http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/12/22/bobby-lashley-the-best-heavyweights-are-in-strikeforce/
This comes from our good friend Ariel Helwani over at MMA Fanhouse, which is now MMA Fighting
Not sure how I personally feel about this statement. Obviously Strikeforce has some decent, and seasoned heavyweights. Their obvious name is in Fedor, and yes they have former UFC champion Andre Arlovski. However, it is difficult to believe such a statement as true when the UFC’s heavyweight roster is the strongest it has ever been. Yes, Strikeforce has some decent up and coming heavyweights in both Lashley, King Mo, and even Brett Rogers, however most recently the MMA community was discussing the lack of depth in the organization for Fedor to fight.
Realistically, not only is the UFC more of a deep heavyweight roster, but some may consider the fact that the UFC has not only more relevant top 10 fighters, but that those fighters are also more closely representative of the MMA up and comers. Fighters such as Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Cheick Kongo, Junior Dos Santos, and Brock Lesnar all come to mind.
So often in the MMA community we like to associate the value of an individual fighter with either A.) how many years they have been fighting, B.) who they have fought, and C.) They’re overall history as a fighter. While all are important points to look at, in my opinion, fighter relevance is one of the most overlooked point in MMA.
Yes, Brock Lesnar has only fought enough fights to count on one hand, Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez haven’t fought the biggest names, and yes, Fedor has been alot of the former big names in the heavyweight MMA ranks. However, the issue is looking at what those individuals are accomplishing now. The heavyweights in the UFC are indeed up and comers, however they have their rightful place in various top 10 rankings due to not only their performance as fighters, but also because of their competition in their respective organizations. The best way I can equate it, is to compare it to college football. Think of each weight class as a conference in MMA. If a heavyweight fighter is getting big wins in the UFC, which one might say has a tougher roster to work through, that individual will be ranked higher than someone in an organization that is not as deep in fighter talent. Does this disregard the fighter in the opposing organization? Not at all, in fact, they may be very relevant, however, the opposite, and stronger class in the other organization does hold more weight in the rankings. No pun intended.
