Author: Jon Murray
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.
About the author:
UFC results, UFC predictions, UFC news and UFC fight cards can
all be found at http://www.ufcresultslive.com.com UFC Results is
the number one spot to get your live
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.
About the author:
UFC results, UFC predictions, UFC news and UFC fight cards can
all be found at http://www.ufcresultslive.com.com UFC Results is
the number one spot to get your live
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