Randy Couture’s departure from the UFC last year over a dispute regarding pay and respect was an eye-opener for the UFC and the sport of mixed-martial arts (MMA). It signaled that it was no longer the unregulated bloodsport it used to be but instead had grown up into a respected part of the fighting sport in this country and worldwide.
Couture’s retirement also brought up an important issue: what was the state of the heavyweight division in the UFC? Fedor decided not to come to UFC and Dana White appears reluctant to promote and support cross-promotional fights. Despite his success, Tim “The Maniac” Sylvia has never gotten much respect. Let’s face it, he’s awkward looking and his skills always seemed suspect. But he’s also very tall and has underestimated grounds skills and takedown defense. Dana White has tried to bring in new heavyweights from the now-defunct PRIDE including Antonio Noguiera and Mirko Cro Cop but both fighters appear past their prime and look out of sorts in the cage. It’s no surprise that many consider the heavyweight division the weakest in UFC and generally in MMA.
Enter this weekend’s card, UFC 81: Breaking Point. The main bouts feature two heavyweight fights: Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Noguiera for the interim heavyweight championship and veteran Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar. Although the former fight is the main event of the evening, many fight fans are looking forward to the Mir/Lesnar bout. Mir is an accomplished fighter in the UFC and a former heavyweight champ. Lesnar, as many of you know, comes to the MMA world from professional wrestling, i.e. WWE. Yes, that’s right, the Vince McMahon WWE. Hey Brock, they really, really hit you in MMA (as much as I enjoy wrestling and grew up watching it).
But we know Lesnar has been training in MMA for a while and he was a college wrestling standout. Will that translate against a proven fighter like Mir? We’ll find out. If the fight goes to the ground, you have to favor Mir.
As for Sylvia and Noguiera, it’s a difficult fight to handicap. Sylvia has the reach and height advantage and he’s a pretty smart guy in the cage. Noguiera will have his hands full trying to get inside and strike Sylvia and taking him down. Sylvia has shown in the past he can defend against the takedown well. As much as I hate to admit it, I see Sylvia pulling out this victory. But we’ll have to wait until Saturday night in Las Vegas to find out for sure.
