Passing the Guard: The Sixth Division?

So for my first 'real' blog post, I figured I'd give my take on the idea a lot of people are throwing around that; "The UFC needs a 225lb Cruiserweight division". I disagree, but not as vehemently as some people do right now.

First of all, mixed martial arts right now doesn't need anything. It's the fastest growing sport in the world, has a legion of passionate fans and a global company leading the way, pushing it into the mainstream. Right now the UFC are raking in millions of dollars and shattering records, the DREAM/Strikeforce collaboration is creating competition, the WEC are creating a better world for the little guys and there's tons of local promotions worldwide that are sustainable. Seems to me like the current unified weight classes are doing a good job.

The main argument seems to be that it's essential for the growth of the sport and the heavyweight division, historically combat sports cash cow. To me, that's just not true, for a couple of reasons. First up, the complaint is that the giants now entering the Octagon are just too big for the smaller heavyweight to compete effectively, based on the long-time assumption that when skill is even, size is the deciding factor. What I'd suggest to these people is to take a look around, how many of these mammoths are tearing it up at 265lbs? Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin and, erm, who? Outside the UFC and there's just Brett Rogers, who just lost to one of these 'disadvantaged' 225lbers. The fact of the matter is that right now, going into 2010, these superhuman monsters are less than one in a thousand.

Which comfortably ties into the next point, what are the general solutions to this argument?

1) Bring in the largely embarrassing 'Super Heavyweight' division.
2) Bring in the 225lb Cruiserweight class.

1) Re-read the last paragraph, I identified three top fighters who'd fit this weight class. You might get one or two more, but I can't see someone building a credible top ten. By introducing a 265lb-plus weight class, all you're essentially doing is excluding Brock Lesnar from competing with the top heavyweights. Imagine, Lesnar wins a 4-man tournament comprised of him, Carwin, Rogers and, say, Marcus Jones for the SHW title. Then what? Exactly. You end up with UFC 130: Lesnar vs. Choi/Sapp/Zuluzinho. That might appeal in some grotesque, circus sideshow way, but it should not be on the resumé of a mainstream sport. I tried for ten minutes to come up with how this could be compared to other sports, but couldn't think of a single one, because it's a dumb idea. Other glaring problems with this solution:

i) General poor fight quality.

ii) Inevitably low PPV revenues (look at half the TUF 10 fights, would you pay for that?),

iii) The lack of solid fighters means it's only applicable to one promotion.

2) The other fix is to introduce a 225lb division. A better idea, but still you've got problems. The heavyweight division, particularly in the west, has struggled for a long time. Only now is it starting to come close to something like the LHW division...and people want to break it up? Makes no sense to me. Perhaps further down the line, but for the next few years let's just see what can be done with the fighters out there. Other glaring problems here:

i) A lot of the top, successful heavyweights fit this weight class already. Dos Santos, Velasquez, and Big Nog, aren't having too much trouble putting away other fighters.

ii) The age-old boxing argument. Fragmentation is a slippery-slope, who can't see calls for a 225lb division followed by a 195lb Super Middleweight class etc. What a lot of people don't realise is that, yes UFC belt holders are the standard bearers, but as competition increases this will change. Assuming we have belts at 155, 170, 185, 195, 205, 225 and 265 (let's not even go into 145 and lower), that's seven titles. Now imagine Strikeforce, DREAM or whoever becoming accepted competitors with deep, talented divisions. That's fourteen belts, plus another seven for every other company who makes the grade. Starting to look like the sweet science much?

iii) Less title defences or more shows. This obviously depends on your individual stance, but Fighters Only magazine counted a total of 20 UFC events in a 12-month period, I think one every 18 days. Can you keep up with that financially or mentally?

I can imagine what people might be thinking, "I thought you weren't 'vehemently' against a 225lb class?". I'm not, I just think there's a lot of things that need addressing first before we look at the weight classes. Fighter purses, for one, wouldn't be a bad place to start. How about the quality of refereeing, particularly at UFC level? Just saying, there's lots of places to start.

I'm also not blind to the benefits a 225lb class creates either. The opportunity for big LHW's who can't make middleweight (Rampage, Tito and Forrest I'm looking at you) to fight at a different weight and still be competitive if their options become stale at 205lbs being a good positive.

If this were to go ahead in the immediate future, I wouldn't be out there spamming Open Guard and Internet message boards with negativity, I'd be happy providing it was done properly. I'd like to see it trialled somewhere first, to see how not only the 225lb fights panned out, but how the 265lb fights with the big guys go too. Perhaps the UFC could hold 225lb catch-weight bouts, or introducing the division in the WEC is always an option if they don't want to confuse their main audience. Although that might look pretty crazy having a Cruiserweight bout wedged between fights at 135 and 145.

So that's my opinion on the matter. If I were in charge, I'd have the idea on constant review for a few years to see if the heavies do start to dominate, but not implement it just yet.

As I said before, this is a blog for a fan to talk to fans, so hit me up on the comments section with your opinion. This thing's two-way.

Till then,
ZJ Penn

(Oh, and I'm well aware that the blog is looking pretty drab. I hope to glam it up in the future.)