MMA: More Than Just the Heavyweight Division

UFC 100 has come and gone, and during the spectacle we MMA fans saw the broadest and most positive coverage of MMA in the history of the sport.

As a result, MMA fans got to watch well-known sports media personalities discuss a topic they knew very little about. They stumbled over words like Jiu Jitsu or Muay Thai and mispronounced Frank Mir's name.

As the coverage continued, it became very clear that the mainstream media was focused purely on the heavyweight championship.

This is a natural carry over from boxing coverage, something the major sports' outlets and the average sports fans are familiar with. In the golden ages of boxing, the heavyweight champion of boxing was largely considered the toughest man on the planet, and a major celebrity.

With the rise of the NFL's popularity and then with the rise of the paychecks handed out by NFL teams, the most talented 230-300 lb athletes in the U.S. are playing defensive line on Sundays.

This saying goes with the heavyweight division. This was very true as boxing's lack of a dynamic heavyweight champion slowly pushed it off the stage of major sports.

Boxing had built its appeal on knockouts, belts and power punching, when the lower weight classes failed to delivered the excitement the sport has declined. The focus on heavyweights is what doomed boxing, allowing for the rise of MMA.

By contrast, MMA has built itself on fast action, exciting fights and knock outs—but not on weight class. The skills and knowledge of an individual fighter is the core of the sport. 

High level skills, fast action and dynamic fights is what MMA deliveres in every weight class, perhaps least so in the heavyweight division. Speed, flexibility, coordination and strength are all required for competitors. Heavyweights often don't possess all four of these elements because of the large build of their bodies.

It's a small wonder why two of the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport, Fedor and Randy Couture, are smaller heavyweights. Couture dropped down to fight a light heavyweight, and Fedor certainly could trim weight to get in the neighborhood of 205lbs. As a result, both fighters are faster and more coordinated than their opponents.

On the other end of the spectrum, lighter weight classes often feature high paced, exciting fights. The leaner frames of these smaller fighters allow them to master skills out of the reach of larger fighters.

For example, Brock Lensar will never be able to learn Jiu Jitsu, ever. Not because he didn't start learning at an early age but because of his sheer mass. He will never be able to work his legs into the spaces or at the angles he would need to learn the art.

The best meld of size, power and athleticism seems to be light heavyweight material. Their body types allow them to perform very athletic acts; they have great speed and deceptive power.

This is not to say that the other weight classes is lacking; I would likely assert the most consistently excellent fights are in the lightweight division. This is also not to say the heavyweight division is terrible or unexciting, it's just that MMA isn't dependant on them. 

For example: UFC 100, two titles on the line, welterweight and heavyweight. While exciting and climatic, Brock Lensar's performance was anything but dynamic.

Take down, smother Mir's ground game, oz into half guard or side mount, get one arm behind the head and pound away. GSP was shooting for take-downs, throwing explosive combos and constantly active on the ground.

While Brock's post fight antics made it the story of the night, many people viewing the fight with me, including two people new to MMA, said the welterweight match was much more exciting.

As a final point if you composed a list of the ten greatest boxers of all time, it is very likely at least five of them would be heavyweights. If make a list of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and it is likely only three of them will be heavyweights.