Prizefighting has traditionally been led by the heavyweights. In the UFC, however, it has been the lighter class of fighters who have carried the sport –- guys like BJ Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell. The heavyweight division has taken the longest to develop, but Saturday’s main event between Shane Carwin and Junior Dos Santos (pictured) was further evidence that this may be the UFC’s deepest and most talented weight class (and all of this without Fedor Emelianenko). There are several ways to measure how it’s grown. Consider the following:
In the early years, Randy Couture was representing the heavyweights as a two-time champion. Great as he is, getting beat by a green Brock Lesnar signaled a step forward for the big guys. Couture is no natural heavyweight. He just managed to take advantage of what was for a time the weakest division (and even said this is why he came out of retirement). Being forced to drop down to his natural light heavyweight class was a sign that he knew that weaker era was over.
Frank Mir is another strong measuring stick, having been around since 2001 and still being a contender today. Mir began his career in the UFC and became its ninth heavyweight champ in 2003 on the strength of his jujitsu. The man’s drastically improved since then. His boxing skills went from almost nonexistent to arguably the best in the weight class. Despite this, he’s been passed up in the rankings by a handful of fighters, and is still a win or two away from earning another title shot.
Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin and Frank Mir top the list. Add to that mix a group of up-and-comers like Brendan Schaub, Travis Browne, Matt Mitrione and Stefan Struve. And you still have legends in Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Noguiera (although on the downside of their careers), and guys like Roy Nelson and Cheick Kongo, who may have peaked, but are exciting and dangerous nonetheless.
As for Saturday night and UFC 131, both fighters had looked nearly unbeatable in their previous fights. Carwin has the largest fists in the sport, and maybe the most knockout power in those fists. Even in his one previous loss, he looked to be on his way to being an undefeated champion as he pounded Lesnar into the mat for an entire round before gassing out and tapping out in the second.
Dos Santos almost made it look easy –- stuffing takedowns, using his speed and technique to win the standup, and breaking Carwin’s nose and possibly his orbital bone. When a fighter like Carwin is getting worked over, you know you’ve got a strong division.
Speaking of looking unbeatable, Dos Santos earned himself a title shot against Cain Velasquez (9-0), who was the first man to not only beat Lesnar, but be able to physically push him around. His boxing skills are up there with Dos Santos and Mir in the upper echelon of the heavyweights. There have been many exciting heavyweight title fights in UFC history, but none with the quality and skill of opponents as we will see in Velasquez vs. Dos Santos.
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Previously on The Beatdown …
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Tim Gilmour is a sports reporter and author of the humor blog LetMeThinkForYou.com. His column appears each Monday.
