It wasn’t long ago that the UFC’s light heavyweight division was the premier weight class in all of MMA. Featuring the likes of Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson, and many more, we were treated to more than a few great matchups. Then, Jon Jones (and Father Time) happened.

Wiping out the division while the old guard faded from the title picture, the UFC’s 205-pound weight class quickly became a three-to-four horse race. Jones led the way (when he wasn’t suspended) and was chased by Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. While the matchups between those four were undoubtedly fun and interesting, the rest of the division lagged far behind.

With Jones in-and-out of the promotion, Cormier inching toward heavyweight, Gustafsson consistently injured, and Johnson retiring, the future of the formerly famous division was bleak. Throughout the last 12-18 months, light heavyweight has hit a resurgence. The division has gone from great, to awful, and is now headed toward great yet again. That’s thanks to these various factors.

The Return of the King

It’s hard to have a great division without a great champion. When he’s available, Jones is one of the greatest champions in all of MMA. His resumé inside the Octagon is undeniable, and now that he’s keeping busy fighting, the light heavyweight division and the UFC are reaping the rewards. The 31-year-old is one of the biggest draws in UFC history, and having him holding the light heavyweight belt takes the division up a notch.

Jones is slated for his third title fight in a little more than six months, keeping pace with his plan to fight three times in 2019. That bout comes against Thiago Santos in the main event of UFC 239 in July during International Fight Week. Keeping the line moving in the light heavyweight title picture is important, given the start-and-stop nature of the belt throughout Jones’ various past reigns.

Without Jon Jones, the UFC’s light heavyweight division still has a bright future. But with him, it becomes one of the more interesting weight classes in the promotion.

The Rise of the (Former) Middleweights

One of the biggest reasons the UFC’s 205-pound division is looking more interesting is the influx of middleweights. Last year, both Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos moved up from 185-pounds. They’ve both made the most of those moves.

Smith is 4-1 fighting at light heavyweight, and is fresh off of a submission victory over Gustafsson. He’s earned three Performance of the Night bonuses in those five fights. His only loss has come in a title fight with Jones at UFC 235.

Santos is up next for Jones. His shot at the title comes after going 3-0 at light heavyweight, collecting finishes against Eryk Anders, Jimi Manuwa, and Jan Blachowicz. These successful jumps from 185-pounds to 205-pounds has caught the eye of a couple of other soon-to-be former middleweights.

Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is making his light heavyweight debut at UFC 239 against Jan Blachowicz. It’s a tough test for Rockhold. He’s fought once in each of the last three years, going 1-2 with knockout losses to Michael Bisping and Yoel Romero.

Another former UFC 185-pound title-holder, Chris Weidman, will be fighting at 205-pounds soon. He announced the move in June, with a fight in October being the gameplan. There are plenty of interesting options for his light heavyweight debut. Whoever he fights, a win would do Weidman some good. He’s 1-4 in his last four fights.

Throwing a couple of former middleweight champions into the fray at light heavyweight, following the rises to title contention from a couple of other former 185ers, has given the light heavyweight division some much-needed quality and depth.

The Next Generation

The most important and exciting aspect of the UFC’s light heavyweight resurgence is the trio of fresh faces rising up the rankings. All under 30-years-old, Dominick Reyes, Aleksandar Rakic, and Johnny Walker are the future of the division.

Walker is 3-0 since joining the UFC, earning a contract after winning on Dana White’s Contender Series in Brazil. He’s earned a Performance of the Night bonus in each win, finishing his opponents in a combined two minutes and 48 seconds. He’s a highlight waiting to happen with the on-camera charisma to back it up.

JOHNNY WALKER : KO 36 SECONDS!!!!! #UFC235 pic.twitter.com/2hFlP6m3pc

— La Sueur (@LaSueur_off) March 3, 2019

Walker is great, but Dominick Reyes might be the most talented of the bunch. Currently the fifth-ranked light heavyweight, Reyes is 5-0 in his UFC career. Most recently he earned an underwhelming split-decision win over Volkan Oezdemir in March. While it’s a great win, Reyes will have to perform better if he wants to stay in the light heavyweight title picture.

