2012 MMA to-Do List for Each Top-10 Middleweight

With news that a scheduling fiasco has booted the UFC middleweight title fight out of Brazil and into Las Vegas comes news that the fight has been pushed from June to July.

While the gratification of UFC fans became a bit more delayed with the announcement, it is nothing compared to what the company's middleweight contenders are going through.

The top of the middleweight ladder is clustered with names like Mark Munoz, Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping and Hector Lombard. And despite the lack of vacancies, upstarts Tim Boetsch and Chris Weidman are crowding in.

Any number of contenders are title-hopeful this year, but only one fighter will enter 2013 as the division champion. 

Still, there are a number of other feathers out there, all ready to be plucked and stuck in a cap.

Here, we will take a look at what each of the middleweight division's top-10 fighters should strive to accomplish before the calender year draws to an end. 

Still to Come

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Welterweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Lightweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Featherweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Bantamweight

2012 MMA to do Lists for Each Top 10 Flyweight

Chris Weidman

Weidman's to-do List:

Improve cardio

Weidman showed he could make it through a grind in his UFC debut against Alessio Sakara but sleepwalked his way to victory in the third round of his bout with Demian Maia.

Granted, Weidman contested Maia on two weeks' notice, so his inability to keep a quick pace is forgivable. However, the fight still sends up something of a red flag, as it was a temperate boxing match with an absence of sapping clinches and frenetic grappling, which shouldn't have caused too much energy expenditure.

Weidman has legitimate excuses for his last performance, but he should work on going hard for three full rounds all the same. 

Improve striking

Continuing on with the critique of Weidman's performance against Maia, he needs to improve his stand-up. 

While it isn't terrible by any means—he did win the fight by out-striking his opponent—there is considerable room for bettering this area of Weidman's game.

As an elite wrestler and advanced grappler, Weidman does not need to become a force on the feet in order to find success in the UFC, but it is the most obvious hole in his game and he would be well served to develop it.

Take the next step

Maia is a quality opponent, and a win over the jiu-jitsu ace has propelled Weidman into a July showdown with Mark Munoz.

A win in that fight would announce Weidman's presence as a true threat in the UFC's middleweight division.

We know he WILL be a factor—this fight should tell us if he IS a factor.

Rousimar Palhares

Palhares' to-do List:

Show that the "Dan Henderson blueprint" is no longer effective

From the moment "Paul Harris" arrived in the UFC, no one wanted to go to the ground with him. Dan Henderson showed that by circling away and crossing off flailing punches from your list of techniques, doing so could be avoided.

Though no one else has been able to do what Henderson did (Marquardt was actually dragged down and scored a knockout win while Palhares was complaining to the referee), the blueprint he created prevails as the official method of choice for defeating the Brazilian.

Alan Belcher will no doubt try to replicate Henderson's approach, which will give Palhares the chance to show that he has grown since his fight with Henderson. To do this he will need to be aggressive going for the clinch and pull guard and attempt takedowns with equal ferocity.

Keep drilling the strikes

Though Palhares is not known for his striking ability, he has improved that area of his game exponentially since debuting in the UFC.

He is as strong as an ox and throws with bad intentions, which is a perfect complement to his overall game. When he throws aggressively and forces opponents to move backwards, he increases his chances of gaining the clinch and taking the fight to the mat.

Of course, that doesn't help a whole lot if he is so careless that he is knocked unconscious on his way in, so an improved technique would do wonders for Palhares' overall game.

Keep focused!

Palhares' mental fortitude is tremendous, but he has had a couple lapses during his UFC tenure that suggest he needs to improve his focus.

His knockout loss to Marquardt, the nonsense in the Tomasz Drwal win and premature celebration during the Dan Miller fight all point to this issue.

Palhares needs to make 2012 a mental-hiccup-free year.

Yushin Okami

Okami's to-do List:

Learn to deal with your opponents' aggression

Okami is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world when he has his opponent moving away from him.

When his opponent is coming at him hard, however, it is a very different story.

