The Modern Decline of the UFC Heavyweight Division
While the MMA organization grows globally and continues to add fighters to their roster, a rising concern among supporters of the organization include the lackluster modern UFC Heavyweight Division. Historically prided for the incredible display of sheer power, modern fighters seem to be weaker and much weaker relative to their former counterparts.
The History of the Division
Starting out in 1997, the UFC heavyweight division was arguably the most entertaining and promising venture for the entertainment company. The UFC’s decision to start purchasing other MMA Org’s such as Pride FC allowed for existing talent to be integrated into the new league. Fighters such as Quinton Jackson, Chuck Lidell, and Shogun Rua were proven hits in the Pride FC so their success in the UFC was not a shock to authentic fans. This wave of new fighters only grew over the years including talents such as Cain Velazquez, Daniel Cormier, and Jon Jones.
Modern Developments
Up until even 2017, the skills of the heavyweight division were still growing, with former champions including Cain Velasquez showing that cardio and better movement was needed to succeed in the modern era. It appeared that the days of mindless swinging with no regard for the period of time after the first 30 seconds had ended. However, these skill developments slowly stopped and the reliance on power started to become more noticeable. The skill of the division started to decline in late 2021 as the champion at the time, Francis Ngannou, left the organization due to disputes with owner Dana White, however. At the time, he was loved by fans for his authentic story and extreme power, with shots barely landing having the ability to knock opponents out cold, like his famous encounters with Rozenstruik and Overeem. Other notable contenders like Cormier, Miocic, and Dos Santos, eventually aged out of the division. Losing such talent is expected in every division, however the real issue in the division is the lack of fresh talent. The last remaining light for the division was Jon Jones, however his inactivity, problematic behaviour outside of the octagon and ongoing retirement status has shown that he has no interest in becoming the hungry fighter he once was. This leaves us to the only remaining heavyweight talent; Tom Aspinall. The British MMA fighter has shown that he has movement like middleweights while having the same physical attributes as other heavyweight fighters.
The Real Issue
While other divisions are flush with new talent, the real issue in the heaviest weight class is the aging roster with little to no future prospects.
While the UFC has multiple ways of signing new fighters, DWCS (Dana White’s Contender Series) accounts for about 65-75% of new signings. The series is a televised program in which upcoming fighters fight for a spot in the promotion. According to MMA statistics recorded by the website MMA Junkie, the heavyweight division has the lowest number of fighters even though it has the largest weight range. Most divisions are accounted for in increments of 10 lbs, such as lightweight being between 145 -155 lbs, while the heavyweight division is between 205 - 265 lbs. However they still have the least amount of rostered fighters (30), with the average being 70 fighters per division. This issue has many possible causes, but the most logical reason in my opinion is the prevalence of weight cutting. The practice of competing at a lower weight class used to be for fighters to have an advantage, but now fighters now do it to not have a disadvantage.
A notable example of excessive weight cutting is Alex Pereira, the current Light Heavyweight Champion. While he admits to weighing around 245, he fights at 215, showing the simplicity of fighting at lower weight classes. One of the critiques of the heavyweight division is the generally poor physiques seen, however, this is caused by the roster being generally older between 35-40, near the end of their career, and the logistical difficulty of fighting at 265.
According to the FFMI calculator, a metric on how difficult it is to maintain a certain amount of muscle mass given a person’s height, weight, and body fat percentage, assuming a reasonable body fat percentage (20%), the person would need to be over 6 '6 to be a natural weighing heavyweight. Taller fighters such as Johnny Walker and Pereira both stand at around 6 '4 and compete at Light Heavyweight. Taller fighters in shape can easily make a lower weight class. Thus, the remaining heavyweight fighters must either be extraordinarily tall, which has complications of its own, or are slightly or mildly obese. This concept resolves the reason why the current division looks much worse physically, but this can also be attributed to their aging and the difficulties of maintaining a certain body composition.
The heavyweight division also produces the most finishes especially by knockout, and over the course of a full career being knocked out by such tremendous power can create weaker fighters more susceptible to knockouts. The longevity of heavyweight fighters have been known to be poor alongside the UFC’s ongoing push for finishes, through rewarding heavily rewarding knockouts with $50,000 bonuses which can be 5 times what the average fighter makes. These incentives have created a system pursuing entertainment over the authentic search for the best fighter in the world. The valuation on knockouts especially quickly into a fight, pushed aside the need for other skills like high level wrestling or even machine like cardio, as the average heavyweight fight time is the quickest in the UFC being roughly 8 minutes.
While heavyweight fights remain some of the most entertaining with round 1 knockouts almost every fight relying on the raw striking power, there are areas of skill missing such as wrestling and cardio dominant in past eras.
The Future
While the Heavyweight division is also the slowest growing division taking in only 3-5 fighters a year, there is still hope to bring the division back to its former glory. Most Light heavyweights are able to compete at heavyweight, and moving up weight classes, reduces physical stress from cutting weight and allows for better energy during fight night. Many fighters within the top 10 standings for Light Heavyweight may also see the weakness in the division and make the switch. Possible additions to Heavyweight include Alex Pereira who has expressed interest in moving weight categories after his recent fight at UFC 320.
Another prospect is Gable Steveson a decorated young wrestler. Gable won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics for wrestling and has won NCAA twice in his collegiate career. Wrestling is clearly the most functional MMA base and has produced the most UFC champions including Henry Cejudo, who competed and won gold at the 2007 Olympics and Daniel Cormier, another decorated collegiate wrestler who has represented USA in global wrestling competitions including the Olympics. Both transitioned into MMA after wrestling careers and found success.. Steveson recently made his mma debut in LFA, an affiliate league to the UFC and won in dominant fashion via round 1 TKO from vicious ground and pound. Steveson is also coached personally by Jon Jones and his team and is still developing his overall skills. If he is able to become more well rounded in his striking and his ground game, paired with his youth, he will be a dangerous contender for the Heavyweight division.
While the future of the division is uncertain, the real cause of the modern decline is the aging roster and lack of fresh talent, however a weakness in a division can cause new fighters to join, which may revitalize the UFC’s most prized division.