We can’t forget about Rakic, either. He’s undefeated in his Octagon career as well, improving to 4-0 after the biggest victory of his career at UFC Stockholm. Rakic unleashed a huge head-kick on Jimi Manuwa, knocking out the veteran after just 47 seconds. Now that he’s proven himself against a tough test like Manuwa, Rakic is due for a top-10 opponent.

With an all-time great champion to chase, and former champions and title-contenders scattered throughout the top-10, there’s no shortage of interesting matchups for all three fighters.

Quality Control

Those are the major highlights, but guys like Volkan Oezdemir, Jan Blachowicz, Ilir Latifi, Corey Anderson, and Glover Teixeira add valuable depth to a division that has lacked it recently. Each of these guys are legitimate contenders, and are tough tests for anyone making a run at the title at light heavyweight.

With a dominant champion, an influx of talent from middleweight, and a fresh crop of up-and-coming fighters, having the proven depth to challenge those different groups goes a long way in the development of a fun division.

It might feel weird to say, especially after the last couple of years, but the UFC’s 205-pound division is actually pretty fun right now. It’s been a while since that’s been the case. Let us know what you think by commenting below, on Facebook, or replying on Twitter! 

The post Is the UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fun Again? appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yeah, Chris Weidman hasn’t tallied consecutive wins since his final two UFC title-defenses in 2014-15. But, it’s not like he’s been fighting no-name opponents. Following his title loss to (new light heavyweight) Luke Rockhold, the first loss of his career, Weidman was stopped by Yoel Romero and current Bellator MMA middleweight title-holder Gegard Mousasi in his next two bouts.

Weidman answered the first losing streak of his career with a dominant submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum. Then, due to injuries, wouldn’t get back in the Octagon for another 15-ish months. In his long awaited return, Weidman would once again battle one of the best 185ers in the world, earning a Fight of the Night bonus en route to a KO loss to Jacare Souza at UFC 230.

Speaking with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Weidman explained why now was the time to leave the middleweight division behind. He’s looking to fight in October, but doesn’t sound fixated on any specific opponent for his light heavyweight debut.

“One side of me is like, ‘Listen, I’ve fought 10 or 11 top-five guys in a row.’ Is it the smart thing to fight a guy who is not on that level?”, Weidman said. “Probably, but I like to take risks. High risk, high reward. The better the guy, the more people doubting, and I think that’s what truly motivates me and excites me.”

Regardless of his rough recent run, Weidman getting a top-10 opponent in his 205-pound debut makes sense. Top-five? Maybe not. Then again, it’s not as though the UFC’s light heavyweight division boasts much depth throughout its official rankings. Whoever the promotion matches Weidman up with will tell us something about his initial standing in the division. Either way, a relatively quick rise to the title picture is there for the taking with a couple of consecutive wins.

So, who could (and should) the promotion match Weidman up against in his light heavyweight debut?

Featuring a handful of up-and-comers (Johnny Walker, Aleksandar Rakic, and Dominick Reyes) as well as some former middleweights (Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Luke Rockhold) there are some interesting potential options for matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard.

While those bouts sound fun, the promotion pitting Weidman against guys on the rise in, or already at the top of, the division would be a bit of a surprise. Weidman may be wanting a “high risk, high reward” kind of matchup, but getting a top-10 opponent in his 205-pound debut is plenty risky. Even if the bout doesn’t sound the most exciting on paper.

At the top of our list of recommendations, we’d offer up Volkan Oezdemir. On a three fight losing streak of his own, the former title-challenger is in a weird place. He was recently slated to fight Ilir Latifi at UFC Stockholm, but due to an injury to Latifi, the bout was cancelled. An interesting clash of styles, with a lot on the line for both fighters, Weidman-Oezdemir does more for the division than your average UFC light heavyweight fight.

If a styles clash isn’t the right move, maybe a wrestler-on-wrestler matchup with Corey Anderson works. On the other end of the spectrum, Anderson has been on a roll of late. He went 3-0 in 2018, earning impressive wins over Latifi, Glover Teixeira, and Patrick Cummins. Despite those wins, Anderson still seems to lack a marquee victory. Maybe a shot at a former UFC champion would help.

