Lining up the Challengers
The heavyweight division is entering a strange spot that has become a lot more common in the last year for many divisions.
With Daniel Cormier sitting on top eyeing retirement the usual process of working through the top prospects is out the window.
Cormier is looking to make the most money and make the most impact on his reputation as one of the greatest ever.
There are a number of fights he will be looking for including one against Brock Lesnar or a final rematch against Jon Jones for the heavyweight title.
He is at the level and a point in his career where there is little left to prove and so why would he fight people that aren’t going to bring the eyes to his fight.
He is sitting and waiting to make his next move and with only a few fights left he isn’t even considering some of the smaller names.
For the heavyweight division, this isn’t the best thing as they are going to experience the same issues many other divisions have experienced.
As the heavyweights continue to fight and move through the division to try to get their spot in the rankings and make a run at the title they are reaching a major wall.
Without any real chance of getting a shot, they are basically just fighting to get the chance to fight for the title when Cormier leaves.
It is not exactly what any fighter wants as even winning impressively is far from a guarantee that they will fight for the title.
Instead, these fighters have to keep their momentum going through multiple fights until they finally get that shot at a title.
It is never an easy thing to do in any division but to do that in the heavyweight division is near impossible.
With the fact that anyone can end the fight at any given time in the heavyweight division to be caught in this limbo is not a great place to be for any fighter.
Two of those fighters were set to face off as the UFC headed to Wichita giving two of the top heavyweights in the UFC a chance to prove they belong in the title hunt when it gets going.
Junior Dos Santos and Derrick Lewis are both in a tough spot when they were pitted against each other.
Lewis was just coming off of a title shot against Cormier after putting his name into the conversation with his great fights and better post-fight interviews.
There wasn’t much of a chance for Lewis to get back to that title while Cormier remains champion.
As much as he rose to the title last year he was one of the rising stars in the division but was proven not to be at the same level of Cormier.
After losing a title shot it is always hard to get back to fight for the title but even tougher when the champion is looking to other matchups altogether.
Lewis was always going to have a hard time finding his way back to the title but beating a former champion in Junior Dos Santos would have put him in a good spot.
Meanwhile, Dos Santos was continuing his comeback against the last challenger for the title.
The former champion had taken an extended period of time off and before then was not his usual self.
He struggled with consistency after losing his title while injuries kept him in and out of lineups.
Dos Santos came back midway through 2018 and took a big win in his first fight in more than a year.
He followed that up with a second win against a young and exciting prospect in Tai Tuivasa as the return was underway.
He had a chance to prove that he was truly back by taking on one of the best in the division and showing that he was ready for the title shot.
The fight itself would play out like everyone hopes for when two heavyweights face off as both came out looking to end the fight early.
Dos Santos came forward early looking to put Lewis out but ate some big shots from Lewis that seemed to have the fight end early.
It was surprising that either found their way out of the first round but they went to the second and when the round started they continued their pace.
This time through Dos Santos was able to hurt Lewis and sprung into action looking to finish the fight.
He earned the TKO win over Lewis and announced his arrival back at the top of the division.
He might not see a title shot in the near future but he remains one of the best in the division and is putting himself in line for the title.
The Sport Addiction 