Probs the only sport I follow. Any mma fans out there?
I'm not a McGregor fan. Def on the Ronda Rousey train STILL because I'm loyal. Now that the moneymakers are addressed, let's talk champions.
Weight class: Champion.
Heavyweight (206-265): Stipe Miocic. First off, look at that weight class. Somebody at 206 would have to fight someone at 265 (that would never happen, but I digress). Crazy! Definitely the weight class where a knockout should happen. These men have power. Stipe seems like a legit heavyweight who currently has the record for most title defenses in heavyweight history. 2. Tied with Cain and maybe some other former champions. But we'll see if he can keep his momentum going
Light Heavyweight (186-205): Daniel Cormier. I love DC because he looks like me.
It's tough to be the DC only in the sense that Jones beat DC twice: once by decision and the other by 3rd round knockout. Jones was also classy towards Cormier after winning, despite their heated rivalry. Jones popped for PEDs and so DC becomes champ again. Sucks to see Jones test positive in what appears to be a crazy and confusing scandal. Jones passed all of the surprise drug tests yet failed the planned drug test. Who knows. But if Jones gets the penalty of the drug test, I think it makes him sit out four years of competition. Which is basically a death sentence to his career, or at least taking him out of his prime in his early 30s. DC is nearing 40 now so he can't be fighting for too much longer. And now that he's been knocked out in front of the world, I hope he comes back even stronger.
Middleweight (171-185): Michael Bisping. Bisping paid his dues and I'm fine with him fighting offbeat contenders while he has his belt. Excited for GSP to return. GSP has a great shot at winning the middleweight belt with Bisping as champ.
Welterweight (156-170): Tyron Woodley. I like Tyron Woodley, because he unapologetically plays the fight game to his advantage. When he defeated Robbie Lawler by knockout, Woodley faced unorthodox fighter Stephen Thompson and submission specialist Demian Maia. Both resulted in lackluster and tame five-round performances. The thing though with Tyron is he knows he has the belt, and he doesn't need to go out and look for a finish himself. If Tyron wants to be the counter-striker, he will seriously wait for the opponent to strike, which may end up being a five minute round of each person staring into each other's eyes. But I enjoy that he looks at each opponent, identifies the areas of danger/opportunity, and fights strategically. I'm looking forward to when he gets a brawler/mma opponent. I think he'll win some more fans that way, but regardless, I enjoy him as champion because of his champion mentality.
Lightweight (146-155): Conor McGregor. We get it. You're rich. And you make a lot of money. You're great for the sport. You bring a lot of attention to the game. But I hate it. I hate that he takes, takes, takes, and moves on to the next big thing. At this point, now that the Mayweather garbage fight is overwith, Conor has yet proven to me his worth as a champion because of his inability to defend the belt. He was stripped from the featherweight belt because he'll never make 145 again. He fought Nate Diaz at welterweight just to say he could fight at welterweight. And he destroyed Alvarez b/c Alvarez buckled under pressure. Conor has yet to defend his championship. Once he does that a few more times, he'll gain my respect. Until then, he can keep whatever he's trying to sell.
Featherweight (136-145): Max Holloway. Now Conor did bring attention to a weight class that (in my opinion) didn't have many stars or hype in it. Overall there are some fights that could be fun to watch at this weight class. But overall not too interested in this division.
Bantamweight (126-135): Cody Garbrandt. Cody's your typical meat head lol. And he has an exciting upcoming fight against former teammate TJ Dillashaw. That will definitely be a fight to watch as I really do believe both of these fighters are the most skilled at this given weight class. Both super talent, excellent footwork, brawler mentality, excellent endurance. It'll all come up to that moment the cage doors are locked.
Flyweight (125): Demetrious Johnson. Longest title reign in UFC history. 10 title defenses. He cleaned through his division and is an amazing fighter. The only thing that sucks is his weight class. It would be nice for him to have more dangerous competition. And also the fights at flyweight aren't as exciting as fights in the heavier weight classes. But all in all, you have to give respect to what Demetrious has accomplished at his weight class, so kudos and good for him.
Women's Featherweight (136-145): Cris Cyborg. Finally she has the belt. Too bad she's the only one in her division. Not literally, but every other fighter at this weight class looks clumsy, sloppy and slow. It's super unfortunate since Cris Cyborg is a BEAST. And is only sought after by weaker competition looking for exposure (and a knockout). Maybe Invicta Champion Megan Anderson can provide some trouble for Cris, but I doubt it.
Women's Bantamweight: (126-135): Amanda Nunes. The division that started it all. The very first women's division in UFC history. Easily the most entertaining division for me, probably because I analyzed all of Ronda's opponents while she was champion. I'm loving Amanda Nunes as champion. She is a beast and knock out artist (sorry Ronda <3) and defeated many of the women pioneers (Ronda, Miesha,) in brutal fashion to mark her claim to fame. She's not as popular as she could be, and maybe it's because she's not necessarily the most feminine/attractive sell, but she is a BEAST. Anybody going into the octagon with her knows it'll be a rough day in the office.
Women's Flyweight: (116-125): TBD. Very glad to see UFC create this division, instead of having a 20 lbs gap between Bantamweight and Strawweight. However, the roster for this will likely look messy, with a bunch of overweight strawweights and underweight Bantamweights making the move to this division. I'd give it a year or so, but soon, hopefully, the talent and consistency will become more constant across all women's divisions.
Women's Strawweight: (115): Joanna Jedrzejczyk. My polish homie. Stipe and Joanna both successfully defended their belts in Dallas, and it was the first UFC event I saw. It was super fun to watch her work. It was also fun to see her dominate her division. She does have a tough challenger ahead in Rose Namajunas, and I'm excited for that fight. Rose started her career very young, and is getting into her prime. She has a ton of tools in her arsenal, and something she has going for her is Joanna is a brawler. Rose, going against Carla Esparza, was basically neutralized out of doing anything because of Ezparza's wrestling. But this will be striker versus striker, with the striking edge going to Joanna and the submission/grappling edge going to Rose. I just don't see Rose taking Joanna to the mat. But Rose is definitely a huge threat to Joanna's win streak. So I'm excited to see how this fight pans out.
There you go ladies and gents. I love MMA and you should too!
