The USA totally lost control of the HW Division while I wasn't paying attention.

[650lb Sumo]

Jones is the paperest of paper champions. Stipe is beyond irrelevant until and unless he proves otherwise, which he won't. So here's your top ten:

Jon Jones - USA
Tom Aspinall (the People's Champ) - UK
Ciryl Gane - France
Alexander Volkov - Russia
Sergei Pavlovich - Russia

Curtis Blaydes - USA
Stipe Miocic - USA
Jailton Almeida - Brazil
Marcin Tybura - Poland
Serghei Spivac - Moldova

Excluding Jones and Stipe:

Europe and Russia: 6
Brazil: 1
USA: 1

The USA lost control of HW boxing a while ago, and China is currently ahead in the Olympics as well. Is this just a phase in MMA or has the baton also been passed?

 

[The Bloody Nine]

All Americans are cans. No exceptions.

 

[AmericanMMA]

USA did ok at heavyweight in ufc

 

[The Accuser]

HW was never an American thing. Besides Stipe the greatest in no particular order:

Fedor
Overeem
Werdum
Nog
Aspinall
Cain

HW might even be considered the least American division.

 

[AmericanMMA]

HW was never an American thing. Besides Stipe the greatest in no particular order:

Fedor
Overeem
Werdum
Nog
Aspinall
Cain

HW might even be considered the least American division.

No hespect for Josh Barnett

 

[Reach4theSky]

If you're a big athletic guy living in the states, you are probably playing football or maybe basketball..

Paying a gym to train you and then going into a cage for pennies in hopes you can make it to the UFC, and once you're there you are going to have to beat the top 10 guys in the world in order to make a comfortable living. It isn't a very appealing proposition..

 

[Pequeño Corey]

HW was never an American thing. Besides Stipe the greatest in no particular order:

Fedor
Overeem
Werdum
Nog
Aspinall
Cain

HW might even be considered the least American division.

Huh? Perhaps not in this current era, but historically:

Randy
Mir
Ricco
Timmeh
Bork
Cain
Barnett
Carwin
DC
Stipe

 

[linvillegorge]

I don't care about the nationality thing. I care about Jones winning the belt then squatting on it refusing to fight anyone except the washed ghost of what used to be Stipe while Aspinall is out there defending a fucking interim belt. It's one of the most idiotically baffling things I've seen the UFC do. The obviously correct call here was to tell Jones to fight Aspinall or get stripped.

 

[loisestrad]

Huh? Perhaps not in this current era, but historically:

Randy
Mir
Ricco
Timmeh
Bork
Cain
Barnett
Carwin
DC
Stipe

Out of those fighters, no one is fighting currently. Which I guess is kind of the point.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

If you're a big athletic guy living in the states, you are probably playing football or maybe basketball..

If you're a big athletic guy in the UK or France, you're probably playing rugby. If you're a big athletic guy in Russia, you're probably playing basketball or hockey. Etc etc.

 

[AldoStillGoat]

The same thing is happening in basketball. The USA is not dominating other nations like it used to. Other countries are catching up.

My pet theory is that the de dollarizarion and globalization that is occurring is chipping away at our dominance.

Even in the Olympics the USA would smack around other teams in basketball and now we almost lost to both France and Serbia. Once the older players retire it’s going to be bad for the US. The next few Olympic golds will be won by other countries in basketball.

 

[Reach4theSky]

If you're a big athletic guy in the UK or France, you're probably playing rugby. If you're a big athletic guy in Russia, you're probably playing basketball or hockey. Etc etc.

Exactly, which is the reason there's only one HW from France and only one from the UK. HW as a whole is weak because big athletic guys have more options...

 

[Hdfi]

and China is currently ahead in the Olympics as well.

USA will win 2 more gold medals because of women's volleyball and women's basketball, and will overtake China in the medal table.

 

[AmericanMMA]

No hespect for Timmeh

Out of those fighters, no one is fighting currently. Which I guess is kind of the point.

 

[AmericanMMA]

USA will win 2 more gold medals because of women's volleyball and women's basketball, and will overtake China in the medal table.

Our volleyball team got smoked by Italy homeslice.

They did ok though

Bball will tie us at 40

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

No hespect for Josh Barnett

Josh was American, but the substances filling his body were from Mexico and Thailand

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Out of those fighters, no one is fighting currently. Which I guess is kind of the point.

He said HW has never been America’s thing. That’s what I was responding to.

 

[AmericanMMA]

Josh was American, but the substances filling his body were from Mexico and Thailand

That’s a negative ghost rider. Those were all American steroids

 

[Brigfa2]

Out of those fighters, no one is fighting currently. Which I guess is kind of the point.

Nope it's not the point, look who he replied to.

Fedor
Overeem
Werdum
Nog
Cain

I think these guys are not an active fighters but maybe i don't know.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Out of those fighters, no one is fighting currently. Which I guess is kind of the point.

That was EXACTLY the point he was making. The point was "historically"