The heavyweight division has long been the bright spot in combat sports. From boxing legends like Muhammad Ali and “Iron” Mike Tyson, to MMA greats Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, fans have always been drawn to heavyweights. From their towering structures, to their bone crushing knockout power, heavyweights have never had trouble drawing fans to
The heavyweight division has long been the bright spot in combat sports.
From boxing legends like Muhammad Ali and “Iron” Mike Tyson, to MMA greats Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, fans have always been drawn to heavyweights.
From their towering structures, to their bone crushing knockout power, heavyweights have never had trouble drawing fans to seats, or eyes to televisions.
Currently in MMA, the UFC’s heavyweight division is at an interesting stage.
With injuries running rampant throughout the upper echelon of the division over the last few years, a new champion has recently rose to prominence, as well as a wealth of new contenders who have made the division quite cloudy, yet exciting at the same time.
With that being said, it’s interesting to take a dive deep into the rich history of MMA’s most prolific division, and not only within the UFC, but within the sport as a whole.
Read on to see the 12 best heavyweights of all-time:
Legendary heavyweight knockout artist Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt is currently ranked No. 7 in the divisional rankings, but has only won one of his last three bouts. After being knocked out by reigning champion Fabricio Werdum back at UFC 180 in Mexico City, Hunt received an absolutely brutal beating at the hands of Stipe
Legendary heavyweight knockout artist Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt is currently ranked No. 7 in the divisional rankings, but has only won one of his last three bouts.
After being knocked out by reigning champion Fabricio Werdum back at UFC 180 in Mexico City, Hunt received an absolutely brutal beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic last May. However, the veteran has since bounced back with an impressive knockout victory over Antonio Silva at UFC 193 last May.
At 41 years of age, time is running out for Hunt in terms of title runs, but his devastating power has kept him relevant within the fight game for years now. That along with “The Super Samoan’s” apparent willingness to die inside of the Octagon, could give him a solid chance when he faces off with former champion Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 84 this March:
“You’re not gonna live forever. You’re gonna die like everyone else. But to be honest, no I don’t care what happens to me. I mean, I don’t really care what happens to Mark Hunt. I mean, we’re all destined to die, that’s for sure. So if I die doing what I love to do, that’s fine. So be it, I’m happy. I think Frank Mir is gonna be trying to take me down and I’m gonna be knocking him out. So I think after he realizes that he can’t take me down, then he’ll end up being knocked out, like the rest of them (laughs).” Hunt told Submission Radio.
Those are some deep words from the former K-1 world champion, but words that truly display Hunt’s heart, determination, and warrior spirit.
“The Super Samoan” will have a tough test in front of him in Australia, however, as Mir is one of the best submission artists that the heavyweight division has ever seen. The former champion is coming off of a rather lackluster decision loss to Andrei Arlovski last September, but had compiled two straight knockout wins prior to that.
Which heavyweight will come out on top on fight night?
Mark Hunt recently detailed his game plan for UFC Fight Night 84 to FOXSports.com. Hunt will be facing Frank Mir at the event, and says he’s not afraid of going to the ground with Mir during the fight.
“It’s going to be a great fight. I know his game plan and I know that he knows mine, you know. I know he knows I’m going to try and knock his lips off, and he knows that I know he’s going to try and break my sh-t up [laughs],” he predicted.
“Oh, I can get on the ground with anybody,” he boasted. “Like I said, you gotta be well versed in all areas to be playing around at this top end. You know what I mean? So I should’ve been a black belt already, I mean I’ve been training in jiu-jitsu for a long, long time. But yeah, I don’t mind going to the ground or wherever. If the party’s going there, then that’s where we’re going. That’s fine.”
“I think Frank Mir is gonna be trying to take me down, and I’m gonna be knocking him out,” he concluded.
UFN 84 takes place at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia on Sunday, March 20, in Australia. Due to the time difference, the event will be airing on March 19 in North America on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQWCbpdD_vs
Mark Hunt recently detailed his game plan for UFC Fight Night 84 to FOXSports.com. Hunt will be facing Frank Mir at the event, and says he’s not afraid of going to the ground with Mir during the fight.
“It’s going to be a great fight. I know his game plan and I know that he knows mine, you know. I know he knows I’m going to try and knock his lips off, and he knows that I know he’s going to try and break my sh-t up [laughs],” he predicted.
“Oh, I can get on the ground with anybody,” he boasted. “Like I said, you gotta be well versed in all areas to be playing around at this top end. You know what I mean? So I should’ve been a black belt already, I mean I’ve been training in jiu-jitsu for a long, long time. But yeah, I don’t mind going to the ground or wherever. If the party’s going there, then that’s where we’re going. That’s fine.”
