I See an Eight Man Heavyweight Tournament In the Works

People like to say that the heavyweight division is lacking, especially in the UFC. But the UFC actually has the most stacked heavyweight division in the sport; nevertheless, they are missing a few key fighters:

Fedor, Barnett, Andre Arlovski, and Sylvia—and the UFC willingly let all of them go, save Fedor.

The UFC's current, top heavyweights are Randy Couture, Antonio Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheik Kongo, Shane Carwin, Antoni Hardonk, and Cain Velasquez.

Eight of te UFC heavyweights are set to fight each other. How those matches will turn out, I don't know. But here are the matches:

Gonzaga vs Shane Carwin

Two big heavyweights are going to go at it.  I see Gonzaga rocking Carwin early, then slapping on a quick submission. Shane is good and big, but Gonzaga is very good on the ground and standing up, and he has of power to back it up. Gonzaga's gas tank is questionable however.

I don't see the fight going long enough for conditioning to be a factor. Gonzaga should end this quick. Shane is good, but he just isn't ready for the top dogs. Both men have ended there last two opponents in under two minutes, so fire works will erupt.

Gonzaga wins by submission in round one.

Next up is Congo vs. Hardonk

Two more big men and both have great kick boxing. Both are 6'4'' and over 240 lbs. This fight should stay on the feet. God help the audience if it goes to the ground.  Standing up, this should be a great slug fest. Both men have finished there last two fights in the first round by TKO. Although, while standing I see congo wining it.  Hardonk is more skilled then Congos last two opponent's, so I see this fight going to a decision.

Either way, this will be a very entertaining fight.

Congo wins by unanimous decision.

Now, what will become of the winners? Will the UFC choose one and give him a title shot and save the others for future title bouts?  Or will they pin them against each other and find a true No. 1 contender.

I hope for the latter. I would love to see Gonzaga vs. Congo. However, I believe Gonzaga would take Congo down and submit him. When and if that happens, Gonzaga would be the No. 1 contender. But hey,  Congo is always one swing away.

Gonzaga wins via submission in round one.

Now we have a different sort of four man tourney.

First up we have:

Mir vs. Lesnar II

This time there is a little more at stake. That stake being the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship. This will not be anything like the first fight.  Lesnar knows he cannot make the same mistake as he did in the first fight—letting Mir take him to the ground.

Lesnar has the reach, height, weight, and power advantages.  Clearly, he has the advantage in the stand-up game. He should be able to do to Mir what Mir did to Nogueira. Brock should use his wrestling skills and size to keep the fight standing up, and just wear Mir down.  For no reason should Brock go to the ground, not until Mir is out.

Mir is the ever-crafty veteran. He can quickly turn it around with a submission.

If Brock plays it smart, which I think he will, he should win.

Brock wins via TKO in the second or third round, becoming the undisputed champion.

Now, there is one more fight in the works, supposedly scheduled for UFC 101. And that fight is Randy Couture Vs Antonio Nogueira.

Age may be catching up to Randy and Nogueira has taken one to many shots to the jaw; however, these two warriors can still bring it.

Nogueira looked slow in his last fight. Yes, he did have a staff infection and a knee injury, but I still think the Nogueira of old is gone. Randy, on the other hand, still looks as good as he did when he demolished Sylvia and Gonzaga. Yes, he did get dropped by a much larger Lesnar, but before that shot he still looked good.

This will be a classic battle for the ages. I see this fight going to Randy. I think Randy will out box Nogueira for the majority of the fight, then take him down when need be. Randy's half-guard positioning is good enough to fend off Nogueira's guard.It will be interesting to say the least.

Randy wins by unanimous decision.

I believe this may set up a second fight between Couture and Lesnar. I don't know though, they may just go for Gonzaga vs Lesnar.

So, let's just say, for the hell of it, Couture vs Lesnar II happens. I can see it playing out similarly to the first fight. Randy will get his groove going in the second, and as long as he can avoid the big shot, he can pull of a unanimous decision.

Why not, let's say Randy pulls off one more miracle before he retires.

Randy wins by unanimous decision.

This would set up Gonzaga vs. Randy II for the title. This will go, most likely, the same way their first fight went. Randy by TKO in the third round. But hey, Gonzaga is always a second away from winning.

So, I think old-war-horse Randy can pull this off. However, if Gonzaga ends up fighting anyone but Randy, I see Gonzaga winning that fight.

Gonzaga, Randy, and Lesnar all have the best shot, in my opinion, but there are so many factors at play, so anything is possible.

At the end of the day, who the hell knows with this crazy sport. It's going to be one hell of a crazy year in the UFC heavy weight division. And to many peoples surprise it will be the division to watch out for in 2009-2010