A Class of Their Own: The UFC Middleweight Division of 2014

“The Armenian Assassin” is ready for war.

As Gegard Mousasi makes his way to the Octagon, he wears a mask of stone. There’s no emotion, only a motionless gaze. When he reaches his destination, the 28-year-old looks across the cage at his opponent.

He finds Mark Munoz, a former NCAA Division I wrestler who is just as focused as he is, perhaps more so. The extra motivation stems from his previous Octagon outing which ended with him on the receiving end of a head kick from Lyoto Machida, and a first round knockout.

When referee Marc Goddard calls for the fight to begin, Munoz wastes no time shooting for a double-leg takedown to pick Mousasi up and slam him to the canvas.

Breathing deeply after landing on his side, Mousasi gets back to his feet and stifles his opponent’s continued takedown attempts until he finds an opening. After making his opponent pay for a failed takedown attempt with a rain of strikes from the top, Mousasi outwrestles Munoz and puts his grappling skills into practice, ultimately catching his opponent with a tight rear-naked choke to force a tapout.

Mousasi never abandons his refined poise. Even in victory, he’s humble, yet direct.

“Well, I think I’m gonna get a winner — Luke Rockhold or [Tim] Kennedy to get a little closer to a title shot,” says Mousasi before cracking his first full on-camera smile of the night. “I’m not challenging anyone, but of course, I’m gonna get a winner. Whoever will get me closer to a title shot, I’m ready.”

Tonight, Gegard Mousasi joins the upper echelon of a division that’s been rebuilding since its great king was overthrown.

***

When the San Jose-based MMA promotion Strikeforce was purchased by the UFC’s parent company Zuffa in March 2011, the organization was quickly abolished. Following the end of Strikeforce, the UFC either dissolved or absorbed the contracts of all the defunct promotion’s fighters and the result was an influx of new talent unseen since the end of Pride Fighting Championships and World Extreme Cagefighting.

From the 185-pound ranks came the last Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, along with top contenders Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Tim Kennedy. Robbie Lawler also arrived from Strikeforce’s middleweight division but moved down to his natural weight class at 170 pounds after finding mixed success at 185 pounds.

While Rockhold fell victim to a spinning heel kick to the head courtesy of Vitor Belfort in his debut, Jacare and Kennedy both had great performances in their first UFC appearances. However, it was on the night of Kennedy’s debut at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for UFC 162 that something spectacular and completely unfathomable happened.

After taunting and toying with Chris Weidman for just over six minutes, Anderson Silva caught a left hook to his chin from the Long Island native and fell flat on his back as his eyes rolled back. Weidman became the new UFC middleweight champion and took the title no other man could take from Silva in seven years atop the division. It was a moment that brought the illusion of invincibility to quick and sudden halt.

With the vanquishing of Silva’s middleweight kingdom, his friend and teammate Lyoto Machida finally made the move down to middleweight after years of competing against larger light heavyweights.

Suddenly, mercenaries from all corners of the middleweight division were making their claims to the throne, hoping for the opportunity to question the legitimacy of the new champion. Rockhold would finally find his footing with dominant performances against Costas Philippou and Tim Boetsch while Jacare and Kennedy would continue to climb up the ranks with veterans like Belfort and Machida also getting the better of their opponents.

While part of the magic of the Anderson Silva era was the champion’s ability to make great fighters look average, he never had to deal with a murderer’s row of talent waiting for their chance. For every Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort that he faced, there was a Travis Lutter, Patrick Cote, and Thales Leites, who more than likely shouldn’t have been paired in the Octagon with the Brazilian.

What Silva did was incredible and he’ll remain one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in MMA history, but the middleweight division of 2014 has never boasted this many legitimate contenders who could potentially rise as champions. The list of names continues to grow with every event: Machida, Belfort, Rockhold, Jacare, Kennedy, Mousasi and even dark horses like Yoel Romero, and C.B. Dollaway. Not to mention the likes of Michael Bisping, Cung Le, Chael Sonnen, and the returning Dan Henderson.

Even Silva himself will soon be a contender.

The UFC middleweight division has never looked more promising, and Chris Weidman is going to have to do a lot more than put on humdrum performances to keep that belt around his waist for more than a year.

The middleweight division used to belong to Silva, and Silva alone, and while many fans loved the way he dominated — others yearned for something new. That time is now. As the division continues to gather strength through its deep talent pool, the UFC’s 185-pound ranks have become a destination for potential champions with the ability to shock and awe like Weidman did against Silva.

Welcome to the golden era of the UFC’s middleweight division.