The UFC Heavyweight division has changed more than any other over the last year. There has been an influx of new fighters from the Pride organization and most recently the addition of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar, combine that with the departure of UFC heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture and you've got a division looking for a new leader.
Who are the players in the UFC heavyweight sweepstakes? - Randy Couture, although he has said he is leaving, but Dana White says he is still under contract. - The "Maine-i-ac" Tim Sylvia is the former UFC heavyweight champion. - Andrei Arlovski also a former UFC heavyweight champion. - Brock Lesnar, former WWE superstar and outstanding amateur wrestler. - Mirko Cro Cop, former pride standout and Pride open weight champion. - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who was a long time Pride heavyweight champion. - Frank Mir, former UFC heavyweight champion.- Gabriel Gonzaga, the guy who KO'd Mirko Cro Cop.
Picking the UFC heavyweight top dog is no easy task. The division is full of talented fighters and with the exception of Fedor and Josh Barnett has the best fighters in the world of MMA. Randy Couture is on the list, but because he's decided to step down I cannot pick him as the top UFC heavyweight fighter.
Tim Sylvia is the former UFC heavyweight champion and prior to him loosing decisively to Randy Couture would have been my pick as the number one heavyweight in the UFC. A lot has changed since his reign of terror however and Tim has lost to three of the fighters on my list. He lost of course to Randy Couture in a five round decision. Tim also lost to Andrei Arlovski by submission. Tim's most crushing defeat was to Frank Mir. Mir broke Sylvia's arm and submitted him, but it's worth noting that even with a broken arm Tim did not submit, the ref who heard the snap stopped the fight. Tim Argued, but of course the fight had to be stopped. Most recently Tim won over highly touted contender Brandon Vera in a three round decision. Tim is certainly a top runner as one of the best heavyweights in the UFC.
Andrei Arlovski was at one time considered the most dominant heavyweight in the UFC. He was knocking out and finishing opponents at a feverish pace. His quick victory over a very tough Paul Buentello was the last in a series of six dominant victories, including one ove Tim Sylvia. The rematch with Sylvia looked like it was going to be the same thing when suddenly something happened. Arlovski landed a crushing shot and Sylvia went down, but Sylvia got up and when Arlovski moved in for the kill big Tim nailed him, knocking him to the canvas and then rained down strikes to finish him. Still, I think Arlovski is a contender on any given night for the heavyweight title.
Brock Lensnar's size and speed will make him a tough opponent for anyone in the UFC heavyweight division, but we haven't seen Brock in with a real striker like Mirko Cro Cop, or a submission specialist like Big Nog. Frank Mir will test whether or not Brock Lensar belongs in February. Until then, Brock Lensar doesn't make the #1 cut.
Mirko Cro Cop has victories over some of the best names in MMA, both in the Pride and K-1 orginizations, but his UFC performances haven't lived up to the hype. I hope that Mirko brings his "A" game in his next fight and we can start getting excited about his chances of capturing the UFC heavyweight title.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ( Big Nog) was the Pride heavyweight champion and as such deserves respect. The only fighters to defeat Big Nog are Fedor, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson. Fedor is not fighting in the UFC and Big Nog has avenged his losses to Henderson and Barnett. Until Nogueira gets beaten by someone in the UFC he must be considered one of the top dogs in the UFC heavyweight division.
Frank Mir hasn't done enough lately to deserve to be the number one ranked fighter in the UFC. However, Mir has a long history of winning big fights and he's been looking better and better lately. Something tells me that we'll see the championship quality version of Frank Mir again before it's all over.
Gabriel Gonzaga has made his name mostly off his big win over Mirko Cro Cop. Gonzaga started by catching Cro Cop's leg kick to the body, taking him to the ground and then ground and pounding him for most of the first round. When the ref stood the fight up, Gonzaga KO'd Cro Cop with one of the nicest kicks to the head (aside from Cro Cop's) that I've ever seen.
That pretty much sums it up, the best UFC heavyweight has to be Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Big Nog is the only guy on the list short of Randy Couture who has performed consistently over the past two years, honorable mention goes to Tim Sylvia, big Tim only has one recent loss and with his victory over Brandon Vera Tim looks to be making another run at the title.
