5 Reasons why the UFC Heavyweight Division is struggling
An abject Cain Velasquez pretty much sums up the mood surrounding the divisionIn an ideal world, the fighters populating the UFC Heavyweight division would be looked upon with a mixture of hushed trepidation and disquieting awe. After all, they are the “big boys” on the block. Sadly though, this is anything but an ideal world and quite frankly, the UFC Heavyweight Division has been struggling to keep its head above the water. From its inception 18 years ago, the weight-class suffered the ignominy of 17 title changes until Cain Velasquez provide a glimmer of hope of creating what the division always coveted – a dominant champion. But after the 18th title change in as many years, that proved to be little more than a false dawn as the UFC Heavyweight division finds itself back at square one. That's taking nothing away from Fabricio Werdum; no other fighter walking this planet can claim victories over Fedor Emilianenko and Cain Velasquez, two perceived greats of the sport. But therein lies the catch.Such has been the desperation weighing on the Heavyweight division that Cardio Cain was already touted as one of the greatest heavyweights in history even when he hadn’t completed more than two title defences in a row. Admittedly he did look every bit the dominant champion that the world was craving for up until, ironically, his cardio gave way in his third title defence against Fabricio Werdum.Amidst a title picture thrown wide open yet again, Velasquez must now chart his path to redemption while Junior Dos Santos is on the sidelines licking his chops and waiting for a title shot against a champion who he made short work of back in 2008. As the division readies itself to recover from yet another disgruntling setback, here is a look at exactly why the UFC Heavyweight division has been struggling lately.
#1 Cardio Cain\'s failure
When Werdum snapped on the guillotine even as Velasquez sprang forth to take him down in the third round, there was a sense of inevitability about the result already. Werdum had set the trap perfectly, and a floundering Velasquez bought into it hook, line and sinker.
It marked an abrupt end to all the fantasies that the fans had been harbouring for Cain Velasquez up till then - to at least break the pitiful record of no champion having defended the title more than two times in a row and by virtue of that, to stamp his authority on a division sorely lacking in dominance and marketability. No one favours the discontinuity, much less witnessing the title belt change hands as though it were a hot potato.
However when push came to shove, Velasquez fell short. Werdum had claimed that he was more Mexican than Velasquez before the fight, a comment that had apparently ruffled the feathers of the Mexican-American champion. The world expected a strong backlash from Velasquez in disproving the notion, but instead was treated to a Werdum masterclass in affirming it.