Chris Lytle: The Sleeper in the UFC Welterweight Division

For nearly 15 years, Mike Tyson captivated boxing fans with his devastating knockouts as he ruled the heavyweight division.  With his effortless lateral movement and ability to safely battle inside on bigger and taller opponents, “Iron Mike” would use his tenacity and power to chop down his competition. 

Thunderous uppercuts and devastating hooks crippled every man who dared challenge his rule at the top.  However, even the king of the boxing jungle was dethroned as Buster Douglas knocked out Tyson in 1990 to become one of the biggest underdog champions of our generation. 

Like Mike Tyson in boxing, a number of MMA competitors have paralleled championship reigns.  Heavyweight competitor, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko sat atop of the Pride heavyweight division as champion; a title he would never lose. 

With his explosive style, tremendous cardiovascular capacity and slick submissions, Fedor was the “baddest man on the planet” amassing a 33–2 record.  But like Mike Tyson’s upset loss, Fedor fell victim to a triangle choke executed by Fabricio Wedrum in June of 2010 to suffer his first loss in 10 years.

Recently, UFC middleweight champion, Anderson “The Spider” Silva was pushed to his limits by a very talented wrestler in Chael Sonnen.  Chael took the fight to “The Spider” dominating four rounds with brilliantly executed takedowns and a thunderous ground-and-pound attack. 

Anderson exhibited his championship pedigree by catching Chael in a triangle choke at 3:10 of Round Five.  Narrowly escaping Chael’s relentless attack, Silva’s next title defense will be against Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.

Mike Tyson, Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva have all been fighting champions. Years at the top defending this dominance in combat sports is not very common. 

In the past two years, the UFC’s light heavyweight division has been championed by four separate fighters; Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and the most recent title holder, Mauricio Rua. 

Additionally, UFC’s lightweight division was once controlled by “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn.  But the once unbeatable Penn has lost on two separate occasions to current lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. 

And most recently, the UFC’s heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was throttled by Cain Velasquez to relinquish his belt. 

With all this disparity occurring and championship belts changing hands, the reality that champions will not remain undefeated should not surprise anyone. 

MMA is a very dynamic sport with victories occurring via knockout, TKO, submission, doctor’s stoppage or decision; any contender can capture a championship belt at any time.  Couple this reality with the fact that fighters are stronger, faster, quicker, more explosive and immensely talented and the seat at the top can be filled by a number of worthy fighters. 

One such competitor I believe will one day make a run for the championship belt is UFC’s welterweight competitor, Chris “Lights Out” Lytle.  At 36 years old, Chris may not be at the forefront of most pundits’ minds to take over control of the welterweight division. 

A seasoned veteran, Chris began his professional MMA career in 1999.  Fighting in the Octagon 52 times and winning 37 of his fights, Lytle’s overall record may not substantiate a title run or "wow" his biggest critics. 

As a skilled professional boxer, Chris possesses the footwork and hand speed feared in the squared circle.  Combining his amazing standup skills with a very well-rounded bag of submissions and Chris is a worthy competitor in the UFC’s welterweight division. 

Competed for the UFC in 12 venues, “Lights Out” has tallied a 7–5 record with seven UFC fight night bonuses for either submission, fight, or knockout honors.  Even though his record may not wow his critics, his performances in the cage should. 

The current UFC welterweight champion is Georges “Rush” St-Pierre.  Dominating the 170-pound class for more than three years, Georges has systematically demolished the best that has been placed in front of him including Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Josh Koscheck, BJ Penn and Thiago Alves. 

Extremely athletic, GSP combines lightening quick hands with destructive kicks and explosive takedowns to amass a 20–2 record. 

Possessing a Mike Tyson like ability to work inside and exploit weaknesses in his opponents with swift angles and ranging strikes, Georges has not been tested in the cage since his upset loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69 in April of 2007.

St. Pierre is one of the very best fighters on the planet.  Ranked No. 2 on Sherdog’s Pound-for-Pound Top 10, “Rush” lets his actions in the cage substantiate his solid ranking. 

Combining a lethal standup arsenal with an underrated ground game and takedown defense, Georges has very little holes in his game.  With such a solid fighting base, how could Chris make a run at the welterweight belt? 

First and foremost, Lytle is extremely well-rounded himself.  Versed with amazing stand up skills and extremely developed Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Chris is capable of winning fights on his feet or off of his back. 

In Chris's MMA and boxing career, he has never been knocked out or submitted to defeat.  Bringing his “A" game each and every fight, Lytle possesses the potential to beat GSP and become a welterweight champion. 

Chris must first win in his fight versus Carlos Condit at UFC 127 in February of 2011.  And Georges must defeat Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 on Dec. 11 of this year for this fight to come to fruition in the future. 

If these two stud MMA competitors square off in the Octagon, their talents and abilities could earn them fight of the year honors.  And maybe, just maybe, an upset of Buster Douglas or Fabricio Werdum proportions will be witnessed.