UFC Title Belts: Are They Really Necessary? I Am Starting To Wonder

Brock Lesnar

While ever improving, and obviously capable, Brock won a belt that really should hold no weight to the pure MMA fan. There was no discussion of the fight between Randy and who ever, when they offered an interim belt to Big Nog and Tim Sylvia. 

There was no champion then, they hadn't written off Couture, but they felt strongly enough to offer the title up to the next guys in line. 

Should Randy have challenged Nog to unify that title? Realistically that should have been the case, but wait..Nog is busy filming a TV show, not defending his new found belt.  Now Brock is our champ. 

What is this, the new math? 

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 

Big Nog won the interim heavyweight title when the UFC was without a heavyweight champ.  Now he stands second to a man who won the real belt when the real champ returned through legal means. 

Now he must fight and win twice before being considered the true champ. Is he not the man who should have been first in line when Randy returned to the UFC? Alas a TV show is more important to the UFC than their heavywieght champion defending his title, or having his title reduced to a worthless pile of metal and leather in Nog's case.

Anderson Silva               

Current middleweight champion, supposedly will be moving up in weight in the coming year to further test his skills against the best the UFC has to offer. 

The UFC is incapable of producing a challenger for this pound for pound contender. He may very well turn his back on a belt he will never lose. Does his skill as a fighter eclipse the entire division? 

Is there no one who can knock this dude the hell out? Surely there is someone. Is he so good, he has to walk away from his belt? Sadly this may prove more true than we might like. It is not to Silva's detriment but until he loses, isn't he the champ, shouldn't he remain that way?

Geroges St. Pierre

GSP holds the welterweight belt that Thiago Alves dearly wants. Thiago has earned a shot at the belt in decisive fashion, and he has some very undeniable skills that could very well give GSP some trouble.  GSP vs. Alves is an intriguing match up. A match up fight fans deserve to see. 

A match up Alves deserves to be a part of, a belt he has decisively earned a crack at.  It may never happen depending on how the next two months play out for GSP and the welterweight division.  There is a chance (a slim one depending on who you ask) that GSP may not hold the belt by the time Alves gets his shot.

B.J. Penn

The current lightweight champion.  Kenny Florian is the heir to that throne.  He has been since he defeated Roger Huerta some time ago.  B.J. thinks he has bigger fish to fry in another division.  He has actively put defending his current belt on hold with his aspirations for another belt. 

This has effectively put two divisions on hold as mentioned before.  The fight is good for business, good for the fans as it is more than likely going to be fight of the century, but the bottom line is its tying up more than one number one contender, not to mention the belts themselves. 

This is coming from an avid BJ supporter, but his aspirations should not take priority over the simple business of protecting what one owns. Whether that one is BJ or GSP, they need to stick to their own problems right now, not get mixed up in each others agendas. Obviously GSP is not the one pushing this but is tied up in the mess all the same.

Are we starting to get the picture here? We the fight fans, covet these titles, and we all have our favorite fighter whom we would adore seeing with that belt around their waist.  The symbol or superiority is important to us.  It is a false image though. The true meaning of the belt does not hold as much importance as the road to it according to the UFC.

The titles themselves seem to hold little to no weight when Dana White sits down with matchmaker Joe Silva and they plan their attack on our wallets. I have effectively outlined four of six belts currently held in the UFC. 

Those four belts are essentially in limbo due to the poor planning on the part of the UFC.

There are the obvious contenders to those belts, it just seems that they dont take precedence over making the most money. There are more reasons to discredit the UFC than we can shake a stick at. They have been covered for the most part. This one stands out for me personally. 

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