Oh, UFC middleweight division, what hath happened to thee?

It wasn't long ago the UFC's 185-pound collective was rocking full throttle and looked to be making a run as the promotion's most talented division. It was a weight class filled with viable talent and numerous potential stars, yet it also captured the rare situation where the elite fighters were so close in measure the championship belt could potentially stay on the move.

Watching this unfold after the dominant reign of Anderson Silva was a pleasant surprise, as the expected lull that comes with a passing of the torch/end of an era was much shorter than expected.

Champion Chris Weidman dispatched the next two men he faced inside the Octagon, and in that interim, a collection of dangerous and versatile threats emerged. Former Strikeforce champions the likes of Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza and Gegard Mousasi made an immediate impact upon landing in the UFC.

Michael Bisping, Tim Kennedy and Lyoto Machida were resilient veterans still hanging strong. Furthermore, up-and-comers such as Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson were starting to move their way up the ladder.

Throw in aged (but not finished) former kings such as Silva, Vitor Belfort, and Dan Henderson, and it becomes clear just how good this picture looked.

Looked goddamn brilliant if you ask me, but just like anything awesome in this chaotic realm of mixed martial arts...the darkness eventually comes.


December 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Yoel Romero moves in on against Ronaldo Souza during UFC 194 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Bisping dethroned Rockhold in a wild upset which resulted in the entire divisional upper tier getting rattled. Romero defeated Souza but was forced to the sidelines for a six-month suspension that took him out of title contention.

Jacare's one win since falling to the Cuban powerhouse wouldn't be enough to tip the scales, therefore "Hendo"--the man with perhaps the greatest resume in MMA history and a noted Bisping rival--was tapped for one final shot at glory before retiring.

Fast forward to UFC 204 on Oct. 8 where Bisping edges out Henderson in a hard fought five-round war to make his first successful title defense. And just at the point, things seemed as if they would resume back to brilliance.

Nope. The void cometh.

In the nine months since Bisping's glorious night in London, the proverbial wheels have fallen off the middleweight division. Or "clean off" as one charismatic Irishman would say.

Rather than give Romero the shot supposedly earned after stopping Weidman at UFC 205, the UFC elected to jump back into the Georges St-Pierre business, which wouldn't be a bad thing, except it was in a totally different division than the one he once ruled.

When the UFC announced a matchup between Bisping and St-Pierre, they did so with no date, no event, and no contract in place to actually fight--strange happenings all around indeed, but what hasn't been strange about 2017 in MMA?


Mar 3, 2017; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Dana White (middle) stands between Michael Bisping (left) and Georges St-Pierre (right) during a press conference to promote their about prior to weigh ins for UFC 209 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

And while tying up the title didn't serve as a crippling blow to the division, what has unfolded in the past few months certainly has. Both Romero and Souza were bested by Whittaker, a move great for the Australian but bad for the weight class as it took out two potential title contenders in the process.

Former champion Rockhold hasn't competed in more than a year since his loss to Bisping and has gone on record to talk about just how "f*cked"  his division is. Adding to that point one of the few matchups that made sense for him in Mousasi just sailed ship over to Bellator waters for more guaranteed money.

The aforementioned legends have all but faded into obscurity at this point, doing so in a division that now has two champions.

That's right, folks. Two belt-holding champions and no clear contenders.

In the darkest before dawn sense, Kelvin Gastelum returns to action after drubbing Belfort in Brazil to face Weidman in Long Island on July 22. It's a pivotal matchup in the largest sense as both men need victory for different reasons.

The Ultimate Fighter winner needs to re-validate his status after a failed drug test overturned the Belfort win to a no-contest, and another loss on top of the former champion's current three-fight skid could push the Serra-Longo product out of the UFC entirely.

Crazy to think Weidman could go from champion to off the roster in a two-year span, but that just shows how unforgiving this face-punching game can be.

So there you have it. A fine mess in full, with no clear answers in sight. 


Photo Credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Bisping and Whittaker will fight to unify the middleweight titles at some point...maybe. That's if St-Pierre doesn't jump back into that mix.

Romero and Souza both need fights, and a rematch wouldn't be all that appealing. Rockhold remains on the outside looking in and is still waiting for a fight that makes sense.

And to steal a great quote Hunter Homistek stole from a great man, "So it goes."