Top Heavyweights outside of UFC

Last week, I examined the state of the UFC’s heavyweight division.  Now, lets take a look at the state of the heavyweights in the rest of the world.

Once upon a time, Pride FC was home to the deepest heavyweight division in the sport.  When Zuffa bought out Pride, they failed to pick up many of the pieces, resulting in a very scattered division.  To date, no organization has been able to gather the majority of the heavyweights under one banner. Affliction’s first event featured the top four fighters on this list (three of them former UFC champions), but the subsequent cancellation of their upcoming event put the future of Affliction in question .  And so the heavyweights remain spread out among several organizations, with Dream being the biggest player in the division outside of UFC and Affliction.

[#1] Fedor Emelianenko

MMA Record:  28-1, 1 NC (14-0 Pride FC, 1 NC)

Last bout: Defeated Tim Sylvia by submission (rear naked choke) at Affliction: Banned

Current affiliation: Affliction/M-1 Global

Sambo and Judo master Fedor Emelianenko has been indisputably the top heavyweight in the world for most of this decade, and considered by many to be the best fighter in the world in any weight class.  The last Pride HW champion holds an almost perfect professional record, his only loss a controversial cut stoppage to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka that was later avenged with a brutal beating.  After Pride’s demise, Fedor was not able to come to a deal with the UFC, and fought very infrequently and against questionable competition – until a first round stoppage of former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in his most recent bout.  Rumors of a Emelianenko – Couture dream bout have been circulating for over a year, but with Couture back in the UFC this fight doesn’t look likely to happen any time soon, leaving Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett as the best possible opposition for Emelianenko.

[#5] Andrei Arlovski

MMA Record:  13-5 (10-4 UFC)

Last bout: Defeated Ben Rothwell by KO at Affliction: Banned

Current affiliation: Affliction

Former UFC heavyweight title holder Andrei ‘Pitbull’ Alrovski looked unstoppable during his reign as a champion; however his career took a downturn with two consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia – a TKO followed by a lackluster decision.  The TKO seemingly made Arlvoski into a much more defensive fighter, looking to counter instead of his usual aggressive style, and arguably led to the end of his Octagon tenure: after defeating Jake O’Brien in an untelevised undercard bout, Alrovski parted ways with the UFC.  He looked to be back to his old self with a brutal knockout of Ben Rothwell at Affliction: Banned, and was slated to face Josh Barnett in Afflictions second show, for a shot at Fedor Emelianenko.  The event has been indefinitely postponed, leaving both of these matchups in doubt.

[#6] Josh Barnett

MMA Record: 23-5 (4-1 UFC, 5-4 Pride FC)

Last bout:  Defeated Pedro Rizzo by KO at Affliction: Banned

Current affiliation: Affliction/WVR

Josh Barnett is also a former UFC heavyweight title holder, who never lost his belt in the Octagon but was stripped after defeating Randy Couture for the title back at UFC 36.  Since then, Barnett has achieved a mediocre record in Pride, going 1-1 with Antonio Nogueira and 0-3 against Mirko Filipovic.  Barnett’s debut in Affliction saw him avenge his only UFC loss with a knockout of Pedro Rizzo, and Josh was scheduled to take on fellow former UFC champ Arlovski in the next event.  Barnett is one of the few top Pride heavyweights who has never faced Fedor Emelianenko, which would also be an interesting matchup.  With Affliction on hold, Barnett will likely return to Japan’s World Victory Road, for the time being.

[#8] Tim Sylvia

MMA Record:  24-5 (9-4 UFC)

Last bout: Lost to Fedor Emelianenko by submission (rear naked choke) at Affliction: Banned

Current affiliation: Affliction/Adrenaline MMA

The third and final former UFC champion on this list, Tim Sylvia took full advantage of the shallow heavyweight talent pool in the UFC, receiving a title shot in what was only his second fight in the Octagon and knocking out Ricco Rodriguez to win his first title.  Sylvia has been in nine UFC title bouts, winning five of them, but after starting out his career as a knockout artist Sylvia’s reputation was tarnished due to several tentative performances where he fought to win a decision rather than trying to stop his opponents.  Though holes in his striking & submission game cost Sylvia three of his last four bouts, he remains a formidable threat to any heavyweight.  After leaving UFC then suffering a quick defeat to Fedor Emelianenko in his Affliction debut, it is not clear what will be the next step in the big man’s MMA career.

