I know, I know, MMA doesn't have GMs, but I have a buddy who is tired of reading about a sport he has no interest in, so I promised I would write a post regarding his favourite sport (and obsession) MMA, more specifically the UFC.
The other night we were discussing the UFC in general and we started talking about the current champs. I thought it was too bad that Brock Lesnars career might be in jeopardy. I personally feel that, if/when he comes back, he'll completely dominate the Heavyweight division. This led to thinking about how if that were to occur, that 4 of the 5 weight classes would have current champions that are practically unstoppable. These divisions of course being lightweight (BJ Penn), Welterweight (George St-Pierre), and middleweight (Anderson Silva). Personally I have always kind of liked dynasty's in sports, which I feel is a similar comparison, where teams make themselves the team to beat. I like having someone where there's an underdog. A David vs. Goliath type scenario. Definitely the 3 latter champs are the current Goliath's in their respective divisions.
Let's look division by division. After Penn dismantled Florian I didn't see anyone else who might be able to even compete with BJ. Following the complete domination of Diego Sanchez, I know that there is no one in the division at the same level of Penn. Similarly, in the welterweight division, when Fitch couldn't put a dent in St-Pierre's armour, I just couldn't see anyone who would be able to knock GSP off as Champ. Finally, Silva is on a whole other level. Sure, he dominated in the middleweight division, but it worries me how good he has looked as a light heavy too. No one in the middleweight division has come close. The closest I can remember was the Henderson-Silva fight, where it can be argued Henderson won the first round. However, that doesn't matter really, when Silva stops you in the 2nd round. After moving up to light heavyweight for a couple of matches, assuming they did tit to try and keep things interesting, Silva completely destroyed the competition, including former light heavyweight champ Forest Griffin. To further show this point, the Griffin fight was provided to put someone in the cage who would push the action against Silva, thinking that this might cause a problem for him. In addition, this wasn't one of those fights where you're putting a former Champ against someone who is past their prime and just trying to have it look like Silva is good in another weight class. Griffin is still in the prime of his career, and Silva has shown he can be a force in 2 weight classes.
On the flip side, I also enjoy parity in sports. That's why I wanted a salary cap in the NHL, and it's the reason the NHL has become so exciting. Anyone can win, any night. I believe that with these dominating champs, it makes the competition look weak, and to an extent, can leave fights appearing inconsequential. This is one of the reasons I still enjoy watching the light heavyweight division. The division is so deep that, although Machida appears to be a great competitor and Champion, there are still many fighters who appear capable of winning that title. With Silva appearing that he could be a force in two divisions, it's scary. In addition, I would imagine that from a marketing perspective, in the short term, the David vs. Goliath fights may sell, however, long term, I have no doubt that the audience and fans may become frustrated with no change or possibility of change in champions.
Lastly, at one point I suggested that the fighters in the UFC weren't very good, simply because they couldn't beat the current champions, but my friend was quick to point out, and made a good point, that if you were to take away the current Champions then the UFC is still full of great fighters and the parity would be amazing, which is very true.
Just a thought...
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