I like doing these from time to time, and given the fact that a good amount of the top 20 HWs don't have a fight lined up I thought this would be a good time to do a breakdown.
RANKINGS:
1- Cain- Self explanatory
2- JDS- Also self explanatory.
3- DC- Dropping to LHW, so he's kinda just taking up space in this order for now. Luckily the UFC was smart enough not to place him against a legit contender that he could possibly knock off in the UFC's weakest division.
4- Fabricio Werdum- 8-2 since 2008 with a few decent wins.
5- Bigfoot- In the last three years he has three really big wins and three really big losses.
6- Travis Browne- You have to wonder how the fight with Bigfoot would had gone if his hammy didn't tear early in the fight? Big win against The Reem puts him back in the title picture though.
7- Josh Barnett- The stoppage over Mir may of been a little wary (MAY of), but he did look good and he did get the W. The only guy to beat Barnett in his last 11 fights is leaving the division, which in turn gives Barnett a chance to be looked at as a potential title contender.
8- Mark Hunt- Some big wins before a dominant loss to JDS. Still a legit top 10 right now, but his title hopes are looking to be a ways off.
9- Alistar Overeem- Once a legit top three HW, The Reem has suffered two straight KOs in spectacular fashion.
10-14 clusterfuck in no particular order- Frank Mir, Big Nog, Stipe Miocic, Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson
15- Gabriel Gonzaga
16- Ben Rothwell
17- Brendan Schaub
18- Shawn Jordan
19- Todd Duffee
20- Matt Mitrione
FIGHTS THAT ARE ALREADY SCHEDULED:
Cain (#1) v JDS (#2) - UFC 166
DC (#3) v Roy Nelson (Ranked in the #clusterfuck) - UFC 166
Gabriel Gonzaga (#15) v Shawn Jordan (#18) - UFC 166
Brendan Schaub (#17) v Matt Mitrione (#20) - UFC 165
FIGHTS I WOULD MAKE:
Fabricio Werdum (#4) v Cain/JDS winner - February Superbowl Weekend Card - I'm not totally sold on Werdum as the legit #1 contender, but we have a weak division and I'd rather not knock off an actual contender in a #1 contender match.
Bigfoot (#5) v Mark Hunt (#8) - December or January - Fun fight to see who deserves to be a legit top 10.
Travis Browne (#6) v Josh Barnett (#7) - December or January - Winner gets the next shot at the title after Werdum.
Alistar Overeem (#9) v Frank Mir (#clusterfuck) - January - Two guys on a bad skin who desperately need a win. Should make for a fun fight.
Stipe Miocic (#clusterfuck) v Ben Rothwell (#16) - December - Good fight. Winner takes a step towards being considered a contender.
Big Nog (#clusterfuck) v Todd Duffee (#19) - November - I feel like this is the wildcard fight of the bunch, but this fight actually interest me. A good measuring stick for both guys at this point.
Let me know what you think!
RANKINGS:
1- Cain- Self explanatory
2- JDS- Also self explanatory.
3- DC- Dropping to LHW, so he's kinda just taking up space in this order for now. Luckily the UFC was smart enough not to place him against a legit contender that he could possibly knock off in the UFC's weakest division.
4- Fabricio Werdum- 8-2 since 2008 with a few decent wins.
5- Bigfoot- In the last three years he has three really big wins and three really big losses.
6- Travis Browne- You have to wonder how the fight with Bigfoot would had gone if his hammy didn't tear early in the fight? Big win against The Reem puts him back in the title picture though.
7- Josh Barnett- The stoppage over Mir may of been a little wary (MAY of), but he did look good and he did get the W. The only guy to beat Barnett in his last 11 fights is leaving the division, which in turn gives Barnett a chance to be looked at as a potential title contender.
8- Mark Hunt- Some big wins before a dominant loss to JDS. Still a legit top 10 right now, but his title hopes are looking to be a ways off.
9- Alistar Overeem- Once a legit top three HW, The Reem has suffered two straight KOs in spectacular fashion.
10-14 clusterfuck in no particular order- Frank Mir, Big Nog, Stipe Miocic, Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson
15- Gabriel Gonzaga
16- Ben Rothwell
17- Brendan Schaub
18- Shawn Jordan
19- Todd Duffee
20- Matt Mitrione
FIGHTS THAT ARE ALREADY SCHEDULED:
Cain (#1) v JDS (#2) - UFC 166
DC (#3) v Roy Nelson (Ranked in the #clusterfuck) - UFC 166
Gabriel Gonzaga (#15) v Shawn Jordan (#18) - UFC 166
Brendan Schaub (#17) v Matt Mitrione (#20) - UFC 165
FIGHTS I WOULD MAKE:
Fabricio Werdum (#4) v Cain/JDS winner - February Superbowl Weekend Card - I'm not totally sold on Werdum as the legit #1 contender, but we have a weak division and I'd rather not knock off an actual contender in a #1 contender match.
Bigfoot (#5) v Mark Hunt (#8) - December or January - Fun fight to see who deserves to be a legit top 10.
Travis Browne (#6) v Josh Barnett (#7) - December or January - Winner gets the next shot at the title after Werdum.
Alistar Overeem (#9) v Frank Mir (#clusterfuck) - January - Two guys on a bad skin who desperately need a win. Should make for a fun fight.
Stipe Miocic (#clusterfuck) v Ben Rothwell (#16) - December - Good fight. Winner takes a step towards being considered a contender.
Big Nog (#clusterfuck) v Todd Duffee (#19) - November - I feel like this is the wildcard fight of the bunch, but this fight actually interest me. A good measuring stick for both guys at this point.
Let me know what you think!