We saw this in the Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen and Tim Boetsch losses, and it is something Okami needs to figure out before he welcomes Luiz Cane to the middleweight division.

Rebound from the embarrassing loss to Tim Boetsch

No disrespect to Tim Boetsch, but Okami had that fight in the bag. Giving it away—in front of a Japanese audience no less—has to be one of the low points of Yushin's career.

He needs to put that event behind him and start a fresh title run by taking out the underachieving Luiz Cane this August.

Stay healthy

Since the loss to Boetsch, Okami needs a momentum swing like few other fighters. He needs to win and keep winning in order to move beyond that defeat.

Since 2008, Okami has only fought three times in a year once (2010) because of a spread of injuries. He cannot afford to stew on the sidelines right now. He needs to stay active, and to stay active, he needs to stay healthy.

Brian Stann

Stann's to-do List:

Improve takedown defense

Brian Stann's only losses in the UFC have been the result of being taken down and submitted or controlled. While he can hardly be blamed for getting taken to the mat by Phil Davis or Chael Sonnen, two superb wrestlers, it's hard to determine just how good Stann's takedown defense actually is.

The closest thing to a wrestler that Stann has defeated in the UFC is Mike Massenzio—and he was taken down in that fight.

If he wants to keep his striking a factor against the middleweight division's top takedown artists, Stann will have to shore up his sprawl this year.

Show Hector Lombard that the UFC is a different animal

Stann will welcome Lombard to the Octagon this August. Both guys have knockout power to spare and can take a punch, so this one could have some fireworks.

Though Lombard is not an established UFC fighter, a victory over the Cuban-born judokan would go a long way towards earning a No. 1 contender bout.

Build on the momentum earned in Sweden 

Stann reminded everyone that in spite of last year's October loss to Chael Sonnen, he remains a top-tier middleweight contender.

If he can parlay a victory over Lombard with his first-round knockout win over Alessio Sakara, a title shot could be just one fight away. 

Tim Boetsch

Boetsch's to-do List:

Show everyone that the Okami win wasn't a fluke

That Boetsch is a good fighter has not been a secret for a very long time. That he is good enough to beat the likes of Yushin Okami: well, that was indeed surprising.

The question is: will he ever again be able to replicate the success he found via ridiculous comeback knockout? His mission this year should be to provide an affirmative answer.

Believe that the Okami win wasn't a fluke

Though a victory is a victory any way you slice it, the fact that he was being pulverized right up to the point he knocked Okami out cannot have been lost on "The Barbarian."

While many fans will classify the win as a lucky punch, Boetsch needs to see it as an indicator that he is one of the best middleweights in the world. He has always fought best when aggressive, and nothing promotes aggressiveness in MMA like confidence.

Take two punches to give one against Michael Bisping

Tim Boetsch hits harder than Michael Bisping, but Bisping throws quicker and more accurately than Boetsch. 

The worst thing Boetsch can do against Bisping this July is box with him. Instead, he needs to get in his face, even if it means eating a few jabs on the way, and earn the chance to land that one big blow to the chin of the Brit.

Mark Munoz

Munoz's to-do List:

Improve stand-up game

Munoz may have the nastiest ground-and-pound in the middleweight division, but his stand-up game leaves something to be desired.

He does not have horrendous striking by any stretch, but it is the weakest part of his game and will be of particular importance for his upcoming fight with fellow wrestler Chris Weidman, as wrestler vs. wrestler matchups often result in a whole lot of kickboxing.

Derail the Chris Weidman hype-train

Weidman is considered by many to be the top prospect in all of MMA. Holding a win over such a highly-regarded fighter is a nice feather in the cap for anyone looking to make a splash in the division.

If Munoz can indeed pull out the win, he'll be poised for a very big year.

Earn a statement win

Munoz has reeled off four straight wins over good fighters, and a win over Weidman may earn him a title fight. On the other hand, it may earn him a fight against the winner of Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva or the winner of Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Bisping.

