Where Have the Heavyweights Gone?

Gone are the days where the heavyweight division in any combat sport will be the premier division. The talent pool just is not there anymore.

MMA is still a very young sport, but the premiere division has always been, and should continue to be, the light heavyweight division. Overall, through the short history of MMA, the heavyweight division has been bottom of the barrel. That is not to say that the division has had no great fighters, but the competition overall has been poor.

Looking at the MMA heavyweight landscape today, there is some great talent and the division is as deep as it has ever been. But, when compared to the other divisions in MMA, heavyweight is mediocre at best.

Once upon a time boxing's heavyweight division was considered the greatest group of athletes in the world. Look at that same division today and it is a joke. Unless you are a die-hard boxing fan, you probably could not name five top heavyweights.

The world of professional sports continues to get bigger, faster, and stronger, but combat sports seem to be the exception to the rule.

Yes, the "new breed" of heavyweight in MMA are huge men with amazing athletic ability and speed, but why are there so few. I look across the landscape of professional sports and I see many men who could fill this division. Yet, they chose at a young age to pursue other sports rather than boxing or martial arts.

There was a time in the world when being the heavyweight champion of the world meant something, and being a heavyweight fighter was the be all and end all of professional sports. But, the world today is very different and these world-class athletes are pursuing careers in other athletics. Why?

It's really simple when you think about it. These big men can make a better living playing other sports. At one point in time, the best way for a big athlete to make a living was to box because there was no real money in other sports.

Now, while the top fighters can usually bring home a similar paycheck to those in the other pro leagues, the guys in the middle cannot. A backup linebacker in the NFL is going to make six to 10 times what an average pro fighter will make.

With this being the case, young athletes are aspiring to be in the MLB, the NBA, and NFL rather than the heavyweight champion of the world.

Until fighter salaries can once again rival that of other sports I think this is going to continue to be the case.

I can never foresee a time when being the heavyweight champion of the world will mean what it used to.