UFC on FOX 27 Preview
It can be a rough go in the UFC for a number of fighters as there are only a few that ever reach that stage of being great.
Becoming a champion in the best promotion in the world is no easy feat and staying that way is only tougher.
Even getting into the UFC is not an easy thing to do as only the top fighters that have been able t prove that they belong make their way to the UFC.
When they make it they have to prove that they can handle the competition at this level and it might only take a few losses to get to that point.
When they reach those few losses they are taken out of the promotion altogether and it becomes that much harder to get back.
There is another category of fighter though and one that rarely is talked about as they are not necessarily on the edge but they are also not at the top.
These middle-of-the-road fighters sit in UFC and have fairly good careers and so they are never really those fighters that are talked about.
Every now and then they will pop up in conversation when it comes to potential title fights but rarely do they actually find their way to the title fight.
These are the fighters that are easily good enough to be a fighter in the FUC and compete with the top fighters in the world.
They just never seem to be able to get over that hump and find their way to a title fight unless they fill in for a hurt challenger.
When these fighters get the chance to be that top contender they run into those special fighters who are either on a tear or on their way to greater things.
It stops them in their tracks towards the title and it can hurt their chances of getting that title shot and achieving what they set out to achieve.
That is where these fighters get stuck as they are good enough to be among the best but can’t get to the top of the heap.
They will never go on massive losing streaks and have the ability to win big fights but when it comes to the best they struggle.
That seems to be where Ronaldo Souza and Derek Brunson are at this point in both of their careers.
It didn’t seem like they would ever get stuck when they began their careers in the UFC with both putting on impressive performances.
Souza quickly became one of the most feared fighters in the middleweight division with a BJJ background that is matched by nobody in the division.
Then he ran into Yoel Romero to take his first loss and most recently lost to the interim champion, Robert Whittaker before Whittaker took the belt.
Brunson had his own run through some good fighters winning five straight in the division and earning a step up in competition.
That is where he met Whittaker and Anderson Silva who took away his chance at a title and had him starting over.
After two straight wins his is back on the right track but is looking to get to that point where he can be considered a legitimate contender in the division.
Both Romero and Brunson will have the chance to step out of the roles that they seem stuck in and they both have the ability.
They will headline UFC on FOX 27 with Souza looking to get back on the winning track and Brunson trying to take three in a row.
The winner won’t necessarily get a title shot as the division is one with a lot of confusion at the top.
Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero will fight for the title that was won by Georges St. Pierre and then vacated while Whittaker deals with some health issues.
Whoever wins will likely take on Whittaker if he can return in time while everyone else tries to sort themselves out.
Brunson and Souza are in that group although they could see slightly different paths depending on who wins.
For Souza, it will be a return to competing against top talent trying to prove he belongs in the hunt for a title.
For Brunson, his win streak could lead to some bigger names and a more direct path to the title fight.
Either way, both seem to be lost in the shuffle as those fighters that are good but not good enough and a main event on network TV might be the chance they need to step out of that role in the middleweight division.
The Sport Addiction 