AP The UFC will make its FOX debut, a historic moment in the young, growing history of mixed martial arts, with a classic event – the heavyweight championship fight. There’s a certain ring to it. It’s a special event in combat sports, when the two biggest and baddest dudes on the planet go at it. But while the present may belong to a deep heavyweight division, the future looks brightest for the little guys.
There aren’t many opportunities for 155-, 145- and 135-pound guys to compete as professional athletes. They’re aberrations in other sports. Tiny basketball players (tiny being 5-foot-6 to 5-8) are rooted for and loved simply because of what they’re overcoming to make it in sports. Everybody loves to see Spud Webb dunking.
Kickers and punters in the NFL mostly get made fun of, but some of them still tower over the average guy on the street. Generally speaking, sports are for the big and tall. But in a sport that matches opponents on size, someone 5-3 and 135 pounds finally gets a fair shake.
The lighter weight fighters made their first big jump when the UFC absorbed the WEC, which featured the smaller weight classes. Their exposure immediately became greater, and stardom became easier to reach. Now with the UFC approaching prime time status, they’re poised to make their impact felt.
The WEC’s biggest star, Urijah Faber, has been passed over by better fighters, but is still one of its biggest attractions. He’ll take on another former champ in Brian Bowles at UFC 139 on Nov. 19. The merger also brought over pound-for-pound great Jose Aldo, whose win over Mark Hominick at UFC 129 brought positive attention to both men.
Hominick will return in December, while Aldo will be fighting again on Oct. 8 against well-known veteran Kenny Florian. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, perhaps most famous for his off-the-cage kick, is also on the next card.
Dominick Cruz improved to 19-1 Saturday night with a unanimous decision victory over Demetrious Johnson on free TV (Johnson, by the way, is 5-3 and nicknamed “Mighty Mouse”). A week later the fans will see a third fight between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and number one contender Gray Maynard. Edgar–Maynard II was the best fight of 2010 to many people.
Melvin Guillard, a freakishly good athlete, has an upcoming fight with Joe Lauzon, and is someone I believe is finally headed toward being a superstar champion.
The Ultimate Fighter 14 is running alongside all these fights with a cast of bantamweights and featherweights, and has had a strong start in terms of exciting fights. TUF: GSP vs. Koscheck made names for winner Jonathan Brookins, runner-up Michael Johnson, as well as Nam Phan, Alex Caceres and Cody McKenzie.
BJ Penn was the first lightweight superstar, and carried the division for years, but there should be many more soon to come. The UFC moving up a notch in the sports world will provide them that opportunity. Appropriately enough, the opening event on FOX also features two featherweight bouts, one bantamweight matchup, and a lightweight fight between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson that could potentially earn either man a title shot. It’s not a guarantee, but I’d bet the last one gets shown on the one-hour special.
The biggest stars in mixed martial arts are undoubtedly from the welterweight division up at the moment, but the time is rapidly approaching when the speed, stamina, athleticism and pound-for-pound strength of those shunned by other sports will be the highlight of theirs.
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Tim Gilmour is a sports reporter and author of the humor blog LetMeThinkForYou.com. His column appears on Monday. For more NBCSports.com MMA coverage, click here.
