If I were to ask you how long the middleweight division has been around, who it's first champ was, or how many champs there have been, could you fire off one answere? Chances are you hear middleweight and you think Anderson Silva, and thats ok, because thats how the sport is published. Everything is in the now and the only effort they ever do to educate the history of the UFC is reruns of Ultimate Knockouts on Spike. Thats like going to school, taking a history book, and ripping out 8 random pages. Sure, everything you read will be true, but you need a teacher and some order in the learning process. Today I'm going to give a short(and tust me I mean short) list of the current, and previous middleweight champions in the UFC(note there is life outside of the ufc and deserves attention too, but the UFC is the NFL of mma and there is no argument) ranks. I will give you a little depth on their backgrounds, their title defenses, and their shortcomings in losing their belts.
1.Dave Menne (American) 09-2001 through 01-2002
First thoughts? Middleweight division only ten years old? Dude kept his belt for four months? It's okay I'll explain. In the beginning(of UFC) there were two weight classes; heavyweight and lightweight. Anything under 200 pounds was lightweight and anything over was heavyweights, so appreciate the weight divisions and competition we have today. They tried a little more split ups, changing lightweight to middleweight, making the new lightweight 170 pounds and adding bantamweight 155. It was in New Jersey in 2000 that mma first set the weight classes we see today, and in 2001 the UFC hopped on board! My apologies to Dave Menne for derailing his spotlight, because we know those were the best 4 months of his life.
It's hard to dig up dirt on a guy that know one really ever knew. Various internet sources merely list his style as freestyle. From the little tape you can find of him, you get the impression he is a brawler, throwing wild strikes and mixing in kicks, also doing a lot of clinch and Thai clinch knees. This can be deceiving when viewing his record however as the man has 17 submission victories to go with 6 knockout wins and 20 decision victories. Daves career STARTED at 30-7-2 before being thrown into the first middleweight title fight, even though his previous fight had been a TKO loss. He was matched up against Gil Castillo who had racked up a 5-0 mma start. Dave was able to Unanimous decision and sat atop the world, for a moment. Along came Murilo Bustamante at 7-1-1 who coincidentally was coming off a loss, to Chuck Liddel. Murilo stopped Dave in the second round via TKO(punches) and obtained the middleweight belt. Dave went on to hold a mediocre 13-8 record post championship stardom, fighting as recent as April 2010.
First thoughts? Another short stint? How is it possible there have only been five UFC middleweight champs at this rate? Is that this guy one of the founders and current leader of Brazilian Top Team? The answere to the last question is a definite yes. Murilo is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master, and has his blackbelt under legend Carlson Gracie, and he has won multiple world grappling tournaments. Murilo also has a solid boxing background, and has ended 6 of his 14 wins via KO or TKO. After winning the middleweight belt in style, Murilo set up for his first title defence against the undefeated tough wrestler Matt Lindland. Murilo was able to slap on a tight guillotine early in the third frame, and won via submission. What came next may suprise you, as Murilo vacated(was stripped of) his UFC title after signing with Pride in October of 2002. Take into consideration the lack of depth in the UFC at the time, and how BIG pride was back then. Several huge names were currently with pride, including Rampage Jackson and Dan Henderson, whom he lost his next to fights to. Murilo currently holds a 14-8-1 record, fighting as recently as July 2010.
First thoughts? Are you kidding me? Are you serious? What? This grizzly man holds so much more weight then just a four month stint with the middleweight title trust me. The now deceased Evan Tanner has been a story for mma that will stick for years to come. Evan Tanner was 30-4 when he was presented with an opportunity to fight for the vacant UFC middleweight belt, holding significant wins over Robbie Lawler, Heath Herring, and Phil Baroni twice. He was matched up for the title against American and BJJ blackbelt David Terrell. It took Evan 4 minutes and 35 seconds in the first round to dispatch of David Terrel. Evan was soon matched up with the intelligent fighter Rich Franklin who at the time held a 19-1-1 record. Evan fought hard but was stopped midway through the 4th round via TKO. Evan might have had some personal demons after the loss, as he continued on to make a 1-3 record following the loss. In September of 2008 Evan Tanner was found dead in a desert region of California with empty water bottles. About a week prior to his death, Evan left a post up addressing the concerns of his adventure.
