Issue 119
September 2014
Nine ways MMA changed forever inside the last 18 months – and predictions on where our beloved sport could be going next
Anderson Silva and GSP are no longer champions, a sudden Bellator coup saw a new patriarch installed, and testosterone is officially off the menu. MMA has changed dramatically since the beginning of 2013 and there’s doubtless more to come in 2015. FO examines the game-changing moments, and predicts the even larger shake-ups still to come...
1 THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Inside a year, the entire middleweight division has been thrown into turmoil by relatively untested underdog Chris Weidman, whose KO victory over Anderson Silva at UFC 162 last summer ended one of the greatest title reigns in MMA.
Six short months later, at UFC 168, Weidman proved his legitimacy as the champion by beating Silva on the feet, checking a kick, and breaking ‘The Spider’s leg, and the changing of the guard was complete.
With a new figure sat atop the 185lb mountain, plus the likes of Lyoto Machida, Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort all vying for UFC gold, the middleweight division – despite the departure of arguably the Greatest Of All Time – has been overwhelmingly reinvigorated.
From Anderson’s legacy to Weidman’s ascendancy, 185lb will never be the same again.
Fighters Only Predicts
It should be ridiculous to even question the validity of a champion with back-to-back finishes (not just wins) over Anderson Silva, but the world is yet to completely accept Weidman as a genuine pound-for-pound star in his own right.
However, fitness permitting, inside the next year the New York native should establish his dominance, while climbing the pound-for-pound rankings and building a reputation for dispatching tough competition. Similar to the way Jon Jones has at 205lb.
Best of all, standing in Weidman’s way is a whole host of bad ass Brazilians looking to return Silva’s old UFC belt to South America.
2 GEORGES ST WHO?
Drama, controversy, excitement: and that was just Georges St Pierre’s December press call to announce he was vacating the UFC 170lb title he’d held for over five years.
With St Pierre stepping away from the sport, the UFC had to sell a 170lb division without the presence of the French-Canadian superstar. Up until his departure in December, and despite the majority of his title fights going to a decision, St Pierre remained the most bankable active star on the UFC roster.
But rather than allow the division to whither on the vine, the UFC, by setting up a guaranteed barnburner for the vacant strap between jilted St Pierre challenger Johny Hendricks and the resurgent Robbie Lawler, reinvigorated the talent-rich weight class.
Now UFC matchmakers have a host of exciting contenders, all with legitimate title-shot claims, to consider when lining up challengers to Hendricks – GSP sparring partner Rory MacDonald included. All of which has made the welterweight division arguably more exciting than it’s ever been.
Fighters Only Predicts
St Pierre’s over-five-year reign as welterweight king was preceded by a disastrous first stint as UFC champion when he was TKO’d in his first defense against Matt Serra in 2007. And with such an outstanding and threatening line-up of legit contenders, it’s tough to see how Hendricks is going to cut his way through the field to challenge Georges’ second run of success. With current front-runners Matt Brown, Lawler and GSP prodigy MacDonald all chomping at the bit for an opportunity to face ‘Bigg Rigg’ it could be some time before we see an undisputed king back at 170lb.
3 KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES
With two brothers making waves in the NFL, and a mainstream Nike endorsement deal in his pocket, you’d think cutting through the light heavyweight division to become the youngest UFC champion in history, then making mincemeat of a long line of ‘killer’ contenders, would be enough. But not for Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.
Following his fifth successful title defense over Chael Sonnen in April 2013, fans and media almost demanded Jones move up to heavyweight to find appropriate competition. It seemed the young champion was simply too good for the rest of the 205lb division, and to truly test his ability the world wanted him to fight at a disadvantage.
But then unheralded contender Alexander Gustafsson took Jones into the trenches in September and suddenly the champ seemed vulnerable. Yet Jones gritted his teeth, showed the heart of a true champion and emerged from that UFC 165 war with his belt. And with the most significant victory of his career.
Nobody asks Jones about moving up any more. Not with Gustafsson straining at the leash to go again, and former heavyweight standout Daniel Cormier rag-dolling legends in his pursuit of Jones. It seems the heavyweight division might have to wait a little longer for Jones to take his bow.
