The third installment of ranking the UFC’s current roster by division moves on down to the Middleweight division.This being one of the larger divisions that consists of 43 fighters on the UFC Middleweight roster, that makes this division…
The third installment of ranking the UFC’s current roster by division moves on down to the Middleweight division.
This being one of the larger divisions that consists of 43 fighters on the UFC Middleweight roster, that makes this division a challenging puzzle to piece together, especially when the division has been dominated by one man.
I am not including Royce Gracie for obvious reasons, nor am I including Yoshihiro Akiyama due to his recent decision to cut down to welterweight.
Same rules apply as the previous articles and as always, I want to hear your comments on how you feel this list reflects on your opinion.
To catch the Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight division, click on the links below.
Filed under: UFCFor the first time in a little over two years, Dan Henderson is a UFC fighter again. Judging by his gentle ribbing of UFC president Dana White during Tuesday’s UFC 139 press conference in San Jose, not too much has changed about his rel…
For the first time in a little over two years, Dan Henderson is a UFC fighter again. Judging by his gentle ribbing of UFC president Dana White during Tuesday’s UFC 139 press conference in San Jose, not too much has changed about his relationship with his boss.
“I guess it’s a little bit ironic that every time I win a title somewhere Dana has to buy the company to get me back,” Henderson joked before adding that he was glad to be back since “the best match-ups for me are here in the UFC.”
As for White, who’s traded verbal barbs with Henderson before, during, and after contentious contract negotiations in the past, he seems eager to let bygones be bygones. Especially now that Henderson is back in the fold and headlining UFC 139 against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
“Dan and I get along just fine,” said White. “We butt heads here and there, but we get along great. I respect him as a fighter. He’s a durable, tough guy who’s been out there beating the best in the world. I can’t hate him for knocking Fedor [Emelianenko] out either, so…I’m happy to have him back.”
Henderson gives up his Strikeforce light heavyweight title to return to the UFC for the first time since his knockout victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100. After beating “Feijao” Cavalcante for the Strikeforce belt and then knocking out Emelianenko in a non-title affair, Henderson said, he “wasn’t excited about anybody coming up that I might be fighting other than the guys that were going to be in the UFC.”
One fight he is excited about, it seems, is a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
“There’s only one fight that I’d probably fight at 185 [pounds] and he won’t fight right now, I guess,” Henderson said in reference to Silva, adding that the champion “said he’s hurt.”
“Everybody could speculate, and I’d be one of those same people, but that’s the fight that we originally talked about,” Henderson said. “But evidently he hurt himself.”
Sensing perhaps that Henderson wasn’t totally sold on the injury story, White stepped in to back up his champion, insisting that Silva was suffering from a shoulder injury after his win over Yushin Okami at UFC 134 and had been told by his doctor to take eight weeks off.
“Listen, Anderson Silva’s fought everybody,” White said. “It’s not like he’s ducking fights. He’s never ducked a fight and when he’s ready, and if this thing goes right, and if Dan wants to cut that weight, then we can talk about Anderson Silva.”
Of course, to even make it a conversation worth having the 41-year-old Henderson first has to get past Rua on November 19. Even if he does, and if he continues to lobby for a rematch with Silva, the UFC might rightfully wonder whether Henderson will be sufficiently interested in sticking around at middleweight should he win the title.
After all, there’s not much benefit to giving a guy at shot at the 185-pound strap if, by his own admission, he’s “not fond of cutting weight anymore.” At least that’s something he won’t have to worry about for the next couple of months. The fight with Rua may not require him to drop too many pounds, but it will take just about everything he’s got if he wants to come out on top.
Strikeforce Challengers 19 card hands down 10 medical suspensions including Ryan Couture and Nick Rossborough. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson gives Jon Jones props that he’s the next Anderson Silva is unbeatable. Spike TV trying to counter.
Strikeforce Challengers 19 card hands down 10 medical suspensions including Ryan Couture and Nick Rossborough.
Quinton “Rampage” Jacksongives Jon Jones props that he’s the next Anderson Silva is unbeatable.
Spike TVtrying to counter program against UFC on FOX 1 by airing old Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos fights.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson wants Forrest Griffinrematch in Japan.
Hey look! Chael Sonnen is trash talkingAnderson Silva again!
I will be the first to say that Jones defeated Rampage handily. I actually thought Jones would take Rampage down much more easily, and dominate him more from top position. My prediction was a 3rd round TKO, but in the end, I’m not surprised by a …
I will be the first to say that Jones defeated Rampage handily. I actually thought Jones would take Rampage down much more easily, and dominate him more from top position. My prediction was a 3rd round TKO, but in the end, I’m not surprised by a 4th round submission.
