It’s hard to believe, but the UFC middleweight division has never really recovered from Anderson Silva losing his title back in 2013.
Once a pillar of consistency during Silva’s near seven-year reign, 185 pounds has been beset by all manner of irregularity in recent times. A bevy of quick title changes, positive drug tests and untimely injuries has conspired to cast it into something resembling rush-hour gridlock.
And the chaos seems to have only reached its fever pitch during the last few months.
With a spate of high-profile fights on the horizon, however, the middleweight ship may finally be about to right itself.
Derek Brunson’s victory over Uriah Hall at Fight Night 94 kicked off a two-month period where every member of the 185-pound Top 10 (except Silva, who just competed on short notice at UFC 200) is scheduled to be in action—barring injury or other unforeseen calamity.
If the next 60 days don’t bring this weight class some much-needed clarity and momentum, nothing will.
One thing we know for sure: Middleweight has talent to spare. It just needs to get its legs under it.
@FlyinBrianJ @LukeRockhold @JacareMMA The UFC middleweight division is like a golden age of talent. Like Hagler-Hearns-Leonard-Duran
— Stress Judo Coaching (@stressjudo) September 13, 2016
Newly crowned champion Michael Bisping is set to make his first title defense against No. 12 Dan Henderson at UFC 204 on October 8. Bisping won the championship with an upset knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, and that victory—along with a corresponding injury to former champ Chris Weidman—seemed to put an exclamation point on the division’s recent volatility.
This booking against Henderson doesn’t figure to solve much of anything, either. When Bisping filled in for Weidman against Rockhold, it was seen as a piece of fun, but fairly off-the-wall matchmaking. The Englishman shocked everyone when he dispatched Rockhold—who had perhaps taken him lightly—in just three minutes, 36 seconds to win the championship.
Now comes Henderson, the 46-year-old fan favorite who is hoping to close out his storied career with a bang and with the UFC title around his waist. It will be a rematch of a UFC 100 bout where Henderson knocked Bisping out so badly he still uses a silhouette version of the highlight on his personal merchandise.
The fight is nominally being billed as Bisping’s chance at revenge and Hendo’s last grasp at UFC gold, but really it was just the most marketable title matchup available at the time.
But at least when it’s over, the weight class will have a clear direction.
Roughly a month after Bisping and Henderson settle their score, Weidman (No. 2) will take on third-ranked Yoel Romero at UFC 205, the organization’s gala first trip to New York City and Madison Square Garden.
Romero will be freshly returned from his six-month suspension for failing a UFC drug test. Weidman will be making his comeback after the serious neck injury that knocked him out of that ill-fated title fight with Rockhold at UFC 199.
Together, Romero and Weidman make arguably the most interesting contender pairing in recent memory. Romero comes in undefeated in the Octagon and possessing fearsome power and quirky, unorthodox offense. Weidman—the man who took Silva's belt in the first place—once looked like the future of the division. Now, he needs a win just to keep himself in the championship discussion.
Two weeks later, Rockhold gets his first chance to wash the bad taste of the Bisping loss out of his mouth when he fights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC Fight Night 101. Souza, too, will be returning from the knee surgery that made him unavailable to fill in for Weidman at UFC 199.
The two fighters will renew a rivalry that stretches back to their Strikeforce days, when Rockhold took Souza’s middleweight title with a competitive unanimous-decision win in September 2011.
All of that is a long-winded way of saying either the winner of Weidman-Romero or Rockhold-Souza will make an apt challenger for whoever emerges with the belt from Bisping-Henderson.
Unless, of course, Henderson wins the championship and retires with it on the spot, as he has threatened to do leading up to the bout.
“That is my plan,” Henderson told Severe MMA’s Niall McGrath and Petesy Carroll in July. “Win or lose I’m ready mentally to retire. My body could still probably go another two, three years more, [but] I’ve put it through enough. I’m ready to take it a little bit easier, but still be involved in MMA doing something a little bit different than fighting.”
Admittedly, it remains unclear if we can take Henderson at his word on that, but if his dreams of retiring as champion come true, then the Weidman-Romero and Rockhold-Souza winners would almost certainly fight each other for the vacant title.
OK, take a break. Deep breath. It's tough to take it all in, right? But wait, there's more.
Behind those six men, a flurry of activity among slightly lesser contenders may also help clear up the title picture moving into next year.
Eighth-ranked Gegard Mousasi is scheduled to take on No. 5 Vitor Belfort in the co-main event of UFC 204. Robert Whittaker (No. 7) was just confirmed on the card for Fight Night 101, though his opponent is yet to be announced.
The winner of Mousasi vs. Belfort would seem to be a natural fit as the next opponent for Brunson. That is, if Brunson doesn’t opt to make a quick turnaround and fight the 25-year-old prospect Whittaker in a couple of months.
To make matters even more interesting, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is set to make his middleweight debut against Tim Kennedy at UFC 205. If Evans—who himself has been beset by injury in recent years—could fashion a serviceable career for himself at 185 pounds, it would only make the division more dynamic and more interesting.
All of the above must come with a disclaimer, unfortunately. Is there an outside chance we have all these terrific fights and it only results in more chaos and more unpredictably? Yes, in this wild sport, that’s always possible.
If current plans keep anything resembling their current shape, however, fans should not only be treated to some fine middleweight action during the last few months of 2016, but they should have a much better idea about the road ahead in 2017, too.
After three years of uncertainty, the idea of getting traffic moving again should make the immediate future seem pretty attractive.
