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BJ Penn, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva. What do they all have
in common? They are all dominant champions and fans are calling for them
to move up a weight class. All three fighters have made mention of doing
just that and one of them is even taking action.
Anderson Silva is
taking the step-up to light heavyweight to fight James Irvin on July
19. I understand the need for this fight as the UFC is
trying to pit something interesting against the Fedor vs. Sylvia fight
the same night. What I don’t understand is why they need to move
weight classes.
The record for most
consecutive title defenses is 5 held by both Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz.
The champion closest to that record is Anderson
Silva at 3 consecutive defenses (would have been 4 if Travis Lutter had
made weight…). All three of these champions have the talent to
not only beat that record, but to shatter it!
 Fans are calling
for GSP to move to 185.Why? Has he been dominant at welterweight? Yes.
Is welterweight a deep division? Yes, probably the
deepest. Has St-Pierre ever successfully defended his title? No. Right
there is the reason that GSP should not move weight classes. St-Pierre
destroyed “the most dominant welterweight in UFC history” twice.
Does that earn him that title? Not in my opinion. Georges St-Pierre
should stay at welterweight and continue his dominance. Earn 6 consecutive
title defenses and he will earn the other title that Matt Hughes still
holds.
BJ Penn seems to
have found himself again. His wins over Pulver, Stevenson, and Sherk
put him at the top of the lightweight ladder. Penn looked
great in all three fights, but do you remember how he looked at welterweight?
Not so hot. With the lightweight division ever expanding, and the champion
only having 1 title defense, I just don’t think it is time for
BJ to move up. Will he clean out the division? I believe so, but I
want to see him do it before he moves up
The UFC middleweight
champion sits upon a throne with very little challengers. Anderson
Silva has torn through Rich Franklin twice, pounded Nate Marquardt,
and choked out Dan Henderson. If any of these champions should make
the move, Silva would be my pick. The division needs to sort out who
is the number one contender. Also, Dana White claims that Silva is
the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, what better way to prove
it. With 3 consecutive title defenses, Anderson Silva needs to return
to 185 and take the record for consecutive title defenses.
Even though I have
focused on the UFC champions here, I feel one more champion need be
mentioned. Urijah Faber, the WEC featherweight champion.
With his recent win over Jens Pulver, Faber has tied Hughes and Ortiz
record of 5 consecutive defenses. A move to 155 for Faber could mean
seeing him fight in the UFC. As a fan that prospect seems great to
me, but for business sense probably not. Urijah Faber is the poster
boy for the WEC. Mention WEC to someone, and Faber is the first name
to come to mind. A move to the UFC lightweight division would leave
WEC without there most dominant and high profile fighter. Faber could
move to the WEC 155 lbs. division, but the exciting fights for him
are in the UFC like a rematch against Tyson Griffin, his only loss.
Faber would be small for 155. Maybe a drop to 135 to fight Miguel Torres
in WEC could be on the cards.
So, am I the only
one that doesn’t want to see all these champions
move weight classes yet? While they may provide some great fights, I
want to see dominance from each of these fighters. There are records
that are unbroken that each one of these fighters can hold. Why not break
the record then make the move? |
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