UFC Heavyweight Chaos

by Robert Sargent

The top of the food chain of UFC heavyweights is very much in disarray, and not just because of Randy Couture's recent resignation from the company.

The problem is that different fighters are being told different things, and three people are competing for spots in one fight.

With Couture out - at least for now, though likely for good - the next major heavyweight battle will be for the Interim Heavyweight Championship.

Tim Sylvia called out Cheick Kongo after his recent victory over Brandon Vera. Cheick Kongo has expressed a desire to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, in what was originally planned to be a #1 contender's fight at UFC 79 but now seems to have been postponed or scrapped. Nogueira has stated that he is under the impression that he is fighting Sylvia, possibly at UFC 81, for the Interim title.

Although Nogueira is the better of the three - at least in current rankings - it is actually Kongo who most deserves the title shot, if anyone. Kongo is 4-1 in the UFC and just finished dominating Cro Cop. Sylvia is 1-1 in his last two fights and just lost the title to Couture at UFC 68. He needs at least one more win before he should be getting another title shot, even if just for the Interim title. Nogueira is a legendary fighter, but he only has one fight in the UFC, which he narrowly won after nearly being knocked out by Heath Herring.


If Couture does concede and comes back to the UFC, Dana White has stated that he will fight Nogueira for the Heavyweight title (no Interim title would be needed) and Sylvia could get his wish and fight Kongo. However, assuming that that does not happen, this is what would make the most sense:

Nogueira should fight Kongo for the Interim title, as was originally scheduled to happen in the #1 contender's fight.

Sylvia should fight someone else in the meantime - possibly Cro Cop, even though he is coming off of two losses, because Sylvia has called out Cro Cop before and there's really no one else to put him against. If Sylvia wins that fight, he fights the winner of Kongo/Nogueira for what would likely be the unified UFC Heavyweight title by then (unless Couture came back).

Sylvia cannot fight Andrei Arlovski because they've already fought three times. Gabriel Gonzaga is already tied up with his rematch against Fabricio Werdum. There are no other UFC heavyweights who are anywhere near title contention.

Nogueira fights Kongo for the Interim title, Sylvia fights someone (maybe Cro Cop, though unlikely) and gets a title shot if he wins.

Any other situation makes little sense. If Sylvia is awarded the title shot against Nogueira, that is incredibly unfair to Kongo.


A definitive fight plan will likely be announced soon, but Sylvia being awarded with a title shot after his lacklustre performance (at least for two rounds) against Vera would be most unfortunate.