[#9] Mirko Filipovic

MMA Record:  23-6-2 (1-2 UFC, 18-4-2 Pride FC)

Last bout: Defeated Tatsuya Mizuno by TKO at Dream 1

Current affiliation: Dream 

Former K-1 kickboxing standout Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic was at the peak of his career when he entered the UFC after stopping Josh Barnett & Wanderlei Silva on the same night in Pride’s openweight Gran Prix tournament.  He was favored to become a UFC champion within a year; however Mirko’s rise ground to a halt when he suffered a taste of his own medicine with a brutal head kick KO courtesy of Gabriel Gonzaga.  His stock fell even further with an apathetic performance in a decision loss to Cheik Congo.  Cro Cop was released from the remainder of his UFC contract, and returned to Japan where his MMA career began, fighting in K-1’s Dream promotion.  He is rumored to take on Alistair Overeem in an upcoming bout.

[#11] Alistair Overeem

MMA Record:  28-11 (7-7 Pride FC)

Last bout: Defeated Mark Hunt by submission (keylock) at Dream 5

Current affiliation: Dream

Alistair Overeem achieved only a .500 record in Pride’s middleweight (99 kg, equivalent of lightheavyweight in US) division, and after losing his last three bouts there he made the move to the heavyweight class.  Overeem has enjoyed better luck in his new home, winning three of his last four fights including a TKO over Paul Buentello and a submission victory over Mark Hunt.  A win over Mirko Filipovic in the rumored upcoming bout will push Alistair into the heavyweight Top 10.

[#14] Sergei Kharitonov

MMA Record:  15-3 (8-3 Pride FC)

Last bout: Defeated Alistair Overeem by TKO at K-1 HERO’s

Current affiliation: Dream

Sergei Kharitonov was once considered the bright future of the heavyweight division, often compared to his compatriot Fedor Emelianenko.  After going 13-1 to start his career, with only a decision loss to Antonio Nogueira, Sergei was stopped by Alistair Overeem and Aleksander Emelianenko and then sidelined with recurrent injuries.  Most recently, Kharitonov avenged his loss to Overeem but has not fought in over a year since that bout.  He is rumored to make a return to action in the Dream organization, with a matchup against ‘Mighty Mo’ Siliga.

[#15] Aleksander Emelianenko

MMA Record:  13-3 (5-2 Pride FC)

Last bout: Defeated Silvao Santos by TKO at M-1 Challenge

Current affiliation: M-1 Global

The younger (but bigger) brother of the #1 fighter on our list, Aleksander has not always live up to his family name.  Though he has at times suffered from a lack of cardio and focus, Aleks only lost to some of the best fighters in the world – Filipovic, Barnett, and Werdum – and is still young enough to make a serious impact on the division.  However he was recently disallowed to participate in Affliction: Banned by the California State Athletic Comission for medical reasons.  Though CSAC did not disclose the reason for denying Emelianenko his fighter’s license, the rumor has it that Aleksander may be infected with a hepatitis virus, which may put his MMA career in serious jeopardy.

[#16] Travis Wiuff

MMA Record:  53-11 (0-2 UFC, 0-1 Pride FC)

Last bout: Defeated Kazuyuki Fujita by KO at Sengoku – Third Battle

Current affiliation: WVR

With over sixty professional MMA bouts, Wiuff is undoubtedly the most experienced fighter on this list.  Though Travis was submitted in all of his Pride & UFC bouts, he is undefeated in the last ten fights, including a decision win over Ricco Rodriguez and a knockout of Kazuyuki Fujita in his most recent bout.  Similar to Alistair Overeem, Wiuff  competed at a lighter weight in the past and seems to be better suited for the heavyweight division.

