At UFC 166 at the Toyota Center in Houston, the world’s two best heavyweights entered the Octagon and after nearly five rounds of pure, unadulterated one-sided brutality, a true colossus of MMA was born.
Cain Velasquez, drenched in his adversary&…
At UFC 166 at the Toyota Center in Houston, the world’s two best heavyweights entered the Octagon and after nearly five rounds of pure, unadulterated one-sided brutality, a true colossus of MMA was born.
Cain Velasquez, drenched in his adversary’s blood, rose from the fire and ash that is a title fight of such magnitude and now sits atop the UFC’s heavyweight division. The runner-up in this violent marathon was Junior dos Santos and having all but cleaned out the weight class himself over the last five or six years, sequesters himself distinctly as the world’s No. 2 heavyweight.
And this would be perfectly acceptable in maybe every other weight class but not heavyweight. Because this was the second time in one calendar year Velasquez has pulverized dos Santos beyond recognition.
The problem is that no heavyweight outside of Velasquez stands even a chance of defeating dos Santos. So after yet another display of mastery over “Cigano,” Velasquez turned what was already a two-man race into an out of control runaway.
The division belongs to Velasquez. And the matchups the UFC makes in the near future could have dire consequences if not drawn up properly.
As great as dos Santos is, it would be terrible for the sport to see anything remotely similar to the division’s dark age that pitted Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski against one another in what seemed to be an endless series, owing to the sheer lack of viable contenders.
The division may technically be more talented than it’s ever been, but the discrepancy between Velasquez and dos Santos and every other heavyweight could very well force something alike the Sylvia-Arlovski conundrum just alluded to.
In hopes of preventing that, here are five fights the UFC’s heavyweight title picture needs to see happen.
It wasn’t that long ago that Travis Browne was being called the next big thing in the heavyweight division. One of Greg Jackson’s standout fighters and training partner to the likes of Jon Jones, he stood undefeated in April 2012—stea…
It wasn’t that long ago that Travis Browne was being called the next big thing in the heavyweight division. One of Greg Jackson’s standout fighters and training partner to the likes of Jon Jones, he stood undefeated in April 2012—steadily making his way through the UFC’s 265-pound division.
But his momentum was decidedly slowed down last October after getting TKO’d at the hands of Antonio Silva in his first headline event at UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot.
Overeem is another fighter who tasted defeat in his last fight against Silva. Both fighters, who’ll face each other on August 17, are fighting for relevancy in the division.
However, for Browne, the Dutch fighter is undoubtedly his toughest contest yet. Overeem is a veteran of the sport, a former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and a winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix—the biggest kickboxing event in the world.
And for all his achievements, Browne has never looked as good in his fights as Overeem. It’s true, Browne’s loss to Silva came after an injury sustained in the opening seconds of the match, leading to his eventual TKO in the first round. But even before that, his career was yet to be defined by head turning wins.
His win over Gabriel Gonzaga in his last fight came from clearly illegal elbows to the back of the Brazilian’s head, as Browne struggled to prevent a takedown. Prior to that, we see a submission win for Browne over the UFC’s two-fight wonder, Chad Griggs (released from his contract in January). And before that was a lacklustre decision win over another two-fight wonder in the UFC, Rob Broughton.
Add a draw against mediocre talent Cheick Kongo, in a fight he was losing but for a point deduction against Kongo, and it’s clear that Browne has yet to stamp his mark on the heavyweight division.
That could all change when he meets Overeem, returning to the Octagon for the first time since February. A win over him would, without doubt, signal that Browne can contend for heavyweight gold.
But that’s a tall order. If we see the same Overeem who demolished the likes of Brock Lesnar inside the first round—and that’s a big “if”—then it could be a short night for Browne.
As things stand, with Cain Velasquez’s dominant reign, and with the UFC’s No. 2 heavyweight, Daniel Cormier, indicating a drop down to the light heavyweight division, the race for a title shot is still wide open.
Browne will make his case for that shot when he faces his next opponent at UFC Fight Night 26 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts in a little over two weeks.
On September 4, 2013, at UFC on Fox Sports 1 No. 3, light heavyweight contenders Glover Teixeira (No. 3) and Ryan Bader (No. 10) will clash in an effort to move up the divisional rankings.For Teixeira, a win over Bader wouldn’t necessarily earn t…
On September 4, 2013, at UFC on Fox Sports 1 No. 3, light heavyweight contenders Glover Teixeira (No. 3) and Ryan Bader (No. 10) will clash in an effort to move up the divisional rankings.
For Teixeira, a win over Bader wouldn’t necessarily earn the Brazilian a title shot. However, he would be able to keep his standing as a top contender for the light heavyweight championship title.
The two combatants were scheduled to face each other in May 2013. However, citing an injury, Bader was sidelined and replaced by James Te Huna at UFC 160.
Teixeira went on to submit the New Zealander via guillotine choke in two minutes, 38 seconds in the very first round. The finish earned the Brazilian Submission of the Night honors, garnering him an extra $50,000.