Ultimately, what the win does for Munoz may depend on the type of win it is. A lackluster decision will cause whispers of a title shot. An emphatic knockout—that will cause screams.

Michael Bisping

Bispings's to-do List:

Don't forget, you are allowed to go to the ground in MMA

Bisping has some seriously good ground-and-pound. Bisping never, ever tries to take his opponents down. 

He should.

Beware the Barbarian

Tim Boetsch isn't the scariest name out there, but as Yushin Okami can attest, the man does hit hard. 

The Englishman's July showdown with Boetsch will be Bisping's to lose, but he needs to stay sharp for the whole 15 minutes or he just might wake up to a bad nightmare.

As Yushin Okami can also attest to.

Stay active, keep winning

Chael Sonnen gets the next title shot at middleweight—we know this. But after that, the top of the middleweight division is extremely clustered; Mark Munoz may get a title shot if he beats Chris Weidman, Vitor Belfort might be a win away and Hector Lombard is already calling out Anderson Silva.

Chances are, Bisping will have to do more than beat Tim Boetsch to get his chance, but the only sure way to eventually make it there is to accomplish this task.

Vitor Belfort

Belfort's to-do List:

Beat Wanderlei from the corner

There's more to a fighter's life than fighting, right? Like coaching fights? Belfort might as well just win whatever he can this year and enjoy it.

Beat Wanderlei Silva in the cage

A victory over fellow Brazilian Wanderlei Silva may be enough for Belfort to earn another shot at UFC gold. If not, he will be no more than one fight away.

So this fight is kind of a big deal for him.

Win UFC middleweight title

A lofty goal, yes. But anything short of ending the 2012 calender year as the UFC middleweight champion is a bust for Belfort.

Chael Sonnen

Sonnen's to-do List:

Draw triangles every night before bed until you learn how to recognize one

This one doesn't require a whole lot of justification. I know that Sonnen's greatest weakness is his submission defense. You know that Sonnen's greatest weakness is his submission defense. Anderson Silva knows this too. So does Chael.

Perhaps he should work on defending submissions—particularly triangles—a touch more.

Hurt Anderson Silva's feelings

Though it is Sonnen's self-proclaimed goal to be the best fighter on the planet, he seems hellbent on making the target of his verbal scorn cry. 

Keep reaching for that rainbow, Chael.

Exchange that phony UFC belt for the real thing

What else supersedes winning the title when you are only months away from getting a crack at it?

Another loss would be devastating to Sonnen, who will really have nowhere left to go if he loses this July.

Anderson Silva

Silva's to-do List:

Figure out what happened on the feet in the first fight with Sonnen

That Sonnen was able to take Silva down and control him in their first fight was a surprise to no-one. That he outstruck Silva for most of the fight was very much surprising.

Though the exchanges mostly favored Sonnen in the first go-round, Silva remains the superior striker heading into the rematch. His ineffectiveness the first time out could have been the result of several different things. Maybe he was rocked once and never recovered. Maybe he was too worried about the takedown. Maybe he underestimated Sonnen's stand-up. Maybe Sonnen just has a difficult style for him to figure out.

But whatever it was, Anderson had better rectify the problem before he steps into the cage with Sonnen for a second time.

Shut Sonnen up for good

A full explanation of why Silva detests Sonnen would take days to write, so let's just say that Chael has been pretty mean to Anderson.

If Anderson is able to beat Chael again—beat him decisively—that pesky thorn in the side should be gone for the foreseeable future.

I'm sure Silva would really, reeeeeaallllly like that.

Keep Steven Seagal on speed-dial

If Silva is able to defeat Sonnen for a second time this July, he is likely headed for a rematch against Vitor Belfort. 

After knocking Belfort out with a straight head-kick in the first bout, Silva credited Steven Segal with teaching him the technique.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. And how could relying on Steven Seagal for MMA lessons go wrong?

Also check out

2012 MMA to-Do Lists for Each Top 10 Heavyweight

2012 MMA to-Do List for Each Top-10 Light Heavyweight