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Over the course of MMA history, one weight class has been the marquee division of the sport more often than any other: light heavyweight. Divisions tend to rise and fall based on the talent and marketability of the fighters on top, meaning no championship is bigger than the fighters competing for it. However, some titles have developed greater currency because of the athletes that have held it. Stars pass on some of their status to the foes that best them, and divisions become entrenched as important.
In the late 1990s, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division was weakened by the turbulence of major upsets and champions vacating their titles, the 205-pound crown -- it was then called the middleweight title -- grew in prominence. Frank Shamrock was arguably the UFC’s best and most marketable fighter, and he was positioned as such. Tito Ortiz wasn’t able to defeat Shamrock in their famous 1999 encounter, but he managed to become an even bigger star and drawing card.
Following Ortiz’s run as champion, the UFC light heavyweight division continued to crank out superstars. Randy Couture’s story finally connected with fans, and he became an icon of the sport past the age of 40. Chuck Liddell was the UFC’s poster boy as the promotion rose to mainstream prominence. Even as the light heavyweight title started to bounce around, it still drew well around short-term champions like Forrest Griffin and Lyoto Machida. Finally, Jon Jones emerged as one of the UFC’s biggest stars in the familiar 205-pound class.
The dominance of the 205-pound division hasn’t extended only to North America. In Japan, Pride Fighting Championships’ meteoric rise was built around the success of Kazushi Sakuraba. His rivalry with Wanderlei Silva led to the creation of the Pride middleweight title, the functional equivalent of the UFC light heavyweight belt. The star power of Sakuraba and Silva helped to create other stars like Quinton Jackson and Mauricio Rua during the glory days of that promotion.
Years later, the light heavyweight division is in rough shape. The best fighters have gotten older, and for the most part, they haven’t been replaced by a new generation of 205-pound superstars. UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is diminished in the popular imagination by the fact that Jones never lost that title in the Octagon. Moreover, Cormier seems likely to vacate the title without defending it himself, given the upcoming megafight between “DC” and Brock Lesnar, along with Cormier’s desire to retire before the age of 40.
In this climate, one might argue that UFC Fight Night 134 on Sunday in Hamburg, Germany, offered up some optimism. After all, established stars “Shogun” Rua and Glover Teixeira lost to younger fighters seemingly on the rise in Anthony Smith and Corey Anderson. Unfortunately, this rosy viewpoint doesn’t hold up to closer scrutiny. The problem is that in order for young fighters to gain from beating older stars, fans need to perceive the performance to be more about the excellence of the rising star rather than the decline of the aging one. One could argue some of Jones’ most high-profile wins came against diminished opponents, but Jones seemed so exceptional that the focus was on his strengths rather than their weaknesses.
Smith and Anderson will surely gain from their wins, but they’re already perceived by fans in a certain light. Smith deserves credit for the improvements in his game, but he is still a fighter who has lost 13 times and often against less-than-elite competition. Rua, Rashad Evans and Hector Lombard are big-name wins on paper, but the story of those fights has been more about sad declines than spectacular triumphs. The loss to Smith was Lombard’s fourth straight and Evans’ fifth straight. Rua had a winning streak but was largely inactive and looked far from his best. Smith is a nice story, but he seems unlikely to be perceived as a top title contender, and those are desperately needed.
Anderson’s situation is similar to Smith. Anderson has some solid skills on which to build, but he also picked up as many losses in his first five years of competition as Teixeira did in his first 14. That includes a couple of devastating knockout losses, as well. In addition, while Smith has at least won in brutal fashion, Anderson has won mostly by decision. This isn’t to suggest he isn’t a high-quality fighter, just that it’s going to be difficult for him to be sold as such.
The predicament of the biggest winners from UFC Fight Night 134 is similar to that of other top contenders like Ilir Latifi, Jan Blachowicz, Jimi Manuwa and Ovince St. Preux: They just aren’t perceived as special fighters. Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson have some of that special shine, and Volkan Oezdemir has promise in that regard, as well. On balance, though, it’s a mix that has great trouble competing with the elite fighters of other divisions.
If Cormier ends up vacating the light heavyweight title, there are few matchups that look like they could headline a significant pay-per-view event. Presumably Jones will eventually be back, and that could provide a much-needed spark. On the other hand, Jones could look at the state of the division and decide his best matchups are at heavyweight, like the proposed fight with Brock Lesnar that got sidetracked by Jones’ most recent drug testing headaches.
With a whopping 12 UFC divisions, it’s hard to get too broken up over the fall of one. There’s a natural ebb and flow; one day the light heavyweight division will rise up again. Still, for those who remember all the years where the light heavyweights were at the forefront of any discussion about the sport, it’s sad to see the division fading into the background.
Todd Martin has written about mixed martial arts since 2002 for a variety of outlets, including CBSSports.com, SI.com, ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, MMApayout.com, Fight Magazine and Fighting Spirit Magazine. He has appeared on a number of radio stations, including ESPN affiliates in New York and Washington, D.C., and HDNet’s “Inside MMA” television show. In addition to his work at Sherdog.com, he does a weekly podcast with Wade Keller at PWTorch.com and blogs regularly at LaTimes.com. Todd received his BA from Vassar College in 2003 and JD from UCLA School of Law in 2007 and is a licensed attorney. He has covered UFC, Pride, Bellator, Affliction, IFL, WFA, Strikeforce, WEC and K-1 live events. He believes deeply in the power of MMA to heal the world and bring happiness to all of its people.