Why Middleweight Is Now the Most Exciting Division.

[The Reed]

In the past year it looks as though Middleweight has had a sudden rush of top talent coming up. They've quickly made it to the top of the division and now the days of Patrick Cote & Thales Leites fighting for the title are long gone and there are at least 10 good fights to fill out Anderson Silvas 10 fight contract. So right now middleweight has:

- The champions of the top 3 companies in the world(UFC, Bellator and the recently closed Strikeforce)
- Five of the best grapplers in the world(Roger, Jacare, Palhares, Shields and Weidman)
- Great strikers(Anderson, Cung Le, Vitor, Phillipou among others)
- Strong wrestlers(Munoz, Weidman, Sonnen, Okami)
- Fighters who can do everything(Bisping, Lombard, Weidman, Franklin)
- American heroes(Stann and Kennedy)
- Exciting mid level fighters(Belcher, Herman, Larkin)

And with the possible middleweight return of Mousasi I really can't wait to see how this all plays out. You'd be a fool to still call this division 'weak'.

 

[the ax murderer]

The division will really open up when Anderson either retires or is beaten but yeah it's one of my favourite divisions.

I still think LW might be more exciting.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Fair call mate and I agree, there are a lot of very interesting matchups you can make. Though if Anderson goes through and keeps beating everyone you can guarantee people will still say it's weak.

 

[iNoScopedJFK]

BW is the most exciting imo, but with the Strikeforce fighters coming ovr MW should be in a great state now.

 

[Danespina]

Tons of exciting great fighters, but UFC's had a bit of bad luck losing Boetsch, Belcher at 155, and now Rockhold and Weidman to injury. If Bisping is eliminated from the race by Belfort, it makes things even more complicated.

 

[HaulParris]

With a champion as dominant as Anderson, any weight division will appear shallow. He sets the bar so high that every contender /prospect just seems to be on a level beneath him. I agree that the division has more depth than 5 years ago, but as long as Anderson is on top, it wil still be perceived as being shallow.

 

[mangokush]

MW has always been solid however the problem with the MMA fans is star power. MW has none of it after you get below Chael, and stupid people equate big names with talent.

 

[Jukai]

While I agree it has dramatically improved.... I read the names you listed and kinda felt underwhelmed. Roger isn't ready, Phillipou isn't ready, Palhares will never be ready, Cung Le is old, Franklin is old, Stann and Kenedy are midtier.... I don't want to take anything away, it's gotten dramatically better, but it's still a step below the other IMO.

 

[The Reed]

Fair call mate and I agree, there are a lot of very interesting matchups you can make. Though if Anderson goes through and keeps beating everyone you can guarantee people will still say it's weak.

Yeah most likely, I really hope they just open their eyes up to how good it is right now and thats part of the reason I made this thread.

The division will really open up when Anderson either retires or is beaten but yeah it's one of my favourite divisions.

I still think LW might be more exciting.

I don't think he'll lose but with possible fights like Weidman, Lombard and Jacare he's got some very stiff competition coming up. However with his presence he at least adds one more great fighter to the division.

LW is looking great too especially with Melendez.

 

[The Reed]

While I agree it has dramatically improved.... I read the names you listed and kinda felt underwhelmed. Roger isn't ready, Phillipou isn't ready, Palhares will never be ready, Cung Le is old, Franklin is old, Stann and Kenedy are midtier.... I don't want to take anything away, it's gotten dramatically better, but it's still a step below the other IMO.

I'm not arguing with this but they do fit in the categories I put them in and with those tools are still good threats to most fighters.

While Roger and Phillipou aren't ready yet it speaks well for the future of the division and I expect while they may never challenge for the title they'll likely become solid gatekeepers.

Lombard, Weidman, Bisping, Jacare, Rockhold are all ready, and while Le is old and somewhat lacking a big winstreak, I'm all for a Le-Anderson showdown.

 

[Bulsebub**]

No! Its been better latly but still no

 

[Jukai]

I'm not arguing with this but they do fit in the categories I put them in and with those tools are still good threats to most fighters.

While Roger and Phillipou aren't ready yet it speaks well for the future of the division and I expect while they may never challenge for the title they'll likely become solid gatekeepers.

Lombard, Weidman, Bisping, Jacare, Rockhold are all ready, and while Le is old and somewhat lacking a big winstreak, I'm all for a Le-Anderson showdown.

Gotta see Jacare and Weidman against better opponents, but yeah, Rockhold and Lombard are certainly ready and I guess Bisping deserves at least a shot. It still seems a little weaker than most divisions (gotta see how Maia does against Fitch). Still, Middleweight has benefited the most with the influx of talent.

I want Le v Anderson in a modified Sanda match. Make it happen, Dana.

Also should note that if Mousasi drops, that adds a LOT to the division. Would love a Belfort (if he beats Bisping) v Mousasi title eliminator.

 

[countswagula]

MW has always been solid however the problem with the MMA fans is star power. MW has none of it after you get below Chael, and stupid people equate big names with talent.

Prety much. No rotating champs = no room for big names to be built. That's the reason why Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight have far more "mainstream name" fighters than Middleweight and Welterweight.

 

[lockon]

for me the excitement in terms of the title race dropped down when boetsch and belcher lost. might be a problem if bisping loses, as belfort wont be given the TS if he wins

 

[Idonotbelieveit]

yeah it's getting better finally, it always been pretty terrible..

 

[romambo]

Im much more excited to see what happens in the lightweight division. If pettis can beat cerrone convincingly and melendez and alvarez come over then theres a few great options of fights for Benson and theres the potential for the belt to be moved around a bit in the next few fights

 

[cheesus]

Still think it's pretty weak. Can't deny the talent of Jacare and Weidman though.

 

[iowamma2012]

Meh,,,,,

Right now I think it goes

WW
LW
FW
....

LHW
MW
HW

,,,
BW
FlyWeight

Featherweight is the division I see that has exploded. Will be the division of 2013 imo. Went from lean in April to overstocked with a lot of interesting fights to make with a deep pool

 

[tuff juice]

the bolded guys will be fun to watch

- Five of the best grapplers in the world(Roger, Jacare, Palhares, Shields and Weidman)
- Great strikers(Anderson, Cung Le, Vitor, Phillipou among others)
- Strong wrestlers(Munoz, Weidman, Sonnen, Okami)
- Fighters who can do everything(Bisping, Lombard, Weidman, Franklin)
- American heroes(Stann and Kennedy)
- Exciting mid level fighters(Belcher, Herman, Larkin)

And with the possible middleweight return of Mousasi I really can't wait to see how this all plays out. You'd be a fool to still call this division 'weak'.

 

[WanderLogun]

Bisping Mousassi has really just appealed to me in the last minute or so