"It seems some mma websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc. Come on, guys. It's really common down in Southern California to go out to the off-road recreation areas in the desert about an hour away from LA and San Diego. "So my plan is to go out to the desert, do some camping, ride the motorcycle, and shoot some guns. Sounds like a lot of fun to me. A lot of people do it. This isn't a version of 'Into the Wild.'"
4.Rich Franklin (American) 06-2005 through 10-2006
First thoughts? Does he wear pink shorts in all of his fights? Yes, but don't let it fool you, as Rich is a true warrior spirit like fighter. The teacher from Ohio has done much for the sport inside and outside the cage, as his appearances on such shows as Bill O Riley to defend the sport have been very effective. Rich is a unique south paw with a very balanced game. His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to actor Jim Carey, but it could also be applied to his precision as a striker, as he has ended 15 of his 28 victories via Knockout. After obtaining the belt, Aces first defense came against then 8-1 Nate Quarry. Rich made quick work of Nate, ending the match halfway through the first with a KO victory. Rich was then thrown on the America vs Canada card facing UFC standout David Loiseau. Rich ran out constant pressure en route to a UD victory. Riding high, Rich was given the task of dispatching the newcomer in the UFC, Anderson Silva. This was only Silva's second fight in the UFC and some may argue that he didn't deserve the shot yet, and there is a possibility Rich underestimated him. Rich was made aware of Andersons' ability quickly as he was beaten and battered the first four minutes of the fight before being knocked out from one of the many knees Anderson threw. Rich would go on to rack up two wins after the loss and get a rematch with Silva only to succumb to more vicious knees. Since gate keeper status wasn't Rich's idea of a good time, he has dabbled in light heavyweight recently. Of past UFC middleweight champions he is the only one still relevant and currently fighting, and is scheduled to an upcoming bout with Forrest Griffin.
5.Anderson Silva (Brazilian) 10-2006 through01-2011(current)
First thoughts? Hey! I know that guy! Of course you do, he is ranked the pound for pound best fighter on the planet in most every top ten list there is. He has a strong BJJ background, and a striking game that is not of this world. Rather then break down his wins or career, because believe me it's deep, I will break down his losses on his 27-4 record. Anderson lost his first ever fight via 2(yes 2) round decision to Luiz Azerido. His second loss came many fights later in Japan where he lost via Triangle at 8:33 seconds in the 1st(yes 1st) round to Daiju Takase. Four fights later Anderson lost in the most shocking fasion via flying scissor heel hook(yes flying scissor heel hook) to Ryo Chonan. Please if you have a moment search for the fight, and if you can find it, you will see a one sided fight the whole way until the exciting submission. Andersons' final loss came 3 fights later where he knocked Yushin Okami out(yes he KOed' and lost). Anderson delivered a very effective upkick that put Yushins' lights out, and was immediately disqualified. Anderson later stated that he did not understand that those were the rules going into the fight. Anderson has had a staggering 13 victories since then and has made highlight reel finishes time and time again. His next effort will be against another very dangerous striker in Vitor Belfort.
So there you have it, now you know more then the average meathead, tapout, or TUF fan. The middleweight division has been strong for a short period of time, but for the most part was always weak and shallow. I believe this to be the cause of the short list of champions. Want to compare it to the changing of hands of other belts? The heavyweights has changed hands 15 times. The light heavyweight belt has changed hands 11 times. The welterweight belt has changed hands 8 times, while the lightweight belt has changed hands only 4 times. The new entries into the UFC feather and bantamweight will have room to grow. Now with all that taking into perspective, how much more is it impressive that the likes of Randy Couture and BJ Penn have held belts in TWO seperate divisions? I hope everyone learned something, and here is a little reward for learning my friends................................................................................................................
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