[#17] Ben Rothwell

MMA Record: 29-6

Last bout: Lost to Andrei Arlovski by KO at Affliction: Banned

Current affiliation: Affliction/Adrenaline MMA

The first and only heavyweight champion of the now-defunct IFL, Rothwell won thirteen consecutive bouts since 2005 and was ready to break into the Top 10, but was stopped by Andrei Alrovski in their meeting at Affliction.  Rothwell was scheduled to face Pedro Rizzo in the next Affliction event; it is not clear if this matchup will still happen after the event has been indefinitely postponed.

[#18] Mark Hunt

MMA Record:  5-4 (5-3 Pride FC)

Last bout: Lost to Alistair Overeem by submission (keylock) at Dream 5

Current affiliation: Dream

Samoan kickboxer Mark Hunt is best known for his iron chin and his 2001 K-1 World Gran Prix title.  Many expected his MMA career to skyrocket: after losing his MMA debut by submission, Hunt won his next five bouts, including split decision victories over Mirko Filipovic and Wanderlei Silva.  However he dropped his last three fights to Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, and Alistair Overeem – all first round submission losses.  If Hunt works on his submission defense and is able to make 265 lbs, he may still become a formidable contender.

[#19] Roy Nelson

MMA Record: 13-2

Last bout: Defeated Brad Imes by TKO at IFL – Connecticut

Current affiliation:  Unknown

‘Big Country’ Roy Nelson is riding a five-fight winning streak – including TKO stoppages of UFC veterans Brad Imes and Fabiano Scherner – after losing a controversial split decision to Ben Rothwell for the IFL title.  Nelson has not yet found a new home since the IFL’s demise, claiming that the UFC will not sign him due to his portly physique.

[#20] Pedro Rizzo

MMA Record:  16-8 (9-5 UFC, 0-2 Pride FC)

Last bout: Lost to Josh Barnett by KO at Affliction: Banned

Current affiliation: Affliction

Rizzo is a veteran of the ring and cage, over 12 years into his MMA career.  He fought Randy Couture twice for the UFC heavyweight title, losing a controversial decision the first time and TKO in the second bout.  After a string of lackluster performances Rizzo was not re-signed by the UFC, and surfaced in Pride after a year-and-a-half long layoff.  Rizzo was knocked out in both of his Pride bouts, but came back to defeat UFC veterans Jeff Monson and Justin Eilers in the Art of War promotion.  He most recently lost his Affliction debut by knockout to Josh Barnett and was slated to face Ben Rothwell next.

[#21] Antonio Silva

MMA Record: 11-1

Last bout: Defeated Justin Eilers by TKO at Elite XC – ‘Unfinished Business’

Current affiliation: Elite XC

With only one loss in eleven bouts, Antonio ‘Junior’ Silva was one of the hottest prospects in the division when he defeated Justin Eilers to become the first EliteXC heavyweight champion.  Silva’s career hit a roadblock after his big win – he tested positive for a banned anabolic agent after the Eilers bout, and received a year-long suspension from competition.

[#22] Marcio Cruz

MMA Record:  4-2 (2-2 UFC)

Last bout: Defeated Choi Mu Bae by submission (triangle/armbar) at Sengoku – Third Battle

Current affiliation: Unknown

Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Marcio ‘Pe de Pano’ Cruz made his MMA debut in the UFC, and defeated Frank Mir in only his second professional bout.  After losing a decision to Jeff Monson and a TKO to Andrei Arlovski, Cruz left the UFC and competed very infrequently since then.  He most recently fought in Japan’s World Victory Road promotion.

[#23] Jeff Monson

MMA Record:  24-8 (4-3 UFC, 1-0 Pride FC)

Last bout:  Lost to Josh Barnett by unanimous decision at Sengoku – Second Battle

Current affiliation: Unknown

The accomplished submission grappler Jeff Monson has been competing in MMA for over a decade, and reached the peak of his career when he received a title shot after winning three in a row in UFC.  Monson lost a very uneventful five round decision to the champion Tim Sylvia and was released from the UFC.  He choked out Kazuyuki Fujita in the very last Pride event, and lost a decision to Josh Barnett in his latest outing.