barao rematch.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com