Fighters Only Predicts
With Gustafsson and Cormier waiting in line, the next year could be the toughest of Jones’ career. The Swede is pumped after his first effort, narrowly missing out to Jones three rounds to two. While Cormier is a beast at the weight and has a ground game to rival anyone on the planet. But, if Jones can beat both men, if he emerges with the gold still around his waist, and Gustafsson and Cormier are sent off licking their wounds, then the UFC may well have crowned the greatest champion of them all.
4 COMIC CRUSADERS
Just when the world thought a new superpower had emerged to dominate yet another weight class, up pops a fringe contender to shock the world.
When Renan Barao was finally crowned the planet’s full 135lb champion last year (following a stint as interim UFC champion while incumbent king Dominick Cruz rested injuries) it seemed that alongside featherweight champion and teammate José Aldo, the UFC had unearthed the most successful dynamic duo since Batman met Robin.
After never receiving the acclaim he deserved for 18 months as interim champ, Barao was on course to be crowned pound-for-pound champ when he was declared undisputed champ and TKO’d UFC star Urijah Faber in January. In a division that was still fresh in the eyes of the UFC masses following its absorption from the WEC, finally the bantamweight picture was growing clear – with the fight-finishing Brazilian producing the kind of ruthless performances that made teammate Aldo an international star.
But then in May, at UFC 173, heavy underdog TJ Dillashaw shocked the world with one of the most complete performances in the history of fight sports. From seemingly nowhere the former wrestling star danced around Barao, peppered him with strikes and dominated every second of the action, until, in the most dramatic fashion, he finished the fight with a ruthless TKO.
The impact of Dillashaw’s inspiring performance – designed by 2013 Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Coach of the Year’ Duane Ludwig – showed a shrewd game plan and fearless attitude can change history forever.
Fighters Only Predicts
One thing’s for sure, TJ Dillashaw has the blueprint to beat Renan Barao. But whether or not he can top everybody else in the division only time will tell. Barao will come back. Cruz may even do the same. And with a strange, stale air lingering between departing coach Ludwig and Team Alpha Male captain and perpetual title contender Urijah Faber, it might be that the most intriguing chapter of this tale is still to be written.
5 LONG LIVE THE QUEEN
In January 2013, before her UFC debut, Ronda Rousey was virtually unknown outside of MMA’s hardcore fans. In summer 2014 she’s a global superstar. Who could possibly have predicted back then the impact the arm-barring first lady of MMA would have on the sport?
Not only did ‘Rowdy’ practically single-handedly get women’s MMA into the UFC with her style and submission game impressing president Dana White, she’s now transcended MMA to become a poster girl icon for females worldwide.
Approaching her latest title defense against Alexis Davis, planned for UFC 175 at the beginning of July, she remained undefeated in mixed martial arts. Ronda is most certainly one of the biggest stars inside the UFC today, and has a stranglehold on Hollywood that looks set to last.
Fighters Only Predicts
Rousey appears at home continuing her recent wave of action movie roles, which have impacted on her availability to compete. However, unlike fighter-turned-movie star Gina Carano, Hollywood remains just a bonus for the 135lb women’s champion. Hopefully her desire to compete and break her opponents will see Rousey continue to drive the UFC brand, and women’s sport in general, to another level.
6 DRUGS ARE FOR MUGS
After it became common knowledge with Chael Sonnen’s failed 2010 drugs test, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) was the 400lb gorilla in the room. Now it will be remembered as the loophole, allowing fighters to legitimately yet synthetically up their ‘T-levels’, that was sewn up by several high profile commissions in 2014.
While 12 months ago the MMA world had learned to live with TRT, and the achievements of its users such as Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir, in February this year the Nevada State Athletic commission retracted the permission slips and the UFC and many other influential bodies followed suit. Rumor has it, it was a decision spurred by Vitor Belfort’s failed out-of-competition drug screening due to high testosterone the month before.
Considering what a positive reception TRT’s ousting received from fans and fighters, it’s a wonder the sport didn’t clear itself of what some regarded as another form of institutionalized cheating years earlier.
