Top heavyweights the UFC should sign right away

The Heavyweight and Light heavyweight divisions are becoming dangerously thin, while the UFC has no new prospect in sight

No one following the UFC would be surprised if I say the Heavyweight and Light heavyweight divisions are dangerously thin right now. With 35 and 36 fighters, respectively, the only positive thing about these divisions is that the top 10 fighters in each division are solid. This statement was brought into question two weeks ago when then 5th ranked heavyweight Alistair Overeem showed neither talent no will to fight the experienced, yet unranked Rotwell, who’s been out of the octagon for God knows how long. In a match-up with similar odds last week the fan favorite Bigfoot Silva went down after one good punch by the, according to some, washed out Arlovski. The situation in the HW division is seriously massed up in anticipation of another possible upset in Saturdays Hunt vs. Nelson. Cain Velasquez has been out due to an injury, but we are looking forward to his fight against the other coach from TUF-Latin America Fabricio Werdum, who many think has an edge when it comes to submission techniques. The highest ranked contender Junior Dos Santos already had his chance and is now in a limbo, while Travis Browne who was my favorite contender, had a terrible match against Werdum after breaking a hand in round one.

No one really knows why the HW and LHW divisions are so small. I guess the guys in the promotion know what they’re doing, but that stopped making any sense a year ago. It would make sense to say the UFC is now concentrating on the Lightweight division which is now stacked with talent, but in any combat sport the heavier divisions and the KO’s always draw big audiences. It would even make sense to say there are no good HW fighters out there, and while this might be true, any MMA fan can name at least 5-6 fighters who would do well in the UFC.

I usually start that list with my favorite three candidates: Minakov, Kharitonov and Grabowski. But, since there’s nothing new in the prospect of signing any of them with the UFC, my main candidate is the guy who defeated Grabowski last month, Marcin Tybura. Vitaly Minakov is probably the best HW outside the UFC. The undefeated Bellator champion with 14 victories, has a solid contract with the promotion and probably won’t be leaving it anytime soon. Sergei Kharitonov doesn’t like the exclusive contract UFC is offering, but he’s now 34 years old and this is the right time for him to move up and fight the best. He already has victories over Overeem, Werdum and Arlovski, so he’s at least top 10 UFC level. The same discussion goes for Damian Grabowski , age 34. He’s sort of a star in Poland, well paid and has good sponsors. That all would initially change if he moves to the UFC, he costs 40+40K, and the UFC would offer him 20+20 contract. After the defeat from Tybura, he should take a chance on the UFC, where he would be at least a top 15 fighter. This brings us to the people who have a real chance in contributing to the UFC’s roast.

- Marcin Tybura, fighting out of Poland, undefeated and has good finishing rate with 4 KO’s and 5 submission, including a first round choke of Damian Grabowski. Currently fighting with M-1 and scheduled to fight in November. Aged 28, he would have enough time to establish himself in the UFC. The promotion also wants to expand to the large Polish market that has already a solid MMA fan-base and that’s only a plus.

- Smealinho Rama, 22 year old Canadian with a record of 8-1, 88% finishing rate, still not established, but has a WSOF fight with Derrick Mehmen in October that will serve as a test of his progress.

- Derrick Mehmen(29) from USA, currently with WSOF, has a record of 18-5, 11 victories by KO/TKO.

- Dmitry Poberezhets (29) from Ukraine, has a record of 20-5 (11 KO/TKO and 4 submissions), with 10 victories in a row, 9 of them by finishes.

- Chriss Barnet (28) USA, record 10-1 with 80% finished by KO/TKO including the last one over Travis Wiuff.

- Satoshi Ishii (27) Olympic gold medalist and world champion in Judo from Japan, with a MMA record of 12-3, would’ve been ranked higher if it weren’t for last month’s loss to Mirko Cro Cop. Setback, low finishing rate of 40%, but it would still sit well with Asian fans.

- Shamil Abdurahimov (33) from Russia, record 15-2

- Denis Goltsov from Russia, just 23 year old with a record of 11-4.

Honorable mentions: Salvador Sanchez, Zoumana Sisse, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Denis Smoldarev, Konstantin Erokhin, Jared Cannonier.

Images Sherdog.com