The UFC’s middleweight division has been one of the most scrutinized divisions in the sport of mixed martial arts. After the two drubbings former champion Rich Franklin took at the hands of Brazilian sensation Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Thales Leites, and light heavyweights Forrest Griffin and James Irvin all took their shot at proving Silva wasn’t invincible — but all comers failed. Because of Silva’s dominance, the middleweight division has been relegated to featuring battles between contenders who normally come up short in epic fashion when their shot at the title comes to fruition.
It’s unlikely we’ll see anyone dethrone Anderson Silva soon, but Michael David Smith over at MMAFighting.com points out the mess that the division will become if Maia can pull off the seemingly impossible feat of submitting Silva:
So if Maia beats Silva, does that make him the No. 1 middleweight in the world? Or would Marquardt have a case that he’s No. 1, because he just beat Maia? Or would Chael Sonnen have a case that he’s No. 1, because he just beat Marquardt? Or would it be crazy to call Sonnen No. 1 because Maia needed only 2:37 to submit Sonnen at UFC 95?
And if Maia became the champion, who would get the next title shot? Vitor Belfort, because he was declared the No. 1 contender when he beat Franklin at UFC 103? Sonnen, because he was declared the No. 1 contender when he beat Marquardt? Marquardt, because he already beat Maia? Silva, because an immediate rematch would probably be the biggest middleweight title fight the UFC could make?
Smith goes on to point out that in all the confusion, Strikeforce’s middleweight title bout between Dan Henderson and Jake Shields could become a legitimate contender for ranking the #1 middleweight in the world. While I agree that it definitely creates a mess of confusion as to who is the #1 middleweight in the world, should we really care?
Most importantly, a huge upset like Maia defeating Silva would create some turmoil at the top of the division — something it has needed ever since Silva defeated Henderson at UFC 82. It would likely create a rematch between Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen, and possibly give Nate Marquardt his rematch with Anderson Silva. Belfort would sit in the background healing from his shoulder surgery, and he would return against the champion.
Maybe I’m in a smaller subset of the MMA fanbase, but determining the #1 ranked fighter at a specific weight class seems rather pointless. Normally, we have definitive evidence as to who the #1 ranked fighter in the world is at the time.
Silva’s winning streak as a champion is the most obvious piece of evidence, but it also depends on how someone would consistently rank top fighters. If you’re using the leapfrog method, then Maia would technically be the #1 ranked fighter at middleweight, and Shields vs. Henderson could certainly determine a new #1 ranked fighter down the road.
The problem, however, is that these debates over #1 fighters will never cross over promotional lines unless the fighters have common opponents. Shields hasn’t fought any of the competition currently amassed at the top of the division, and Henderson was defeated by Anderson Silva. Even if Belfort somehow wins the UFC title, Henderson’s win over Belfort was at light heavyweight — and every hardcore fan will dispute the #1 ranking claim because of that fact.
It’s a pointless discussion that would spiral into the inevitable comparisons between Japanese lightweights and UFC lightweights, an argument that probably couldn’t be solved by Albert Einstein himself. If Maia beats Silva, who will the #1 middleweight be in the world? Who cares. It’ll work itself out in the next year. In the meantime, enjoy the mayhem at the top of the UFC’s middleweight division.