For Weidman, Anderson offers an opponent that will give him light heavyweight cred with a win, while offering far less challenges on the feet than his recent opponents at middleweight. Anderson has two finishes in his 13-fight UFC career, both TKOs via punches, with the last coming against Sean O’Connell in 2016. The risk may be a bit lower than Weidman would like. But, a victory over Anderson would undoubtedly insert him into the top-10 of the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Glover Teixeira is having a great 2019 thus far, too. The 39-year-old Brazilian has won his last two fights, submitting Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba earlier this year. He’s one of the most well-rounded fighters in the light heavyweight division, and like Anderson, would immediatly give Weidman respect at 205-pounds with a win.

There’s also a bout at UFC 239 that Weidman and the promotion could have their eyes on. The man who took Weidman’s middleweight title, Luke Rockhold, it scheduled to fight sixth-ranked 205er Jan Blachowicz. Weidman getting a crack at the winner of that bout might be a bit much, but what about the loser? Whether it’s a rematch with Rockhold after his own light heavyweight debut, or a battle with Blachowicz coming off of back-to-back losses, the match-up would make sense and potentially fit Weidman’s wants as well.

Let us know what you think of Chris Weidman’s move up to light heavyweight! Is he headed toward a title shot, or asking for more KO losses to be added to his record? Who do you want to see him matched up with in his light heavyweight debut? Comment below, on Facebook, or reply on Twitter!

The post UFC: Potential Matchups for Chris Weidman’s Light Heavyweight Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

The retirement question is a touchy one in mixed martial arts. Many factors need to be taken into account when attempting to answer it, and perhaps it can’t be answered as long as a fighter is cleared to compete by one of the inept athletic commissions we’ve come to admire. Punishment taken over the course of a career, financial incentives, age, title aspirations, and CTE are all things fighters should ponder as they give themselves the Joe Rogan Talk. Is a little brain damage worth another paycheck? It’s conceivable. Not smart — but conceivable.

No one can say for sure when it’s time for a mixed martial artist to hang up the gloves, but when losses start to add up inside the octagon and a UFC Championship is out of reach – it’s time to at least consider hanging up the gloves.

Some of these fighters could be paraded out for years to come as part of a young UFC lion/lioness’ next meal, or allowed to headline television cards as gatekeepers until their health diminishes to the point of early dementia. But which UFC Middleweights should leave the sport now that the time is right before they die in the cage?

Antônio Rogério Nogueira (22-8)

Notable Wins: Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, Vladamir Matyushenko

Antônio Rogério Nogueira aka Minotouro aka Little Nog is a Pride Legend that has been around since the early 2000’s and made a name for himself in Japan by fighting some of the best names in the world.

Minotouro entered the octagon at the tail end of 2009, and debuted with a first round knockout of the night over Luiz Cane at UFC 106 and followed that up with a split decision over Jason Brilz at UFC 114 in May of the next year.

Then Lil’ Nog lost five of his next eight, with his three wins coming over the likes of Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, and Patrick Cummins.

Nogueira lost his last fight to Ryan Bader in 2016 via TKO and was set to return against Jared Cannonier last December at UFC on FOX 26, but USADA put a halt to that on October 19.

Lil Nog failed a damned drug test, ahem, was informed of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected in late September 2017. The substance he tested positive for was Hydroclorothiazide – the same diuretic that caused the UFC to yank Junior dos Santos from his scheduled UFC 215 bout with Francis Ngannou.

At 41 years old with a suspension — now served, the end result being a tainted supplement — an aging Minotouro will at best get a tough test in his UFC return as the UFC attempts to freshen up a stale 205lb division. Lil Nog’s days as a top 15 light heavyweight in the UFC are over.

Perhaps a few Pride rematches are on the horizon in either Bellator or Rizin, in lands far, far away from Jeff Novitzky (or in Texas.)