“I think Frank Mir is gonna be trying to take me down, and I’m gonna be knocking him out,” he concluded.
UFN 84 takes place at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia on Sunday, March 20, in Australia. Due to the time difference, the event will be airing on March 19 in North America on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
(Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz returns from a lengthy injury layoff once again next weekend, so let’s celebrate by watching him beat the tar out of Takeya Mizugaki.)
(Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz returns from a lengthy injury layoff once again next weekend, so let’s celebrate by watching him beat the tar out of Takeya Mizugaki.)
At this point, it seems that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is forever destined to be one of the most dominant, yet simultaneously unbankable fighters in the history of the sport. Last Saturday was no exception, as the man they call “Mighty Mouse” turned in one of his best performances to date against rival John Dodson while headlining the lowest live gate for a UFC pay-per-view in 11 years. No respect, no respect, I tells ya.
Either the UFC has absolutely no idea how to market him, or casual fans are simply refusing to warm up to “little flyweights” (Ed note: My God, maybe Michael Bisping was right). Regardless, the UFC might want to start relegating Johnson to the FOX/FS1 cards, or at the very minimum, placing him in the co-main spot on a pay-per-views, because something just isn’t clicking with the UFC’s “f*cking idiot” fanbase.
Of course, Johnson wasn’t given much support in the form of a noteworthy undercard, which, save for a few noteworthy moments, didn’t really do much to entice those seated at the MGM Grand.
At this point, it seems that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is forever destined to be one of the most dominant, yet simultaneously unbankable fighters in the history of the sport. Last Saturday was no exception, as the man they call “Mighty Mouse” turned in one of his best performances to date against rival John Dodson while headlining the lowest live gate for a UFC pay-per-view in 11 years. No respect, no respect, I tells ya.
Either the UFC has absolutely no idea how to market him, or casual fans are simply refusing to warm up to “little flyweights” (Ed note: My God, maybe Michael Bisping was right). Regardless, the UFC might want to start relegating Johnson to the FOX/FS1 cards, or at the very minimum, placing him in the co-main spot on a pay-per-views, because something just isn’t clicking with the UFC’s “f*cking idiot” fanbase.
Of course, Johnson wasn’t given much support in the form of a noteworthy undercard, which, save for a few noteworthy moments, didn’t really do much to entice those seated at the MGM Grand.
Highlights after the jump.
Three round heavyweight fights, amiright Nation? Seeing one that entertains from the opening bell to the judges’ decision is kind of like seeing a double rainbow, on Mars, at night, and UFC 191′s co-main event was no exception. Both Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir were riding a pair of emphatic first round knockouts heading into their UFC 191 clash, leading both fans and pundits alike to all but slap a #1 contender label on the bout. As it turns out, that “first round” qualifier might have been the key to both men’s feelgood comeback stories.
To say the fight underwhelmed would be an understatement, so I’ll just leave it to the UFC studio analysts to explain. Arlovski did manage to come out with the decision win, however, improving his UFC win streak to four in a row.
While Arlovski vs. Mir might not have lived up to expectations, Anthony Johnson vs. Jimi Manuwa sure as hell did. “Rumble” started off strong early, landing some heavy leg kicks and surprisingly taking Manuwa down on a couple occasions, then flattened the Brit like he had been doing yoga in the weight room early in the second. Say what you want about Johnson, but he is possibly the hardest hitting fighter in the entire UFC and a goddamn nightmare matchup for anyone in the light heavyweight division.
Elsewhere on the main card, Paige VanZant once again proved that a limitless gas tank and endless aggression often lead to victory. VanZant was all over opponent Alex Chambers from the opening bell until the effortless armbar finish she secured in the third round. While her striking still has a way to go if she is ever to stand a chance against Joanna Champion, there’s no denying that VanZant is a prospect to watch in the strawweight division.
Of course, the UFC has neglected to upload any highlights from UFC 191′s most entertaining fight: Francisco Rivera vs. John Lineker, but I believe this gif best sums up how we all reacted to what was 2 minutes of absolute, unbridled insanity.
The full results for UFC 191 are below.
