One of the problems of the system used by the UFC to determine title shots is that it is often based upon the immediate scheduling or financial needs of the organization rather than athletic merit. That is a constant cause of criticism for the company, even after it established a ranking system in an attempt to bring some logic and transparency to the process.
Even when the promotion does its best to create real paths to its titles, something inevitably goes wrong. Which is what has happened to the UFC heavyweight division over the last couple of weeks.
First, Alistair Overeem wins...and heads right into free agency. Then, Andrei Arlovski takes his feel-good six-fight win streak into UFC 195 and promptly gets knocked out in 54 seconds. And just like that, the UFC's two most likely and most marketable challengers have basically gone poof.
In their place rises...Stipe Miocic?
The little-known but surging Clevelander may be the next man up for the winner of Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez after those two rematch on Feb. 6.
That scheduled rematch was already an example of the top of the division spinning its wheels. Since the start of 2011, Velasquez, who is largely considered the best heavyweight of the era, has fought only Junior dos Santos (three times), Antonio Silva (twice) and Werdum (twice, once UFC 196 rolls around).
There is way too much static and not nearly enough movement.
Miocic at least offers a fresh face in the picture, if not a recognizable one. But then again, that's only if the promotion keeps what seems to have been a promise to him.
In the UFC 195 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White first joked about Miocic's title shot demand, saying "Who the hell was going to say no to him? He was like a psycho," before seeming to acquiesce. He went as far as to shake Miocic's hand in front of the media while adding, "We are on the same page. We are on the same page, Stipe."
Of course, White has previously publicly promised title shots and reneged on them for various reasons, as Miesha Tate can attest.
Heavyweights occupy their own space in the MMA universe because of their scarcity. Values, particularly for known quantities, are magnified. Opportunities are quicker to come.
That makes Overeem's free agency and Miocic's title bid intriguing parallel storylines. Overeem is clearly a more attractive title challenger than Miocic in name value. Even if he doesn't bring the same superhero body to the show that he used to during the days when he was fighting, say, Brock Lesnar, his history is more widely known, and his reputation as an action fighter precedes him.
Arlovski would have been an easy sell, a UFC reclamation project in the same vein of Robbie Lawler, who found a second life after being pulled out of Strikeforce and became a UFC champion in his 30s. A similar narrative would have worked for Arlovski, who actually had an added wrinkle in his bio as a former UFC champion who was chasing a second reign a decade later.
Miocic? He's a much tougher sell, although an interesting story as a trained firefighter and EMT who has continued to work in those roles for two Ohio towns while slowly building himself into a top-level heavyweight. In some ways, this twist is marketable and relatable to anyone who's ever worked a blue-collar job.
However, marketing a potential world champion as someone who needs a job on the side does not fit the image of UFC as a major sport with well-paid professional athletes, and so the organization would likely choose against promoting that angle heavily.
If it doesn't, that just leaves Miocic as a guy on a two-fight win streak, which doesn't sound quite so compelling.
They could also choose to market him as the man who could end Cleveland's long title drought. LeBron or Stipe: Which one will bring gold first? It's not exactly riveting stuff, but it's some kind of hook.
That's the dilemma UFC is facing.
A look at the UFC heavyweight rankings makes it clear that Miocic and Overeem are the only two cards the promotion can play. This will work into its negotiations with Overeem and cast a shadow over its event calendar. Miocic will push for his spot but won't have much of a groundswell of support. Overeem will remind the UFC of what it has already invested in him and attempt to call its bluff on who the organization wants stepping into the void the next time the champion proclaims himself ready to go.
Miocic's recent resume is only marginally better than Overeem's, and his popularity is nowhere close. That latter factor shouldn't matter, but the UFC's past decisions make it clear that it does.
Miocic's immediate lobbying was a great idea. He should continue that vocal push and not stop until he's signing his name to a title bout agreement, because if past history informs us of future decisions, we know that Miocic may have been promised a title shot but shouldn't bank on it.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
No comments:
Post a Comment