They gave me Ryan Bader for my last fight. He’s a big name, but it ended up being James Te Huna. They’re all tough guys, don’t get me wrong. The big names can make a difference for exposure, but those up-and-coming guys are tough, too. I really don’t care. I know sooner or later, I’m going to get that title.
A victory over a once highly touted and formidable Bader on September 4 would not only pad Teixeira’s resume with a name opponent and extend his 19–fight win streak, it would also build credibility for a fighter who hasn’t defeated any of the current top-10 light heavyweights in his division.
UFC on Fox 4 featured a pair of light heavyweight contests between Mauricio Rua and Brandon Vera, and Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader.From an entertainment standpoint the night was a glowing success, showcasing no shortage of solid action and even produci…
UFC on Fox 4 featured a pair of light heavyweight contests between Mauricio Rua and Brandon Vera, and Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader.
From an entertainment standpoint the night was a glowing success, showcasing no shortage of solid action and even producing a title contender.
Now that it is in the books, let’s take a look at how the card stacks up against its network television predecessors.
To establish an order of best to worst, the undercard, main card and main event of each Fox installment will be ranked. A first-place rank will earn the event one point, second gets two points, third get one point and fourth gets zero.
Because UFC on Fox 1 had no main card (it was just a main event), I’ve taken the liberty of classifying the Ricardo Lamas vs. Cub Swanson, Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza and Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida fights as the event’s main card. The rest of the preliminary action will make up the undercard for the purpose of this ranking.
The rankings will be based on the entertainment value of each event, as well as the importance of the fights that comprised it.
Something has to be done.The first UFC on FOX event was set off with a huge main event of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and became the most watched MMA event in U.S. history with 5.7 million average viewers. …
Something has to be done.
The first UFC on FOX event was set off with a huge main event of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and became the most watched MMA event in U.S. history with 5.7 million average viewers.
Fast forward to January, with the main event of Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, and ratings take a slight dip, bringing in 4.7 million average viewers with a main event that doesn’t necessarily grab the attention of the casual fan.
Then there was the big fall.
UFC on FOX 3 with the main event of Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller tanked in viewership, only doing 2.42 million average viewers, half of what UFC on FOX 2 did just a couple of months earlier.
What’s interesting about it is that viewership is exactly opposite of the quality of the main event. Hands down, Diaz vs. Miller was the best main event out of the three, followed by Evans dominating Phil Davis for five rounds.
The Heavyweight Championship bout was over before it ever got started, mostly due to the massive hype that the match received, and the 64-second knockout that left the casual fan wondering just what MMA truly was all about.
So how do you fix viewership issues? Put the big names on free TV.
Zuffa is hoping that just seeing the UFC logo will draw. It won’t. There are fans like me who’ll watch every UFC event regardless of who’s fighting just because they’re fight fans. Then there are the channel flippers and the occasional viewers who want to see the big names fight. They vastly outweigh the hardcore fans.
With that being said, UFC on FOX started out perfectly with a one-fight card with the UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line. What more could you ask for? A Heavyweight Championship on free TV? It’s unheard of.
Then they failed to capitalize. The main objective for the UFC should have been to put on some of the best fights on free TV for at least three or four events to make UFC on FOX a must-see event. By doing that, they not only would have grown their fanbase among casual fans, but they would also potentially see a spike in pay-per-view buys.
There are actually fewer FOX events than PPV events, so it should be treated like a must-see event with some of the biggest names out there.
To show how names truly drive views, look no further than Kimbo Slice vs. Josh Thompson in the now-defunct EliteXC promotion. Once the most watched MMA event on network TV, CBS drew 4.9 million viewers that wanted to see Kimbo fight. Fighters sell fights.
Now, I’m not saying that UFC on FOX should be the home of the Heavyweight Championship fights, but they should do more in putting the big names on display.
Believe it or not, MMA still has not surpassed boxing in the mainstream. The most talked-about fighters in the world are still Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Not Jon Jones and Anderson Silva.
UFC has the biggest platform in all of combat sports to put mixed martial arts on the map. But to do so, you have to put the big fights in front of a free TV audience. The more big fights on free TV, the more eyeballs on the product and the more potential it is to launch MMA into mainstream.
Diaz vs. Miller and the 2.4 million viewers was not a blip. If Zuffa continues to put on fights that wouldn’t headline pay-per-views, this will become a trend.
UFC on FOX 3 is now in the books and the UFC brand continues to grow with every appearance on the network television station.The most recent event featured an excellent fight card with a main event between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. While i…
UFC on FOX 3 is now in the books and the UFC brand continues to grow with every appearance on the network television station.
The most recent event featured an excellent fight card with a main event between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. While it did not contain the star power that the previous two events did, many are already saying that UFC on FOX 3 might have been the most exciting of the bunch so far.
But are exciting fights alone enough to make these cards a success?
Let’s delve deeper as we grade each of the first three UFC on FOX events.
Something has to be done.