Fighters Only Predicts
In the next year TRT should go down as a blight on the history of MMA. Unfortunately, chances are that once it’s gone it will be only replaced by another performance-enhancing issue until all-year-round random drug testing is introduced. At the moment the UFC is paying for random screenings, but the best efforts of just one organisation, even if it is the UFC, won’t be enough to clear up the entire sport. It’s the local sporting commissions and federations that need to fund random testing.
7 BELLATOR EXIT DOOR
Between the signings of ex-UFC marquee names ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Tito Ortiz, the summer of 2013 was Bellator’s biggest ever. The summer of 2014 saw the founder and CEO of Bellator MMA, Bjorn Rebney, apparently pressured into stepping down from his position, and Scott Coker, the former head of Strikeforce, quickly take the reigns. Oh, and the abandoning of its signature tournament-centric format.
With a higher profile than ever and a reportedly successful first pay-per-view venture in the books, Bellator has been put under the guidance of Coker (who, thanks to a clause in his deal to sell Strikeforce to the UFC, had been unable to work as a promoter for three years) at perhaps the company’s most successful period in history.
Fighers Only Predicts
With all eyes now on Bellator, can Scott Coker guide another promotion into the spotlight to such an extent that it threatens the market share enjoyed by the UFC? The success of Strikeforce was helped by Coker’s ability to sign regional and international fighters and turn them into stars, and he inherits an exciting mix of talent. Perhaps his next steps as the promotion moves into 2015 will be to stage events outside the US – something Bellator has never managed before – with Russia, the UK and possibly even the Middle East potential destinations.
8 KNOCKOUT THREADS
While it’s been happening slowly for several years, between early 2013 and now in 2014 it has become truly noticeable: big-business sponsors such as Nike, Reebok and Under Armour pushing MMA-born companies off of UFC athletes’ fight-night apparel and out of business altogether.
The UFC’s adoption of a sponsor tax, too, has gradually shifted most of the smaller clothing sponsors from the Octagon, making it much more trying, financially, for fight brands to get their clothing shown on UFC broadcasts.
The result for the fighters has been difficulty in finding shorts and T-shirt sponsors capable of paying both the UFC tax and a wage for the fighter. And so fighters either have the option of taking less money, or wearing no sponsors – as now-retired UFC lightweight Mac Danzig famously did in December for UFC on Fox 9.
Fighters Only Predicts
With the increase of UFC events and the impending power of UFC Fight Pass to bolster tangible viewing numbers, the amount of big-name brands entering the Octagon will continue to increase.
As well as Jones, Anderson Silva and Junior dos Santos’ deals with Nike, Johny Hendricks had Reebok support even before he
was 170lb champ; while Under Armour’s stint with Georges St Pierre is unlikely to be their last foray into MMA.
And it may be that the only thing holding up the UFC uniforms that UFC president Dana White first mentioned in February is finding a deal that appeases all of those blue-chip spon sors, rather than just one.
9 WHAT’S NEW, COACH?
If the past year has shown us anything at all then it’s that a change of coach can make a substantial difference to an entire stable of fighters. While considering his retirement in 2013, Duane Ludwig coached Team Alpha Male to a handful of title challenges and its first championship with TJ Dillashaw’s 135lb belt.
The star-studded team consisting of the likes of Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes and new bantamweight king Dillashaw pushed aside nearly all challengers in 2013, notching up a combined 17 straight victories at one point.
These days, however, you won’t find Ludwig coaching in California. He’s moved to Colorado to open his own gym, largely closing the book on his fairy tale in the Golden State. And, not surprisingly following Ludwig’s success, there is a long list of former UFC fighters in the frame to replace him.
Fighters Only Predicts
With the wind in their sails it’s likely Team Alpha Male will continue to have success over the next year with team captain Faber likely to appoint another ex-UFC fighter as coach, forerunner for the position being Martin Kampmann. And while it would appear California is currently the home for the USA’s top MMA talent, look to Sin City veterans likes Frank Mir and Forrest Griffin to follow in Ludwig’s shoes and start turning their hand to coaching others in the future and fill that Las Vegas void.
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