UFC Heavyweight Division: A Myth Debunked

The UFC has the most massive stable of fighters under contract in the sport of MMA. Yet, the heavyweight division often referred to as the best in the world is not nearly as deep as one would be led to believe.

The list on the UFC site has 24 names, a nice amount considering the weight class. But, upon further inspection, some of these names while relevant to the sport's history aren't fighters who are active.

So, why are they on the list?

I believe the answer is that most of the names that are listed are just fodder for an otherwise empty roster.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.AllFighters&did=1&LName=

To be fair, I've posted the link upon which this article is based, and thus my entire breakdown is up for review by any who choose to do so.

First, let us run down the names of those fighters I deem as irrelevant to the current activity in the division.

Justin Eilers—Last UFC fight—UFC 57—6-15-2006 loss by KO to Brandon Vera

I think it's safe to say Eilers is not active in the division inside UFC.

Zane Frazier—Last UFC fight—UFC 9—5-17-1996 loss by submission to Cal Worsham

Again, I believe it's safe to assume Frazier isn't active in the UFC.

Gerard Gordeau—Last UFC fight—UFC 1—11-12-1993

If you recall this guy, he knocked out the teeth of a sumo guy named Teila Tuli with a kick to the face. He went on to be submitted by Royce Gracie in the same event.

As much as I love the memory—this guy hasn't fought since then, so he's definitely not a factor.

Patrick Smith—Last UFC fight—UFC 6—7-14-1995

He is still active at 46.  I last saw him fight against Eric "Butterbean" Esch in the one and only YAMMA event back on 4-11-2008.

I think he's fought since then, but he is clearly not a factor in UFC's heavy weight division.

Mike Wessel—Last UFC fight—UFC 92—12-27-08 loss to Antoni Hardonk by TKO

Wessel makes my list because this is his one and only performance in the octagon.

Who knows if he is under contract.

Mostapha Al Turk—Last UFC fight—UFC 92—12-27-08 loss to Cheick Kongo by TKO

This was Al Turk's only performance in the octagon, but he is still active if only to be fed to Mirko Cro-cop upon his return at UFC 99 coming up on 6-13-2009.

Unless he pulls out an upset like Gonzaga did against Cro-cop, it's likely Al Turk will not be in the UFC.

Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic—Last UFC fight—UFC 75—9-8-2007 loss to Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision

Cro-Cop went 1-2 in his last UFC run. After leaving, he went 2-0-1 NC in Dream and K-1. The one credible opponent would be Alistair Overeem, which resulted in a no contest.

So, while he is returning at UFC 99, his fight with Al Turk will not be a sign of how he will fair in the division as a whole unless he loses.

Then we'll know he needs to pack it up and call it a career.

The meat of the division

So, that's just over a quarter of the roster. Now, let's break down the top ten of the UFC heavy weights.

Listing champions first, the rest is my opinion.

1—Brock Lesnar—3-1-0: Athletic wrestler and a huge 265lbs. that moves like a welter weight. Set to fight Frank Mir at UFC 100 to finally gives us an official champion.

Looking to avenge his sole loss to Mir.

2—Frank Mir—12-3-0: Former champion, a Ju-Jit-Su master and the only man to beat Lesnar to date.

3—Randy Couture—16-7-0: The legendary former champion at both HW and LHW. Couture is a master of the sport but at 46, how much longer can he stay active against younger fighters?

4—Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—31-5-1: Another legend of MMA former Pride HW champion and also had a piece of the UFC title. Although at this point, Nogueira is in twilight of his career.

Nogueira and Couture will battle later this year with the winner likely securing a last shot at the title.

5—Cheick Kongo—24-4-1: The French kick boxer is riding a three fight win streak that will put him in the title picture sooner or later, but his ever improving ground game still needs some work to deal with the other four above.

6—Shane Carwin—11-0-0: This 34-year-old is a massive HW at 262lbs. He has knocked out all of his opponents, most recently Gabriel Gonzaga. Carwin is climbing the ladder.

But, at the rate he's going, he will be in the title picture soon.

7—Junior Dos Santos—8-1-0: This explosive Brazilian fighter is 2-0 in UFC both by vicious KO. He is one to watch down the road as he continues to impress.

8—Cain Velasquez—5-0-0: Velasquez has gone 3-0 in UFC and will get to prove himself against veteran Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. A win would be proof he is more than a prospect.

9—Heath Herring—28-14-0: A veteran of the sport who is 2-3 in UFC. Herring hasn't fought since August of last year, but he is a solid HW with a ton of experience.

But if we don't see him soon, he might be on the way out.

10—Gabriel Gonzaga—10-4-0: A solid HW contender who shocked the MMA world with his KO of Cro-Cop at UFC 70. He recently lost to Shane Carwin.

How he performs in his next few fights could decide whether he stays or goes.

Who is left ?

Justin McCully—9-4-2 ( 2-1 UFC ): Won over Eddie Sanchez by unanimous decision at the Fight for the troops at the end of last year.

Antoni Hardonk—8-5-0 (4-3 UFC): Lost to Cheick Kongo at UFC 97 earlier this year.

Pat Berry—4-1-0 ( 1-1  UFC): Lost to Tim Hague by submission at UFC 98.

Mike Ciesnolevicz—18-3-1 ( 1-0 UFC ): An impressive submission win at UFC 95 earlier this year.

Tim Hague—10-1-0 ( 1-0 UFC ): A fast submission win at UFC 98 over Pat Berry.

Denis Stojnic—12-2-0 (0-1 UFC): Knocked out by Cain Velasquez earlier this year at UFC fight night.

Stefan Struve—20-3-0 (0-1 UFC): Suffered a TKO loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 95 earlier this year.

So, this gives us our grand total of 24 fighters listed on the UFC site.

Out of all these only those in the top ten are the factors of the division. Couture and Nogueira are in the twilight of their legendary careers. Herring can't be too far behind them.

With the next Ultimate Fighter show focusing on heavy weights, the UFC brass is well aware they need to fatten up the division. However, on that note, we will likely see Kimbo Slice in the octagon before long.

Sure it will be great to watch him get marketed somewhat better only to be crushed, but I doubt we even end up with two coordinated (let alone promising) prospects from the TV show.

So, I guess I will continue to watch about ten guys battle it out and jockey for position. The entire strength of the UFCs heavy weight roster is in the top ten I listed above.

Even then what we really see is that large men who are capable athletes usually find a better way to make a living in another sport.

One thing I take from this is that the UFC heavy weight division is not some place Fedor Emelianenko needs to go and prove himself. Three fights here may be worth his time that he hasn't already done in Pride.

Randy Couture, Frank Mir, and Brock Lesnar are it as of now.

Maybe some of the others will improve enough too, but, even out of these three, Couture is just too old at this point and Mir has the skills but not the chin.

That leaves Lesnar.

While quite the specimen and ever improving fighter, he would get crushed.

Cage or ring...it wouldn't matter.

So, while UFC has a good portion of the heavy weight talent in the world, it's not nearly what they would have you believe.

One last bit of information: Art Jimmerson is still listed on the UFC website. We all remember him from UFC 1.  He was the boxer that found out about grappling from Royce Gracie.