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Amid the turmoil that has reigned atop most of MMA's weight divisions, two champions have stood head and shoulders above the rest of the competition for sustained amounts of time. Anderson Silva has ruled the middleweight division since 2006, and while some will say that there are chinks in the armor of the world's best fighter, still none have been able to beat him. So what does the future hold for the middleweights? Let's take a look at the top of the division this week, where havoc has been wrought and the field is laying wide open waiting for the next contender.
THE CHAMP
Anderson Silva (28-4): By the time it's all said and done, it will likely be debated for years whether Anderson Silva or Fedor Emelianenko was the top fighter of this era, or perhaps the greatest fighter ever. Since we're focusing on middleweights here and there are simply no more superlatives to describe what Silva has done, let's just list his accomplishments. If you don't count Yushin Okami's DQ win in 2006, Anderson Silva has not been defeated in six years. Since the Okami fight, he's gone 14-0. Ten of those fights have been for titles (his last fight in Cage Rage was against Tony Fryklund for that belt). He has gone the distance only twice in that same period, while fighting top contenders every time out. Say what you will about the quality of the middleweight division, but no one in any division can boast that accomplishment. And maybe the division just looks so bad because no one can touch its champion. During his run, he's beaten three UFC champions, a Pride champion, an Abu Dhabi submission grappling champion, a national champion wrestler, and a Greco-Roman Olympian. He holds the record for most consecutive UFC wins with 13 (the next highest is eight by GSP), most consecutive title defenses with eight (GSP is tied for second with five), and most overall title defenses. There has never been a more dominant force in MMA than Anderson Silva. We're going to leave GSP out of the mix for the moment because that fight deserves its own column, and also he needs to take out Jake Shields before we can entertain it anyway, but for now, while we may all agree that Silva is a tough guy to figure out, there's no denying his greatness.
THE CONTENDER
Yushin Okami (26-5): The prevailing wisdom here is that Okami will need to take a backseat to GSP once he dispatches Jake Shields, but should that fail to happen, the long-time fringe contender will likely be next in line. With his last win over Nate Marquardt, Okami probably sealed his status as the quasi-number one contender, but with the amount of time that could pass while the GSP-Silva superfight takes place, anything can happen. That's especially true with this next crazy person hanging around the corner.
THE WOULD-BE CONTENDER
Chael Sonnen (25-11-1): With consecutive wins over Dan Miller, Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, Sonnen put himself in the position of surprise contender last year. After an epic buildup that showcased some of the most bizarre (and effective) trash talk we've ever seen in MMA, Sonnen did the unthinkable and almost cashed the check that his mouth had written. For almost five rounds, Sonnen dominated Silva, taking him down at will and hurting him with punches on the feet. But we knew going into the fight that Sonnen's Achilles heel was submission defense, and with less than two minutes remaining in the final frame, Silva locked up a triangle choke/armbar and forced the tap. Since then, Sonnen's fall from grace has been epic. A positive steroid test has been followed by a guilty plea to real estate fraud, and Sonnen has been suspended indefinitely from the UFC, pending the resolution of his "personal problems." The remaining question is whether Sonnen will get a title shot immediately upon his return, or whether he'll get another fight first. I can't imagine they'd risk the rematch with Silva by putting Sonnen in there with anyone else, quite honestly.
A STEP OR TWO AWAY
This division is wide open when it comes to potential title contenders. There are very few fighters with any momentum, and those who have a little have built it up on the backs of lower-tier fighters. I've got three guys in mind for this category, but I think I'm being pretty generous by putting anyone at all in here. For the sake of not having an empty category, here we go. (As a disclaimer, this could all very easily change by the time the next contender is decided. That's how wide open the division is).
Brian Stann (10-3): After an inauspicious run at light heavyweight and a thorough thrashing at the hands of up-and-comer Phil Davis, Stann decided to move down to a weight that is better suited him, and he also joined up with the renowned Greg Jackson. Since his move to 185 lbs., Stann is 2-0 and has looked very good. He's got a fight with Wanderlei Silva coming up at UFC 130. A loss to the fading legend would set Stann back quite a bit, but with a win he could be positioned to fight one of the next two guys for a title shot (or at least a trip into the upper echelon if the title timing isn't right, which it likely won't be).
