Heavyweight is far from the best division in the UFC, especially with reigning champion Tom Aspinall sidelined for an undetermined amount of time after having double eye surgery.
While the UFC awaits Aspinall’s return, Ciryl Gane is also playing the waiting game for that rematch after eye pokes ended their first encounter this past October. But beyond those two fighters at the top of the division, nobody at heavyweight is exactly setting the world on fire and the most recent matchups there have been lackluster at best.
But UFC veteran Matt Brown argues that heavyweight has never been that great, and the UFC’s much maligned division is just experiencing a downturn much like boxing has faced in years past.
“Heavyweight division is one of those divisions that’s only going to have three, four, maybe five really good guys,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “It’s just that type of division. It’s like that in boxing. It’s been like that for a long time. Heavyweights aren’t meant to be doing combat sports, they’re not built for it necessarily. If they’re the highest level athletes, if you’re a big guy like that you’re probably doing everything you can to get to the NFL. Much higher paying, better job and probably a lot easier in some ways and just as hard in other ways. I don’t know what the answer is. What do you do to attract big guys?
“At the same time, we’ve seen this with boxing. That’s a sport that’s been around for a very [long time] and it goes through waves like that all the time, too. You had the [Muhammad] Ali era and then it went down a little bit and then you had the [Mike] Tyson era and then it went down. It’s kind of always been like this.”
Brown points at recent activity at heavyweight in boxing where there are a few truly elite fighters, but the division isn’t exactly brimming with young, hungry talent.
The key is developing a couple of big names that draw attention and potentially build into rivalry fights like what happened with Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder when they engaged in a trilogy. Years earlier, Mike Tyson was laying waste to everybody at heavyweight, but he wasn’t exactly facing a long list of legends along the way.
Brown says the UFC heavyweight division could potentially do the same thing, especially if a current champion decides to test himself in a bigger weight class.
“That’s the thing: It only really takes one person to revitalize the division,” Brown said. “No one really cares who they’re beating. They can kind of build-up anyone good enough to come and beat them. With that said, I think you’re forgetting the one ‘X’ factor guy and that’s Alex Pereira. He comes up to heavyweight, I think revitalizes the division a lot.
“Because him coming up for one, he was a 185’er originally, he moves all the way up to heavyweight looking for his third title, he’s not going to be the favorite even against some of these lesser ranked guys, maybe less valuable guys like a Ciryl Gane or [Alexander] Volkov. These are some tough matchups for him, especially like a Curtis Blaydes or who wouldn’t want to see him fight a Derrick Lewis? That would be fun as hell. There’s good fights and good names for him that could pump up.”
With Aspinall out of action for now, Brown believes the UFC could pit Pereira against Gane in an interim title fight and there’s no way that’s not an enticing fight for fans.
“I think so,” Brown said about Periera vs. Gane. “I think that’s totally the move, especially if Alex is actually wanting to go to heavyweight.
“[Alex Pereira is] a huge son of a b*tch. I hung out with him way back in his GLORY days …. and I couldn’t believe how big that guy was. I was like I don’t know how you’re [making weight], and he’s not skinny either. He’s very ripped and lean. But he is a big guy so I see him fitting in at heavyweight.”
If Pereira moves to heavyweight, Brown sees one other big signing that the UFC could make to add some youth and perhaps bring in one of the most talked about prospects in MMA history.
“Gable Steveson coming through is obviously going to be the ‘X’ factor because he’s going to f*ck everybody up, whether you like it or not,” Brown said about the 2020 Olympic gold medalist in wrestling.
Steveson has long talked about joining the UFC roster, and he currently sports a 2-0 record in MMA with his third professional fight coming on Thursday in Mexico. A win there could propel Steveson directly to the UFC roster, and he suddenly becomes a potential star.
Brown says that’s all it really takes to get people excited about heavyweight again because there’s probably never going to be 20 elite fighters in that division. But a few big names, and making the right fights, suddenly transforms heavyweight from a barren wasteland to a division that’s hotter than ever again.
“If you put Pereira and he goes in and wins and he becomes champion, then you have an absolute ginormous heavyweight star, which is really what the heavyweight division needs,” Brown said. “What the UFC needs. Having a great heavyweight champion that’s a star goes further than any other weight division, and Alex could absolutely be that guy.
“It only takes two but you kind of want a third and maybe a fourth in there, too, but that’s all it really takes. I hope Aspinall is able to come back, and I hope this works out the way we’re seeing it work out in our heads. Unfortunately for everyone, Gable f*cks them all up. It’s all like fun because Gable would be in there just f*cking wrecking them all.”
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