Ed Herman (23-13, 1 NC)

Notable Wins: Glover Teixeira, Rafael Natal, Tim Boetsch

Ed ‘Short Fuse’ Herman was The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 Runner Up back in 2006, as he lost to Kendall Grove in the middleweight final. Herman was granted a UFC contract after the fight with Grove at TUF: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale was awarded Fight of the Night honors.

Herman would go on to fight 20 times in the UFC, not including the time he went over to Strikeforce to fight Jacare Souza while still under UFC contract – the only figher in history to do so (Chuck went to Pride, but that was PRIDE, not Strikeforce). Under the Zuffa umbrella, Short Fuse would be awarded Fight of the Night honors twice (Kendall Grove, Trevor Smith), Knockout of the Night once (Joe Doerksen), Submission of the Night once (Chris Price, Scott Smith), and Performance of the Night once (Tim Boetsch).

A TKO loss to Derek Brunson at UFC 183 sent Herman up a division to Light Heavyweight – where he currently resides. At first, things looked promising as Short Fuse finished Tim Boetsch via knees in January 2016. Since then Herman has been dealt back-to-back losses to Nikita Krylov (KO), and C.B. Dolloway (unanimous decision).

In September 2017, Ed Herman did ‘a thing’ to his finger – a really terribly bad, awful thing:

https://twitter.com/EdHermanufc/status/907691916942127104

https://twitter.com/EdHermanufc/status/907697041429499905

“I try to be handy, which obviously I’m not that handy,” a degloved Herman told MMAFighting shortly after the accident.

Herman hasn’t revealed his future plans yet, but perhaps it’s because he doesn’t know. Under the old ownership, the UFC may have offered Herman another fight after two straight losses because of his status as a TUF veteran, but to WME-IMG, Ed Herman is just an unranked light heavyweight who is 1-3 in the last three years. At 37, Herman may find success in outside of the UFC in a number of organizations outside of the UFC, but ole’ Ed’s days inside the octagon are likely behind him.

Mauricio Shogun Rua (25-10)

Notable Wins: Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Minotouro Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Ricardo Arona, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin

Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua was the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Champion and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a future UFC Hall of Famer. Rumor even has it that he’d beat Jon Jones under Pride/Rizin rules to this day.

Shogun is currently riding a three-fight winning streak, having defeated Lil Nog at UFC 190 via decision, Corey Anderson at UFC 198 via split decision, and Gian Villante at via TKO at UFC Fight Night 106 last March. That places him at #7 in the world currently, even after a year of inactivity.

The UFC announced recently that Shogun has ‘No Time’ though, as in – he was just booked to fight against Volkan ‘No Time’ Oezdemir in the organizations first trip to Chile on May 19 at UFC Fight Night 129 (ahem… more on that later). That’s not an easy fight for anybody and it’s even more challenging after a 16-month case of cage oxidation.

Shogun doesn’t believe it’s time for him to call it quits just yet, as he told MMAFIGHTING:

”People still ask me to retire today. I’m on a three-fight winning streak and people say ‘why this guy hasn’t stopped yet?’ So what should the guys that I beat do? Kill themselves? If I won and have to retire, imagine what they would say to those who lost.”

With a fourth straight win here; Shogun is at most one fight away from a title scrap with Daniel Cormier. The only one who could even feasibly demand a title shot over Rua at that point would be Alexander Gustafsson, and Alex is about to tie himself up with Luke Rockhold against all sense of reason.

Shogun’s taken a lot of damage in his 35-fight career, and it shows. He’s slower and more sluggish than he used to be, the ‘Brazilian Zombie’ if you will. Sure, he can always turn back the clock every half dozen fights and look like the Shogun of old, but that’s less and less likely every degree the world turns.

At best, he out-wrestles Volkan in Chile (now Hamburg) and gets done in by Daniel Cormier or Gustaffson down the road.

I don’t think a loss to Volkan Oezdemir here is necessarily the end of the line for Shogun Rua – but it definitely should be from a title aspirations standpoint, and that’s really what this whole shebang is all about.

The post End of the Line: UFC Light Heavyweights Who Should Call It A Career appeared first on Cageside Press.