The Ever Improving Middleweight Division

So it’s been like a month or so since I’ve written anything on the site and for all my trusty fans I say I’m sorry.  It’s been busy at the Casa de Moreno and school has been handing me my ass as of late. 

With that said I bring to you a thought process of mine.  It’s been said as recently as last month that the middleweight division is weak.  To be honest I’ve thought that myself, but here lately certain fighters have been changing that thought process. 

At UFC 95 Nate Marquardt and Damien Maia had some convincing wins to let the MMA world know that they were in line for a title shot.  However they are not the only ones making this claim.  So with that in mind here is a short list that makes me feel very good about the up and coming year that is the middleweight division.

Yushin Okami—Most people feel that Okami doesn’t deserve a shot at the title, but I for one disagree.  If we look at his record it shows a UFC record of 7-1 in his last eight fights.  The only fighter in the middleweight division to have as many wins in that same time frame is Anderson Silva. 

In any other division he would have had a shot by the fifth win let alone after seven with his only loss being to then No. 2 middleweight fighter in the world Rich Franklin.  I know his win to Anderson was by DQ and I get that many think he is boring, and I’m not going to argue that point. 

Boring or not he deserves his shot whether or not we think we know what is going to happen to him if and when he fights Anderson. 

Nate Marquardt—Since his loss to Anderson Silva he has fought the top fighters in the middleweight division.  He submitted Jeremy Horn, KO’ed Martin Kampmann in the first round forcing Kampmann to drop a weight class, and demolished Wilson Gouveia.  His lone loss was to Thales Leites which he had two points taken from him and one judge still thought he won.  

In his recent win over Gouveia, Marquardt stated that he was a different fighter then the first time he faced Anderson and he is right.  His stand-up is much improved and he is one of the best ground and pound fighters at 185.  Honestly I think he can give Anderson a good run in a rematch and has to be considered the next in line.

Damien Maia—Maia is without a doubt the best jiu-jitsu fighter in the middleweight division and is considered the best jiu-jitsu fighter to adapt BJJ to MMA.  He is 5-0 in the UFC and 10-0 overall with all but two of those wins coming by way of submissions. 

His last three fights, in particular the fights with Jason MacDonald and Chael Sonnen, has made many people turn their heads and consider him as another soon to be title contender. 

A fight with Anderson and Maia would be very interesting because I for one think that Maia can get the fight to the ground and if there is somewhere many MMA question Anderson’s ability it’s on the ground.  Anderson may be a black belt under Big Nog, but Maia is a totally different animal. 

Dan Henderson—Since returning to the UFC Henderson has had to face the toughest fight schedule ever.  Fight number one was against Rampage for the 205 title, fight number two was against Anderson for the 185 belt, fight number three was a fight against a tough young fighter in Rousimar Palhares, fight number four against the former 185 king and top ten fighter in Rich Franklin. 

Easy breezy right? Wrong. 

He now gets the fight against Michael Bisping who the UFC is grooming to be the next middleweight king.  With a win Henderson could put himself back in the running for title contender to be. 

Remember that before standing and trading with Anderson in their title fight, Henderson controlled Silva for over two and a half minutes of the first round easily winning the only round Anderson has loss while in the UFC.  Henderson is still dangerous at this weight class and still hungry to prove he belongs in title contention. 

Michael Bisping—As I stated earlier Bisping has a fight with a legend in Dan Henderson and if he wins the UFC will take their international poster boy straight to the top.  With that said it isn’t without merit that the UFC is bringing him along to be the heir to the middleweight empire. 

He is 7-1 in the UFC with his only loss being to 205 champ Rashad Evans.  As a middleweight he is a perfect 3-0, albeit against less then top level fighter, but 3-0 nonetheless.  He is a solid ground fighter and has drastically improved his stand-up.  

He now trains with some top notch fighters in Quentin Jackson, and Cheick Kongo at the Wolfslair in London.  The UFC could really use an English champion to boast the European market even more and trust me when I say that a win over Henderson would have him jump over all the other fighters in his way.

Yoshihiro Akiyama—For those of you who don’t know this name you should go quickly to YouTube, type in his name and watch for your very eyes how good this Korean fighter is. 

The former k-1 Hero’s and Dream fighter is 12-1 overall with some unorthodox submission and TKO wins.  With wins over notable fighters like Melvin Manhoef and Denis Kang the judo fighter brings instant Asian fans and a top 15 ranking to a US crowd who loves a fighter who can finish. 

Seriously he is the only fighter, at least to my knowledge, to end a fight with an Ezekiel choke not once but twice and watch his fight with Katsu Nagata and his fabulous spinning back kick KO.  He is legit and I can’t watch to see what he brings to the UFC’s ever deepening middleweight division.

So to recap the middleweight division isn’t as horrible as we all once thought.  Could 2009 be the year of the 185 pound fighter.