But, just like when Jones beat Bader and an injured Rua, his hype has once again gone over the top. His striking and wrestling are both being called the best at light heavyweight. Some are even calling him the current P4P best fighter in the UFC.
His wrestling is great, but it isn’t the most proven at light heavyweight and his striking is truly being overrated.
His natural length and size gives him odd advantages that are tough to prepare for, but his style will stop being a mystery. Even in his last fight, his spinning elbows didn’t come at unpredictable times, and he telegraphed his sidekicks very badly.
Rampage is a solid striker, but has always had trouble with unorthodox fighters and strikers who utilize kicks, and it showed. He couldn’t deal with the telegraphed sidekicks of Jones, and was almost constantly kept at a range because of it. Other top light heayweights wouldn’t have this problem.
Remember the Machida Era? His style was called perfect. Between his phenomenal takedown defense, hard-hitting counter strikes and incredible evasiveness, people thought his style had no weakness. The attitude toward Jones now is very similar to the attitude toward Machida before he fought Rua. Just like there were always fighters who could beat Machida, there are fighters who can beat Jones.
Evans might be the one to beat Jones. His wrestling is some of the best at 205 and he has trained with Jones before. He is the fighter with the most experience at overcoming Jones natural size and reach.
Or maybe Machida. Machida’s takedown defense is better than Jackson’s, and he’s a more dangerous striker who is better at covering distance. His movement is also better, and he would not simply stand still and be nailed with sidekicks.
Jones is a champion, and currently a top pound-for-pound fighter. But has he really looked more dominant than GSP, Silva and Aldo? Has he even looked more dominant than Cain Velasquez?
Jones is great, but he’s not the P4P best and needs to prove himself before being placed so high above the other champions in perceived ability and ranking.
Well, Steven Seagal made it out to the festivities Saturday night in Denver and it’s beginning to seem like either he’s some kind of mixed martial arts guru or he’s a senile old man who is way out of touch with reality. My bet’s on the latter.
Our friends Karyn Bryant from MMA H.E.A.T. and Ariel Helwani from MMAFighting caught up with Sensei Seagal before and after the event, respectively, and let’s just say old cockpuncher had a few yarns to spin.
Check out the videos and the bullet points of the world according to The Glimmer Man after the jump.
(Don’t look into his eyes. He’ll hypnotize you like he did the Black House guys.)
Well, Steven Seagal made it out to the festivities Saturday night in Denver and it’s beginning to seem like either he’s some kind of mixed martial arts guru or he’s a senile old man who is way out of touch with reality. My bet’s on the latter.
Our friends Karyn Bryant from MMA H.E.A.T. and Ariel Helwani from MMAFighting caught up with Sensei Seagal before and after the event, respectively, and let’s just say old cockpuncher had a few yarns to spin.
Check out the videos and the bullet points of the world according to The Glimmer Man:
(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAHeat)
• Seagal counts Jones as a friend and refers to him as “Mr. Jon”
• He claimed that he was going to have some words of advice for Jones in his dressing room prior to the bout, but according to Jones at the post-fight presser, he turned down the offer
• He said that Jones might use the front kick he taught Anderson and Lyoto, but later said he didn’t do it right because he hasn’t learned the deadly move yet
• He predicted that the fight would be decided on the ground by Jones by elbows
• He says Anderson wants to be a cop when he retires and that he may do so with him in Arizona
(Video courtesy of YouTube/ArielHelwani)
• According to a Tweet by Ariel Saturday night, Seagal told his cameraman what angle to shoot him at
• In spite of the fact that he said earlier that Jones’ elbo
According to UFC President Dana White, the chances of witnessing a super-fight between respective champions Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are very slim. The out-cry for the matchup escalated further following Jones’ recent title defense against Qui…
According to UFC President Dana White, the chances of witnessing a super-fight between respective champions Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are very slim.
The out-cry for the matchup escalated further following Jones’ recent title defense against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson this past weekend at UFC 135, and some fans even favoring it over a potential bout between Silva and UFC welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre.
But White believes Jones still has a lot to accomplish at light heavyweight before there is any talk of a super-fight.
Jones carries a lot of similarities to the Brazilian, which has left fans convinced that the light heavyweight champion would actually be able to compete against Silva, who has remained undefeated since his UFC debut in 2006.
Jones’ recent victories over top competitors like Jackson, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Ryan Bader have led most fans to believe he will continue his dominance over the 205-pound division for awhile, and in turn, enjoy a lengthy title reign.
While fans might not get their wish to see the 24-year-old challenge “The Spider,” there has been talk of Jones moving up to the heavyweight division in the near future.
Jones will make his next title defense against Rashad Evans sometime next year.
For the first time in a little over two years, 
According to UFC President