The shithole that is the UFC heavyweight division.

[Uncle Chester]

Ironically the worst division in the UFC is also their greatest asset draw-power wise. The division is in absolute tatters with the champion being injured, a challenger who doesn't want to wait, injuries compounding, a main player who seems disinterested with fighting and an important fighter in Roy Nelson unavailable, an impressive talent pool is what's missing and a a big match up is hard to come by.

Recently the UFC have tried to propel Stefan Struve into top tier but nobody's convinced he could hang there.

So what would you do to rectify the issues?

Would you bring in a heavyweight?

Wait until people heal up?

Maybe give the past- their prime veterans a good go?

 

[SalvIsWin]

They need to go after some big name heavyweights. Obviously the UFC tried to court Fedor, which didn't work out, but there are some skilled heavyweights that could come to the UFC if the effort was put forth. Firstly, Werdum should never have been cut, and Arlovski should have never had left either. Overeem is a heavyweight that could definitely land within the UFC, as could Antonio Silva. That's a start at least.

 

[Via Armbar]

They need to go after some big name heavyweights. Obviously the UFC tried to court Fedor, which didn't work out, but there are some skilled heavyweights that could come to the UFC if the effort was put forth. Firstly, Werdum should never have been cut, and Arlovski should have never had left either. Overeem is a heavyweight that could definitely land within the UFC, as could Antonio Silva. That's a start at least.

Werdum wasn't cut, he didn't want to take lesser pay after he was beaten but a debuting Junior Dos Santos. His fault he isn't fighting in the big leagues, not the UFC's. And something tells me he's happier being a big fish in a small pond in Strikeforce. Guys like Cain, Dos Santos and Carwin would probably knock him out where as the only guys in SF that could do that would be Fedor or Overeem.

I won't even start on Fedor coming to the UFC because honestly everyone has lost hope. Overeem though, I honestly see him being in the UFC sometime in 2012. Dana has openly said that he likes Ubereem but doesn't think he has been tested at HW yet but top guys, which I agree with. If he can be impressive in the upcoming tourney, he will definitely catch more attention then he's already been getting lately.

Silva wouldn't be a huge gain, but with the state of the HW division in the UFC he would still be a good addition. He's got decent standup, a hell of a chin and a decent ground game. He would be beaten by the top five but could give guys like Mir, Struve and Nelson a good brawl.

There's also some guys like Konrad and Cormier that are being groomed right now. Definitely not going to step up to UFC level competition but their certainly guys to watch. The problem isn't that the UFC doesn't have depth at HW at all, it's more than they are getting unlucky with the fighters they do have. Carwin, Nog and Cain are out on injury, Nelson has his contract and Brock is being a stubborn bitch apparently. Give it some time to iron out and it will become exciting again.

 

[jmt225]

Werdum wasn't cut, he didn't want to take lesser pay after he was beaten but a debuting Junior Dos Santos. His fault he isn't fighting in the big leagues, not the UFC's. And something tells me he's happier being a big fish in a small pond in Strikeforce. Guys like Cain, Dos Santos and Carwin would probably knock him out where as the only guys in SF that could do that would be Fedor or Overeem.

I completely disagree with you here, man.

I think the UFC is the small pond when it comes to the Heavyweight Division right now. You look at that SF Heavyweight Tournament, and I would take the best out of there and match them up against the best UFC has to offer any day of the week. And yes... that includes Werdum. Werdum lost to JDS for two reasons: A) He was completely out of shape (he tried to put on weight the wrong way), and B) he had NO CLUE who he was fighting. If Werdum fought JDS today, we would see a completely different fight, I'm sure of it.

Anyways, to answer the question from the OP... UFC has no other choice but to wait. I know Strikeforce acts extremely minor league sometimes, but they do wrap their guys up in contracts. They're not that stupid.

And outside of Strikeforce, what recognizable Heavyweights could the UFC bring in? Tim Sylvia? Fucking joke. Jeff Monson? He's worthy of being in the UFC, but he wouldn't draw a dime. Kimbo? Of course not.

There isn't anyone available not signed to Strikeforce who the UFC could bring in and make an impact in the Heavyweight Division. They simply have to wait until guys like Cain, Lesnar, Big Nog, and others are ready to fight again. They have no other choice...

 

[Via Armbar]

I completely disagree with you here, man.

I think the UFC is the small pond when it comes to the Heavyweight Division right now. You look at that SF Heavyweight Tournament, and I would take the best out of there and match them up against the best UFC has to offer any day of the week. And yes... that includes Werdum. Werdum lost to JDS for two reasons: A) He was completely out of shape (he tried to put on weight the wrong way), and B) he had NO CLUE who he was fighting. If Werdum fought JDS today, we would see a completely different fight, I'm sure of it.

I both agree and disagree here. I think people are starting to overhype the HW division in SF a bit at the moment because of the bad luck the UFC is having. Let's break it down by top five in each company in no particular order(obviously subject to my own opinion here but I'll try to be as unbiased as possible):

UFC
Lesnar
Velasquez
Carwin
Dos Santos
Mir

Strikeforce
Fedor
Overeem
Werdum
Silva
Barnett

Just looking at it like that seems pretty even to me. The foursome of Lesnar, Cain, Fedor and Overeem presents an mma fans wet dream of matches. All would be incredibly tough to call and personally I wouldn't feel safe putting money on any fight between any of those men. When you look at the rest it seems like the UFC has the more favorable matchups. Dos Santos and Carwin would be huge problems for Werdum, Silva or Barnett standing. With the exception of Barnett, none have the take downs to put their opponents in danger either. Mir would be the weakest link in the UFC's top five but I still would pick him over Silva. Here's how the picks would look, with possible wins (I'm only going by who would likely be favored/even/underdog in each fight, obviously in mma anything can happen):

Lesnar: Fedor, Overeem, Silva, Werdum, Barnett
Cain: Fedor, Overrem, Silva, Werdum, Barnett
Fedor: Cain, Lesnar, Mir, Dos Santos, Carwin
Overeem: Cain, Lesnar, Dos Santos, Carwin, Mir
Dos Santos: Silva, Werdum, Barnett
Silva: Mir
Carwin: Silva, Werdum, Barnett
Werdum: Mir
Mir: Silva
Barnett: Mir

Aagain, those aren't personal opinions but who would be favored in each bout. That's UFC's 17 wins against Strikeforce's 13 wins. All circumstantial of course. I personally feel like Barnett could give Lesnar and JDS trouble but definitely wouldn't be favored in either fight. When I said that Wedrum was a big fish in a small pond, I meant that he would do better against SF's fighters then he would against the top in the UFC. The only two guys I see giving him trouble in SF is Fedor and Overeem, whereas in the UFC he could lose to the top four fighters. As far as a rematch with Dos Santos goes, I would have NO second thoughts about picking JDS in that one. JDS has shown good enough take down defense (and Werdum's take downs are not special) and is leap years ahead of Werdum in striking. It would end the same way, no matter how good of shape Fabricio comes in.

Both divisions are very close, I just don't understand this belief that Strikeforce's is far ahead of the UFC's.