On UFC 201 and the death of the dominant champion

by guest columnist Ralph Welch

The king is dead. Long live the king.

At least until the next one shows up.

The red ink had barely dried on the final chapter of Robbie Lawler’s blood-stained reign as UFC welterweight champion, before the MMA world started an inquest into the death of the sport’s dominant champions.

It has been a turbulent year for those wearing UFC gold. No less than seven kingpins have been unceremoniously dethroned. Though fans typically bemoan the phrase, right now it’s easy to make a case that, Demetrious Johnson aside, every champion is an interim one.

Johnson, of course, is the man the smart marks love to hate. The man whose brilliance – eight successful title defenses and counting – works against him. He’s too good. Too dominant. His fights are foregone conclusions. Though the data tells us that in this sport there really is no such thing.

Ask Ronda Rousey. She was, we believed, the most dominant fighter of her generation. A league apart from her peers. There wasn’t a female fighter out there good enough to separate Rousey from the gold. Only the riches of the silver screen would be enough to lure her away.

Then Holly Holm came along and changed everything.

Ask Luke Rockhold. The man who beat the man who beat the man. Everyone’s favorite surf dude squeezed the will out of Chris Weidman, the same man who had defeated the great Anderson Silva, and heralded, or so we thought, a new era at middleweight.
Then Michael Bisping, the sport’s most perseverant pugilist, hit him with a left hand that sent him tumbling from that new era straight back into the old one.

Dos Anjos, Werdum, Holm, Tate – the list of the fallen goes on. Their victories fleeting and too soon forgotten.

For some of us, it is this perennial unpredictability that makes mixed martial arts such compulsive viewing. It is the reason that broadcasters, who refused to answer the phone during the early Noughties, now ring telling stories of big TV audiences and big-money deals.

Or is it?

As the Twitter inquest ran rife, question marks were raised over the UFC’s model and why long-term champions are an endangered species.

The sharp mind of Joe Silva, whose contribution to this sport cannot be over-stated, builds a roster of hungry contenders ready to step up and take the champ down. And in a sport where success hinges on the swing of a 4oz glove, it is has created a culture of near-constant chaos.

Should the UFC, some wondered, follow boxing’s model and try to build bigger, more enduring stars?

To compare boxing and MMA in this regard is foolish at best. The sweet science has been based almost exclusively on propping up champions to maximize their value.

The formula of boxing’s title reigns dates back to Ali in the Sixties. The Greatest would play with underwhelming foes for a few rounds before putting them out of their misery. Ali had the best working punch in the business. A left jab that acted as a deterrent rather than a weapon of destruction, at least until he decided it was time to go home.

In recent years, the likes of Ricky Hatton, Wladimir Klitschko and Floyd Mayweather have all taken their share of keep-busy fights to keep their bank balance ticking over nicely. Propped up by the sport’s most savvy promoters and TV networks, they follow that same formula that Ali perfected: decent fight, easy fight, mismatch, dream fight. The aim of the game is a slow build that allows everyone to line their pockets, including the no-hopers masquerading as contenders, before cashing in on a monster payday further down the line.

How the newest UFC champion would love some of the same protection.

As Tyron Woodley took his seat at the press conference alongside his new belt, he was asked about his next move. His next move. The man who sat on the sidelines for eighteen months waiting patiently for a title shot that seemed at times to hang by the merest of threads, was allowed barely a passing moment to bask in his newfound glory.
When he did, he was expected to mention Steven Wonderboy Thompson, the next of Silva’s hungry contenders with his sights on the throne.

Instead, Woodley’s answer was to ask for Nick Diaz, whose championship credentials are slim, but whose box office appeal is undeniable. Diaz equals dollars. And he’s very beatable. It’s a decent fight, not a dream fight. Neither an easy one, nor a mismatch. It’s winnable and one that will likely make Woodley very wealthy.

Smart move, champ.

Whether he’ll get what he wants lies in the hands of his paymasters. In the meantime, perhaps we should spend less time worrying about who will be the stars of tomorrow and focus on today. Tyron Woodley achieved a lifetime goal last night. Maybe we should allow him a few precious moments to cherish his anointment as welterweight king.

After all, the chances are that he won’t be around for long.

Ralph Welch is a freelance MMA writer who has contributed to The UG, The Mirror, BT Sport and SevereMMA.com.