Why Lightweight and Middleweight Are the Weakest Divisions in UFC

I have always found it very interesting that two fighters who are in the pound-for-pound discussions happen to fight in the UFC's weakest divisions.

I'm going to show not only how shallow those divisions are, but also WHY they have been shallow in the UFC.

Weight Division	Total # of Champs	Total # of Title Fights	Total # of Top 25 Fighters
Lightweight	3	7	11
Welterweight	6	20	18
Middleweight	5	12	13
Light Heavyweight	8	24	17
Heavyweight	13	27	9

This table sums up the total number of unique champions (champions who have not held the belt on more than one title reign) and the total number of title fights each weight division has had in the history of the UFC.

The Lightweight Division

Only 11 of the top 25 Lightweight fighters are currently the UFC. The top five UFC Lightweights are, in this order, BJ Penn (ranked 1), Sean Sherk (6), Kenny Florian (7), Gray Maynard (13), and Joe Stevenson (14).

With not even half of the top 25 fighters fighting in the UFC's LW divisions, you can say with 100 percent certainty that the best LW fighters in the world fight OUTSIDE of the UFC.

I know it's shocking, but there is a very good reason for this, and to understand how this affair has happened, we have to look at the history of this weight division and the UFC.

Looking at the table above, you can clearly see the lack of title fights and title holders in the Lightweight division.

Between 2003-2006, the UFC did not have a lightweight division. I repeat, between 2003-2006, the UFC did not have a lightweight division.

There were a few fights (and I mean VERY few) that occurred at the lightweight division, but there were not enough fighters to have an actual title holder.

The first UFC lightweight title holder was Jens Pulver, who claimed the title in 2001. He successfully defended his title twice, before leaving the UFC for the rich lightweight divisions in Japan.

BJ Penn then fought Caol Uno in 2003, but the bout was ruled a draw and BJ Penn left the UFC for Japan soon after.

Sean Sherk became the second UFC lightweight Champion in 2006, in the first lightweight title bout in three years.

The UFC is currently trying to rebuild its lightweight division. After having a non-existent weight division for three years, most of the top competition flees to other venues to fight.

This is why the Japanese promotions have such a talent pool in the lightweight divisions and why BJ Penn is the current champion of the thinnest lightweight division in MMA.

The Middleweight Division

The only other division that the UFC seems to lack quality fighters in is the Middleweight division. The Middleweights are much deeper than the lightweights, though they still lack in quality numbers.

Currently, the UFC has 13 of the top 25 Middleweight fighters in the world with eight in the top 15. These are Anderson Silva (1), Yushin Okami (2), Dan Henderson (4), Nate Marquardt (5), Rich Franklin (8), Thales Leites (10), Michael Bisping (12), and Chael Sonnen (14).

Though it is much deeper, there is a curious lack of title holders and title fights for a weight division that goes back to 2001.

Dave Menne became the first Middleweight Title Holder in 2001 when he defeated Gil Castillo. Menne then lost to Murilo Bustamante.

Bustamante successfully defended his title once and then promptly jumped ship to fight in the talent rich waters of Japan. The UFC did not have a Middleweight titleholder between 2002 and 2005.

Evan Tanner became the third UFC Middleweight Champion before being defeated by Rich Franklin and we all know what happened to Rich Franklin.

Whenever a weight division has a gap in title holders, it puts a serious damper on the talent that fights in those weight divisions.

The UFC is still trying to rebuild its current middleweight division, and it has come a LONG way from when Rich Franklin claimed the title in 2005.

If Anderson Silva successfully defends his title one more time, he will have tied the all-time UFC title defense records set by Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes at five title defenses.

I'm sure no one believes that he will not tie the record, but it still leaves the middleweight division stale, as the only other real superstar the UFC is trying to build is Michael Bisping.

Ultimately the Middleweight and Lightweight divisions have been historically slim with the UFC due to a lack of talent and an easy outlet for fighters in Japan.

With the outlet in Japan closed off (for the most part) and the UFC's dominance in the world of MMA continues to grow, these divisions are rapidly being built back up.

Hopefully we'll see some great title fights in the next year in these two divisions as important matchups are developing at the LW and MW levels.

***The Heavyweights have historically been the go-to division for the UFC, next to the Light heavies of course. The lack of competent Heavyweights in recent time is probably due to the UFC neglecting to sign top fighters after other organizations have fallen apart.***

***The top 25 rankings are based off of meta-rankings that are averages of twenty different rankings compiled by Bloody Elbow.***