The UFC is facing a problem I’m sure they never would have thought they’d face. Despite having the best talent in the world, their three highest weight-classes are stale and repetitive. In the heavyweight division, we’re closing in on Velasquez-Silva II, which follows dos Santos-Velasquez II, which might lead to dos Santos-Velasquez III, and it’s possible we might see Silva-Overeem II in 2013. The point is, the UFC heavyweight division is stale and desperately needs an influx of talent. The Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix was supposed to be that influx, but thus far, they’ve only taken two contestants, one is suspended and one is dropping to light heavyweight. Only Mark Hunt is a fresh name in the title hunt and I can’t believe I just wrote that. So what can the UFC do with their division that still holds their highest PPV buyrate? Here are six suggestions:
1. Suck it up and sign Josh Barnett: I know Josh is content to walk the Earth as a nomad, spewing misquoted Gladiator lines and wrestling for Antonio Inoki in Japan, but there comes a point in every athlete’s life where they worry about their legacy and really want to prove themselves against the best. Josh Barnett gives the UFC something that nobody else has in that division. Barnett doesn’t need the UFC, and the UFC doesn’t need Barnett, but at this juncture in both of their careers, it makes perfect sense. I don’t give half a shit that Dana doesn’t like Barnett. Dana put up with Tito for a decade, he doesn’t like Roy Nelson, he apparently didn’t like Jon Fitch for five years, he didn’t like Nick Diaz, so on and so forth. Dana hates most people, it doesn’t matter. Barnett can make him cash money and at the very least, he can contain him from the Bellators and WSOFs of the world, which Dana loves (insert tombstone pic). As far as the PED issues go, the UFC obviously needs to have a stern chat with Josh, but they can easily stow him away in places like Japan, where he already has a following, and Texas, where drug testing is rather, ahem, lax. If Barnett doesn’t ever compete for a title, which I doubt he will, at the very least he’s a talented, technically-sound, ubergrappler who will put on a good show against everyone he faces. As a bonus, I might finally get to see Mir vs. Barnett, which I’ve wanted to see for almost a decade now.
2. Evans and Griffin move up to heavyweight: Both have been toying with it, Forrest is a monster at walk-around weight and Rashad came in to the UFC as a heavyweight, winning The Ultimate Fighter as one. I say both should move up. Evans gave Bones the best challenge out of anyone thus far, and if they rematched, I think Rashad would seriously take it to him, but he doesn’t seem interested in that, more talking about his future move. I still can’t believe how awful he looked against Lil’ Nog. After his bout with Hendo, win or lose, I hope he moves up. His speed, athleticism, and lower-body strength would be rare in the heavyweight division. He can be the twinkle-toes boxer that he thinks he is. As for Forrest, he’s already on the legends circuit and has been for some time. Why not cut the bullshit, fight at his natural weight, and get some bigtime fights where he can slug it out and win bonuses?
3. Have a long talk with Stefan Struve: I know a promoter can’t influence a fighter’s career path, as it’s a conflict of interest, but if Dana, Joe, and/or Lorenzo sat down with Struve and told him what we all know, “Listen Stefan, you’re insanely talented, you’re the most entertaining heavyweight we have on the roster, but you’re still young, and you take a serious beating every time you step in the cage. You have the potential to be the Heavyweight Champion, please start going to a place like AKA to round out your game.” I know, Dana would never recommend anyone go to AKA for any reason other then to set fire to it, but Struve working with Cain and Cormier could be wonderful and finally make him a legit contender.
4. Cole Konrad: Yes, he’s “retired” to trade dairy commodities, but if he gets a phone call from Dana White asking if he still has the itch? You can bet that Bjorn Rebney will put up a nasty court case, but I’d love to see if Zuffa actually plans to go with it, or is just busting Bjorn’s bjalls.
5. Satoshi Ishii: I was hesitant to put him on here after his loss to Fedor in which he suffered some serious injuries. Ishii will bring something to the table that none of the UFC heavyweights will have seen and I’ll love to see him match up against them. The only problem is that he’s never fought in North America and especially after his injury, I don’t know how he’d do outside of his cocoon, as he’s only fought for IGF since the Fedor fight.
6. The Ultimate Fighter: Everybody craps on TUF 10, the heavyweight season. Yes, it had Kimbo, but it also featured three fighters who have been consistent, solid, main card, and at times, main event fighters. Why is TUF 10 viewed as a failure? Mitrione, Schaub, and Nelson have outdone anything Court McGee, Tony Ferguson, James Wilks, etc… have done or will do. Shit, Jonathan Brookins is backpacking through Cambodia right now for all we know. Just because Kimbo was exposed as Kimbo doesn’t mean it was a failure, and it was actually the most successful TUF in years. Let’s do it again.
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