For the value of a UFC championship belt to remain intact, the organization must consistently use a logical system of merit to determine the most deserving challenger for the opportunity.
Since there is no official ranking system that the UFC abides by, it accomplishes this by awarding those with strings of credible wins against former champions and contenders the opportunity to fight the belt holder. While we endure situations, like the current heavyweight mess, where the next contender is unknown or unavailable, decisions on who will contest the champion shouldn’t be made in haste. The significance of this is that the value of UFC gold depends on it.
Only those deserving of it should be awarded the chance to compete against the best fighter in the division. This is what separates the UFC from others.
As throngs of spectators call for Mark Hunt to be granted such a prized opportunity, they ignore the vital virtues required in an elite and professional organization. Hunt being allowed a title shot effectively devalues the very title he would fight for. All the while, more deserving onlookers would wonder why they were overlooked. It would lead them to question their quest for gold, since it wouldn’t necessarily represent the best in the division.
It would also call the champion’s “indisputable” title into question, since he may not have defended his position against the most skilled contenders.
Although I understand the essence of proposals for Hunt to fight heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos, the necessity of strict administration of contentions only to warranted athletes is imperative to the legitimacy of the organization, especially regarding the most popular division.
In other words, the worth of a UFC championship title may be put into question by the ability of mid-range competitors to vie for it.
Another reason that the call for Hunt is silly is that there are multiple fighters at a similar skill level that have been disregarded by the masses. When UFC President Dana White rejected the possibility of the top contenders like Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez as fill-ins, speculation proceeded to include Werdum, Mark Hunt and even Fedor, who isn’t even in the UFC.
While hopefuls made claims for each of the possibilities, calls for Hunt’s chance proliferated despite the fact that slightly more deserving possibilities exist. Travis Browne and Mike Russow exemplify the overlooked an unpopular options.
The common reasons for support of Hunt are that he’s on a three-fight win streak and is an experienced professional kick boxer, which supposedly creates a good match for the elite striker Dos Santos is.
What has been ignored is that Travis Browne, who is undefeated and 4-0 in the UFC, finished nine of his 12 wins by knockout, crediting him as an experienced striker as well. The other possibility is Mike Russow, who is 16-1 and 4-0 in the UFC. While neither is an outright meritorious challenger of the champ, Hunt is arguably less qualified than both. So if Hunt deserves our conversation, so do these two.
Since White plans to wait for Overeem’s hearing on April 24th, speculation is bound to thrive in the uncertain atmosphere. One can only hope that a logical solution will come to fruition.
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