Main card
Demetrious Johnson def. John Dodson via unanimous decision
Andrei Arlovski def. Frank Mir via unanimous decision
Anthony Johnson def. Jimi Manuwa via second-round KO
Corey Anderson def. Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision
Paige VanZant def. Alex Chambers via submission (armbar)
Undercard
Ross Pearson def. Paul Felder via split decision
John Lineker def. Francisco Rivera via submission (guillotine)
Raquel Pennington def. Jessica Andrade via submission (rear-naked choke)
Tiago Trator def. Clay Collard via split decision
Joe Riggs def. Ron Stallings via DQ (illegal upkick)
Joaquim Silva def. Nazareno Malegarie via split decision
Even Andrei Arlovski knew there was no cause for celebration.
Moments after the judges confirmed his unanimous-decision win over Frank Mir on Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 191, Arlovski stood in the middle of the cage, shaking his head and apolo…
Even Andrei Arlovski knew there was no cause for celebration.
Moments after the judges confirmed his unanimous-decision win over Frank Mir on Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 191, Arlovski stood in the middle of the cage, shaking his head and apologizing.
“The crowd is right to boo me,” the 36-year-old Pit Bull told UFC color commentator Joe Rogan during his postfight interview. “I’m disappointed because I underestimated him. … To be honest with you, I thought it was going to be an easy fight, but it wasn’t.”
Arlovski got that right.
This wasn’t an easy fight for anyone, including fans who sat through a mostly underwhelming pay-per-view card and hoped the two former heavyweight champions could provide the night’s only fireworks. Instead, Mir and Arlovski slogged to a tepid 15-minute decision that only squandered the momentum each had built up during recent career turnarounds.
In the wake of his sixth straight victory, expect the hype around Arlovski to cool considerably. After UFC President Dana White came to the postfight press conference to announce yet another unexpected delay at the top of the heavyweight division, the lackluster performance may well hit the reset button on the entire 265-pound title picture:
To add insult to injury, White told hosts on the Fox Sports 2 postfight show (h/t MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn) he thought the judges got it wrong: “It wasn’t what I expected it to be, but I actually had Mir winning that fight. I was expecting that fight to look more like Travis Browne and Arlovski than the fight that it was. These guys are two big, hard-hitting heavyweights and they went three rounds.”
Perhaps it was our own fault for having lofty expectations for the two 36-year-old bruisers.
Arlovski came in riding high on a five-fight win streak, including three straight in the UFC since returning to the company in June 2014. When the UFC hinted last month it would book new champ Fabricio Werdum an immediate rematch against Cain Velasquez, some fans bristled because they thought Arlovski was more deserving.
Mir was also on the rebound, having distanced himself from a four-fight skid with back-to-back knockout wins so far in 2015.
Had Arlovski starched him in the first round, there would have been a long line of observers ready to make the case he ought to be next for the Werdum vs. Velasquez winner. Now, the door is open for someone else to cut the line.
Matchmakers recently confirmed a pair of upcoming heavyweight bouts that could provide another suitable No. 1 contender.
Ben Rothwell puts his own three-fight win streak on the line against StipeMiocic at UFC Fight Night 76 on October 24. Two months later, former champion Junior dos Santos is scheduled to return to the cage after more than a yearlong absence to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC on Fox 17 on December 19.
Either of the men who emerge victorious from those fights might lay legitimate claim to the next title opportunity. Now that we know Werdum will be on extended R&R until spring, however, the rub is that anyone who wants to stay in the hunt will almost certainly have to take another fight in the interim.
That could be good news for Arlovski, who might use the chance to erase this most recent outing from our memories.
“I was so pumped for this fight,” lamented Fox Sports 1 analyst and former UFC fighter Yves Edwards when it was over. “I’ve been waiting for this fight for 10 years and then it finally happened tonight and—it was not as exciting as I wanted it to be.”
Heavyweight MMA bouts typically go one of two ways: short and thrilling or long and tedious.
Arlovski vs. Mir certainly fit into the second category.
Early on, it was clear that Arlovski enjoyed a speed and technique advantage. He peppered Mir with shots during the first round while managing to steer clear of the kind of thunderous counterpunch Mir used to fell Todd Duffee in July.
Mir was able to nab a couple of takedowns, however, and Arlovski seemed mostly content to tie him up and wait for a referee stand-up. By the third round, things had devolved into the sort of stasis that often makes the heavyweight ranks the sport’s most ridiculed division:
As Arlovski’s scorecard victory was announced (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) the crowd jeered, not because the decision was wrong but just because the fight had been so lousy. He didn’t even smile as referee John McCarthy raised his hand.
Mir—a veteran of 26 Octagon appearances and the UFC’s longest-tenured active fighter—made a face as if to say, “Oh, really? Huh.” Then he simply walked away, as if it was just another day at the office.
Even