The UFC’s middleweight division may be more competitive than ever before, but that’s not necessarily a good thing for the 185-pound division’s top contenders.
UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) has been called out by just about everyone in the weight class, but with former UFC welterweight title holder Georges St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2) returning to the sport after more than three years on the shelf, those contenders are all taking a back seat.
Yoel Romero (12-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) seems to be the deserving No. 1 contender, but with St-Pierre pushing to fight Bisping late in 2017, the “Soldier of God” may end up needing to fight again. If that’s the case, there’s a handful of other challengers who are vying to get themselves into such a contest.
Such is the case at this weekend’s UFC 210 event, where Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2 MMA, 8-3 UFC) meets former champ Chris Weidman (13-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). That trend continues next week, as well, when Ronaldo Souza (24-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) meets Robert Whittaker (17-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at UFC on FOX 24.
Ahead of those key matchups, take a look at the middleweight division, as well as all of the other weight classes, in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA rankings.
