It appears the heavy weight division has lost its luster over recent years with the company struggling to push new stars.
The recent outing of the current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has done absolutely nothing to help quell the situation. Those in attendance were likely surprised to see how much the heavily favored Aspinall struggled to find his pace and distance with Ciryl Gane up until the point the fight was called off due to an illegal eye poke on the part of Gane.
Prior to the eye poke Ciryl was doing an amazing job staying out of the way of Tom’s right hand while busting up the nose of the heavyweight champion with a perfectly timed right of his own leaving Tom looking battered early into the fight.
Fan favorite Chris “The Beastboy” Barnett was also met with some heavy criticism during his last outing against Hamdy Abdelwahab. Many fans and commentators cited his lack of wrestling skills and overall output during the fight as a major concern.
Barnett would go on to lose the fight marking his second loss in a row since his bout last year at UFC 308.
Ultimately the UFC decided to release both Barnett and Hamdy following the 321 card with company president Dana White openly stating his displeasure regarding both men’s performance.
However, fans and analytics alike have been taken notice of up and coming star Gable Steveson. Steveson, a former Olympic wrestling gold medalist turned MMA fighter, is currently on a two fight win streak in MMA with both wins coming by first round knockout.
Gable’s most recent showing at Anthony Pettis’ fighting championship saw him score a jaw dropping knocking out against his opponent Kevin Hein.
The natural speed, power, and talent that Gable possesses isn’t the only thing that has the heavyweight division on notice as the former Olympian has also impressed the likes of Jon Jones and Gordon Ryan, two men who many regard as the best in their respective sports. Both Steveson and his respective coaches have gone on record to state their desire to see him fight in the UFC.
