UFC 130 Fight Card: Is Brian Stann Ready for the Middleweight Elite?

One of the many storylines running through UFC 130 is that of UFC middleweight Brian Stann.

Stann was once a war hero, having served in Iraq where he earned a Silver Star—the nation's third highest military honor—for his efforts. In addition to this, Stann was the light heavyweight champion in the lesser known World Extreme Cagefighting organization (WEC).

It was for these reasons that Stann—with his square jaw and clean-cut All-American look—was and still is given a considerable amount of hype. But, hype aside, is Brian Stann ready for the elite of the middleweight division?

If Stann is victorious over his UFC 130 opponent Jorge Santiago, whether he is ready or not, the elite will come.

The reality of the situation is that middleweight has been and still is one of the weakest divisions in the UFC. There are few true contenders in general and even fewer that can threaten current champion Anderson Silva.

So, in one sense, Brian Stann is ready for the middleweight elite because there are so few truly elite fighters in the middleweight division. In addition, some might think he has already defeated a member of the middleweight elite in Chris Leben.

But, to look at the other side of the question, is Stann ready for the middleweight elite meaning Anderson Silva and perhaps Vitor Belfort?

Not likely. In truth, Stann is a fairly one dimensional fighter. He has good stand-up skills, but he seems to use mainly his hands; limited wrestling, and limited submissions—although he is improving in this area and even has a triangle choke submission to his credit.

Despite these deficiencies, Stann, if victorious tonight, will likely be proclaimed as the next middleweight contender and perhaps even put into a number one contender fight.

So, to reiterate the answer: Stann has no choice but to be "ready" for the middleweight elite because the talent pool at middleweight is so thin that he may himself be part of that elite already!