Future of the Middleweight Division

The Middleweight division is home of one of the best fighters in the world, UFC Champ, Anderson Silva. Along with Silva, the UFC is home to contenders Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami, Chris Leben, Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva and others. Strikeforce recently crowned a new champ in Jacare Souza after former champ, Jake Shields, left for the UFC welterweight division. Along with Jacare, Strikeforce has contenders in Tim Kennedy, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller, and Renato Babalu Sobral. The Middleweight division is a strange division, specifically in the UFC due to the fact that Anderson Silva has been so dominant as a champion that most contenders (aside from Sonnen) never really gave Silva a competitive fight despite their talents. Sonnen recently showed that Silva isn't quite as invincible as once thought, and that Silva's days as champ could be numbered. Jake Shields was looking to start a similar trend in Strikeforce before jumping ship, but with Shields now gone, and talk of a Middleweight tournament floating around, things at Strikeforce could get very interesting. While there are several contenders already established in both organizations, there are fewer up and comers than I have discussed with the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. That being said, there are three guys who are currently making noise at 185 and could very well add themselves to the contenders list.

Luke Rockhold: At 7-1 Rockhold is still in the early stages of his career. Despite that all 7 of his wins have come by stoppage in the first round, and six of those wins have been by submission. In his past three fights Rockhold submitted Cory Devela in 30 seconds, submitted TUF alum Jesse Taylor, and finished fellow up and comer Paul Bradley with brutal knees to the body. If I'm correct, Rockhold is supposed to be facing veteran Matt Lindland some time in the near future. Lindland is always a tough fight thanks to his wrestling credentials, but Rockhold can certainly handle himself on the mat. Rockhold has been featured only on the Strikeforce Challengers cards, so this is a good fight for him to show that he belongs on the big cards and deserves to fight stiffer competition.

Aaron Simpson: I first saw Aaron Simpson fight on the WEC 36 card against David Avellan in a fight he won by brutal knockout in the first 18 seconds of the fight. After the win, Simpson joined the rest of the WEC Middleweight in the UFC when the divisions were merged. Simpson made his UFC debut against fellow WEC veteran Tim McKenzie in a fight won in the first round via TKO. Simpson then went on to absolutely demolish Ed Herman, and won once again in a come-from-behind performance against Tom Lawlor. The fight with Lawlor was one I got to see in person and rightfully won fight of the night. Simpson lost to Chris Leben in his most recent fight, but Simpson looked good for most of the fight before succumbing to Leben's punches in the 2nd round. Leben would go on to submit Yoshihiro Akiyama just 2 weeks later, showing that Leben was definitely on a comeback surge. Simpson trains with Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway and has a strong wrestling background to go with his KO power. What I really like about Simpson is that he blends his striking and wrestling in every single one of his fights. He doesn't go into the cage with one mindset, but rather keeps his opponents guessing as to where he's going to want to take the fight.

Gerald Harris: I don't think I am alone in saying this, but I think Gerald Harris has one of the brightest futures of any fighter currently with the UFC. Harris started off with the UFC as a contestant on the Ultimate Fighter, but was eventually eliminated by the season's winner Amir Sadollah. Harris then went back to the independent scene earned his way back into the UFC with a knockout victory over WEC veteran Nissen Osterneck. Harris made his UFC debut against fellow prospect John Salter in a fight that Harris dominated with his striking, wrestling, and ground and pound. Harris won KO of the Night with the performance. I was at the fight and even had a chance to speak to Harris. He was nice enough to talk to my friends and I for several minutes and got excited when we alerted him to the fact that he was the lone KO of the night and would likely get a bonus check out of it. It was just very cool to see him get excited about the win and the bonus. Harris's second fight in the UFC was against BJJ black belt Mario Miranda. Despite being dropped early in the fight Harris surged back and finished Miranda with punches with just seconds left in the first round. Harris's most recent fight was against another BJJ stand out in David Branch, and once again Harris passed the test with flying colors. In the third round Branch attempted to pulled guard but was quickly and brutally slammed to the mat which resulted in one of the coolest knockouts I've ever seen. Despite ESPN's limited coverage of MMA, the KO was featured on Sportscenter's Top 10 and even earned praise from LeBron James. Harris's power, tight boxing, excellent top control, and brutal slams make him the hottest prospect in the Middleweight division, and likely the UFC.