Michael Bisping (20-3): If you'd told me after Bisping's loss to Wanderlei Silva that I'd have him in this category a year later, I wouldn't have believed it. But wins over the uber-tough Dan Miller and Yoshihiro Akiyama and an upcoming tilt with the rejuvenated Jorge Rivera at UFC 127, Bisping has positioned himself nicely for another run at the top. And this time Dan Henderson's right hand won't be waiting for him on the way.
Jorge Rivera (19-7): Another one I wouldn't have believed. Rivera had an impressive win over Nate Quarry last year to follow up his win over Rob Kimmons. With a great backstory, a penchant for exciting fights, and a small window to take advantage of, Rivera is a dark horse for a title shot if he can get through Bisping in a couple of weeks, but I certainly wouldn't discount him with the division looking like it does. Does he have a shot against Silva? Probably not. But then again, who does?
UP AND COMERS
Jesse Bongfeldt (21-7-1): After a sloppy first two rounds in his UFC debut against Rafael Natal (the famed Octagon jitters, perhaps?) Bongfeldt looked downright dominant in the third, earning two elusive 10-8 scores from the Montreal judges and ending up with a draw. If "Water" can come out like he did in the third round of that fight when he makes his next appearance, we may just have something on our hands. It should be noted, by the way, that the Ontario native was coming off of a 15-month layoff to take over for an injured Jason MacDonald, and he has not lost since a 2007 knockout at the hands of Jonathan Goulet. Bongfeldt had won seven straight prior to the draw. A date with a TUF veteran like Rich Attonito or more of a grappler like Tom Lawlor could be interesting.
Maiquel Falcao (26-3): One of the more bizarre storylines coming out of UFC 123 was the release of Gerald Harris following his loss to the debuting Falcao. Harris had won three straight going into the fight, including a candidate for knockout of the year with his vicious slam of Dave Branch in July. Following a thrilling first round, which was revealed later to have been missing nine seconds due to a timekeeper error, the fight stalled resulting in a 10-minute circlefest. Somehow that fight used up all the goodwill that Harris had built and made people forget that if the first round had been properly timed, Falcao likely would have won via submission, as he had sunk a rear naked choke in the waning seconds. But either way, if the first round and eight straight wins is an indicator of what we can expect from Falcao, this could be a rising contender. Falcao could be thrown to the wolves (as they exist in the middleweight division) quickly considering his performance in the Harris fight; a showdown with someone like Nate Quarry or Kendall Grove could be in his future.
Court McGee (13-1): Did anyone really expect Court McGee to win The eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter? I didn't. And did anyone expect him to keep on winning after the show? Well, that's what McGee has done, defeating Ryan Jensen via arm triangle after surviving the first round and a half against the bigger man. McGee has proven durable thus far, but he won't have an easy road ahead of him as the middleweight division is thin but very competitive to see who can break through to the next level. I'd like to see how a fight would go with maybe Aaron Simpson, or the next guy on the list.
Brad Tavares (7-0): One thing we know about Phil Baroni is that he's not the fighter he once was. Another thing, though, is that he's very durable. Baroni has been beaten down by everyone from Frank Shamrock to Amir Sadollah, but he's not easy to stop. Tavares did it in the first round, and left no doubt. Granted, the competition will be more stiff from here on up, but Tavares has shown thus far that he has the tools to compete.
I'll be back next week with a rundown of the rest of the division. Until then, enjoy the fights.
Definitions/Parameters:
The Champ: Self-explanatory
The Contenders: Fighters who could fight for the title immediately and be taken as legitimate contenders. Fighters coming off of a loss will not typically be in this category.
A Step or Two Away: Fighters who could be in contention for a title with another victory or two over legitimate competition.
Up and Comers: Fighters who have no more than three fights in the UFC, who have shown promise. They're not always undefeated, but they have potential.
The Pool: Other fighters of note within the division, who could work their way into the top three categories by going on a run and/or proving themselves/proving themselves again in the Octagon. Also those outside the UFC who could make an impact.
Paul Buentello Josh Burkman Mikey Burnett Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell
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