New generation of fighters ready to rule
With two titles changing hands at the UFC's year-end show it sets up many interesting match ups for 2009 and it really signifies the changing of the guard in the UFC.
Looking back at the beginning of 2008 at the title holders and who they are now simply really shows how much can change in a year and how we are officially in the third era of MMA when it comes to the superstars.
The UFC heavyweight title was held by two men, Nogueira and Randy Couture, because of the Couture-UFC dispute at the time. As we look at it now the title-holders and Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, who will meet in a rubber match to officially crown the undisputed champion. Mir, who is still young in the fight game at 29 -years-old and Lesnar who is only 31, both will hang around the top of the heavyweight ranks for a long time. Compare the ages and potential of Lesnar and Mir to Couture (45) and Nogueira (a very old 32), and you have a difference of 17 total years. Though Nog is only a year older than Lesnar his sheer experience and the beatings he has taken ages him far beyond what his birth certificate says.
The light heavyweight division is by far the division with the most amount of inconsistency where at any given time there is six or seven guys who can compete and win the title on any given night. Rampage Jackson ended 2007 defending his title but after a stint on the Ultimate Fighter show which kept the title from changing hands for seven months, he lost it to Forrest Griffin, who then lost it to Rashad Evans on December 27th. Proving that the fighters on The Ultimate Fighter reality show are for real as Evans and Griffin are both winners of the show and still very young fighters. The days of Chuck Liddell ruling the division are over and it's the new wave of fighters that are taking over.
The middleweight division is on lockdown for the time being. Anderson Silva is and will be the champion for a long, long time, until he chooses to retire and there's no one who is questioning that.
The welterweight division is dominated now by Georges St. Pierre. This was cemented when he defeated Matt Hughes in dominating fashion at the very end of 2007 and then manhandled Matt Serra in April to get his title back. St. Pierre's status as a real deal was cemented when he defended his title against top contender Jon Fitch with relative ease. The key victory that changed that guard in the welterweight division was when St. Pierre disposed of Matt Hughes, who had dominated the division for so long. St. Pierre essentially has no challenges left at the 170 lb division so a super fight with lightweight champion B.J. Penn is set-up for the end of January.
The lightweight division, much like the welterweight is cemented by a young, explosive champion. B.J. Penn has passed every test so far and as mentioned is stepping up to the welterweight division for a challenge against Georges St. Pierre. The lightweight division is relatively new but is stacked with great young fighters that will be challenging B.J. Penn soon, but how much of a challenge they will put up is something else to be considered.
Overall the UFC has had many changes in 2008, and that trend will surely continue to grow in 2009. We have gone from the days of Royce Gracie, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock dominating the octagon to Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Matt Hughes having their reigns, and now it's time for Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar and Rashad Evans to prove why they should be shown in the same light as the greats from the past.
Looking back at the beginning of 2008 at the title holders and who they are now simply really shows how much can change in a year and how we are officially in the third era of MMA when it comes to the superstars.
The UFC heavyweight title was held by two men, Nogueira and Randy Couture, because of the Couture-UFC dispute at the time. As we look at it now the title-holders and Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, who will meet in a rubber match to officially crown the undisputed champion. Mir, who is still young in the fight game at 29 -years-old and Lesnar who is only 31, both will hang around the top of the heavyweight ranks for a long time. Compare the ages and potential of Lesnar and Mir to Couture (45) and Nogueira (a very old 32), and you have a difference of 17 total years. Though Nog is only a year older than Lesnar his sheer experience and the beatings he has taken ages him far beyond what his birth certificate says.
The light heavyweight division is by far the division with the most amount of inconsistency where at any given time there is six or seven guys who can compete and win the title on any given night. Rampage Jackson ended 2007 defending his title but after a stint on the Ultimate Fighter show which kept the title from changing hands for seven months, he lost it to Forrest Griffin, who then lost it to Rashad Evans on December 27th. Proving that the fighters on The Ultimate Fighter reality show are for real as Evans and Griffin are both winners of the show and still very young fighters. The days of Chuck Liddell ruling the division are over and it's the new wave of fighters that are taking over.
The middleweight division is on lockdown for the time being. Anderson Silva is and will be the champion for a long, long time, until he chooses to retire and there's no one who is questioning that.
The welterweight division is dominated now by Georges St. Pierre. This was cemented when he defeated Matt Hughes in dominating fashion at the very end of 2007 and then manhandled Matt Serra in April to get his title back. St. Pierre's status as a real deal was cemented when he defended his title against top contender Jon Fitch with relative ease. The key victory that changed that guard in the welterweight division was when St. Pierre disposed of Matt Hughes, who had dominated the division for so long. St. Pierre essentially has no challenges left at the 170 lb division so a super fight with lightweight champion B.J. Penn is set-up for the end of January.
The lightweight division, much like the welterweight is cemented by a young, explosive champion. B.J. Penn has passed every test so far and as mentioned is stepping up to the welterweight division for a challenge against Georges St. Pierre. The lightweight division is relatively new but is stacked with great young fighters that will be challenging B.J. Penn soon, but how much of a challenge they will put up is something else to be considered.
Overall the UFC has had many changes in 2008, and that trend will surely continue to grow in 2009. We have gone from the days of Royce Gracie, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock dominating the octagon to Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Matt Hughes having their reigns, and now it's time for Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar and Rashad Evans to prove why they should be shown in the same light as the greats from the past.
