5 Reasons why the UFC Heavyweight Division is struggling

An abject Cain Velasquez pretty much sums up the mood surrounding the divisionIn an ideal world, the fighters populating the UFC Heavyweight division would be looked upon with a mixture of hushed trepidation and disquieting awe. After all, they are the “big boys” on the block. Sadly though, this is anything but an ideal world and quite frankly, the UFC Heavyweight Division has been struggling to keep its head above the water. From its inception 18 years ago, the weight-class suffered the ignominy of 17 title changes until Cain Velasquez provide a glimmer of hope of creating what the division always coveted – a dominant champion. But after the 18th title change in as many years, that proved to be little more than a false dawn as the UFC Heavyweight division finds itself back at square one. That's taking nothing away from Fabricio Werdum; no other fighter walking this planet can claim victories over Fedor Emilianenko and Cain Velasquez, two perceived greats of the sport. But therein lies the catch.Such has been the desperation weighing on the Heavyweight division that Cardio Cain was already touted as one of the greatest heavyweights in history even when he hadn’t completed more than two title defences in a row. Admittedly he did look every bit the dominant champion that the world was craving for up until, ironically, his cardio gave way in his third title defence against Fabricio Werdum.Amidst a title picture thrown wide open yet again, Velasquez must now chart his path to redemption while Junior Dos Santos is on the sidelines licking his chops and waiting for a title shot against a champion who he made short work of back in 2008. As the division readies itself to recover from yet another disgruntling setback, here is a look at exactly why the UFC Heavyweight division has been struggling lately.

#1 Cardio Cain\'s failure

It is ironic to note that Werdum acclimatized to Mexican conditions better than Velasquez

When Werdum snapped on the guillotine even as Velasquez sprang forth to take him down in the third round, there was a sense of inevitability about the result already. Werdum had set the trap perfectly, and a floundering Velasquez bought into it hook, line and sinker.

It marked an abrupt end to all the fantasies that the fans had been harbouring for Cain Velasquez up till then - to at least break the pitiful record of no champion having defended the title more than two times in a row and by virtue of that, to stamp his authority on a division sorely lacking in dominance and marketability. No one favours the discontinuity, much less witnessing the title belt change hands as though it were a hot potato.

However when push came to shove, Velasquez fell short. Werdum had claimed that he was more Mexican than Velasquez before the fight, a comment that had apparently ruffled the feathers of the Mexican-American champion. The world expected a strong backlash from Velasquez in disproving the notion, but instead was treated to a Werdum masterclass in affirming it.

#2 Where are the characters?

Another factor that is definitely hurting the Heavyweight Division is a distinct lack of “must-watch” personalities. Agreed, these are primarily fighters, and the greatest advert that a fighter could provide for himself is inside of the Octagon. But the UFC is a business ultimately and like all businesses, thrives on the marketability of its product.

As such, the division is devoid of any sort of sensationalism and some of its fighters are, rather unfortunately, charisma vacuums. That may not affect the interest levels of MMA purists, but we cannot debunk the theory that sensationalism has evolved into a necessary evil in today’s spectrum of marketing.

Fighters like Connor McGregor, Chael Sonnen, Tito Ortiz or even Jon Jones polarize opinions and split favour. And they are the necessary elements that help market the product today to many casual fans and the mainstream audience that do not follow the technicalities and nuances of MMA.

Does the UFC Heavyweight Division absolutely need a flamboyant and charismatic character? Ostensibly, no. But that doesn’t deduct from the fact that it may be a very necessary “evil” that the division is lacking right now.

#3 Beast Mode!

That volcanic eruption of a fight between Travis Browne and Ardrei Arlovski could have ended either way

The lower weight classes generally see fighters more prone to classification and labeling as opposed to the heavier weight classes in the UFC. That is basically a milder way of saying that if you’re a UFC fighter weighing upside of 200 pounds, more likely than not, you’re a beast.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to surmise that most heavyweight fighters are capable of generating genuine knock-out power, and while this makes for engaging unpredictability in their fights, it also enforces a slim margin for error.

In a fight which was dominated by expectations of a Velasquez blitzkrieg against the ground-game of Werdum, it is certainly worth mentioning that Werdum more than matched Velasquez in the stand-up department for the first two rounds, thus inducing a hurried takedown attempt from him in the third which he transitioned into a guillotine choke for the win.

This inherent unpredictability in a heavyweight bout makes for compelling viewing, but also underlines just how hard it is for a fighter to truly dominate the weight class over a prolonged period of time.

#4 Dwindling talent pool

32, 31, 32 and 36. In case you are confused, those are the ages of the top Heavyweight contenders Velasquez, Dos Santos, Miocic and Arlovski respectively. The champion, Werdum, is 37. Of the quintet, only Miocic hasn’t held the heavyweight belt, interim or otherwise, even once. The division is dangerously close to stagnating.

Perhaps all that the division requires is some fresh blood; a youngster with fire instead of experience and a career ahead of him instead of behind, with the talent and werewithal to shake up proceedings.

Sure, Randy Couture’s fighting prowess matured with age like wine, but before forming parallels, we have to take into consideration that the legend was an exception and not the norm. With Velasquez’s well-publicized injury troubles, it is hard to imagine that he might endure too much longer, and when he departs, the UFC will be left with precious little time to invest in the future.

After Velasquez, then who?

#5 Brock Lesnar, or the lack of...

To appreciate the delicateness of the situation, it is imperative to understand diverticulitis, the condition that Brock Lesnar was diagnosed with. It is a condition of the digestive tract that normally does not require surgery if diagnosed in the early stages. However, if allowed to develop, it leads to severe organ damage and almost certainly entails fatal repercussions.

Lesnar fought through his stint in the UFC completely unaware of this condition, and it almost claimed his life before he was diagnosed and went under the surgeon’s knife. This also sparked his UFC retirement and subsequent second coming in the WWE.

When his contract renewal talks in the WWE surfaced this year, Lesnar chose to stay on with the sports-entertainment company. That was the WWE’s gain, but the UFC’s keenly felt loss.

It is not outlandish to suggest that a fully fit Brock Lesnar could have dominated the UFC Heavyweight division, apart from pulling innumerable mainstream eyeballs into the product. From a marketing standpoint, nothing could have been better.

I cannot offer better substantiation than point to his brief stint as King of the Mountain in the UFC, when you could legitimately say with a mixture of trepidation and awe, that he was indeed the “baddest man on the planet.”