Shadows in the Heavyweight Division

With the first bout of the UFC Heavyweight Championship mini-tournament about to take place, I thought I would evaluate some of the lesser known fighter’s in the UFC heavyweight division. Who they are, their skill sets, and possible impact on the division as a whole.

Shane Carwin

What can I say about Shane that hasn’t already been mentioned by hardcore MMA fans across the web?

Carwin is 10-0 in his professional career, has accumulated less then ten minutes in the cage his entire career. Carwin may very well be the biggest fighter in the heavyweight division, ironic considering the presence of Brock Lesner. Shane is 6’4” and cuts to 265pounds. Not to mention having 5XL size hands, the biggest in the UFC. Carwin is scary not because of his physique, but his skill set. He has shown he knows to properly through a punch, has champion level collegiate wrestling and possesses athleticism honed on the football field (two time All-American in football in college). The scary rumor is his jiu-jitsu. It’s hard to track down any definite proof, but Nate Marqaudt has been recorded saying that Carwin’s Jits is very good, and other rumors say that Shane has earned a blue belt under Nate “The Great”.

My prediction: Carwin will challenge for UFC gold by the end of 2009. He has been spotted at perhaps the best MMA camp in the country, Xtreme Couture, getting one on one time with Captain America himself.


Josh Hendricks

My first sign of Josh Hendricks’ and his talent level as a fighter, is to review his professional record. Josh has a reported record of 16 wins and 4 losses. And sadly, his losses tell more then his wins. While his last loss was in 2005, and has since gone on a 10 fight win streak, his wins have been against lack luster opponents, and his losses have been against mediocre opponents as well. In 2003, Josh was 4-0, and was subsequently TKO’d by Valery Pliev. His next fight was against (now) UFC vetern, Sam Hogar. Hogar defeated Hendricks by Rear Naked Choke in the first round.

By 2005 Hendricks’ had compiled a 5-2 record, appearently having taken time off in 2004. Mixed Martial Art’s heavyweight journey-man, Travis Wiuff would then TKO Hendricks’ in the first round. Josh would then fight Tom Murphy for King of the Cage, and was knocked out in roughly one minute and twenty seconds. Since this KO loss, Hendricks’ has compiled a ten (or eleven, depending on sources) fight win streak. Four of these wins have been by TKO, five by submission (RNC, armbars, and other chokes), one knockout win, and one unanimous decision victory. I used MMAuniverse.com and sherdog’s fight finder to compile this fight breakdown. The discrepancy between the two listed records is a 2006 fight against Chris Tuchscherer. This fight, in which Hendricks’ won by TKO, has according to Sherdog been overturned by the Athletic Commission to a no contest bout.

His level of competition, has in my opinion, been lack luster. But Hendricks’ is coming into the UFC with huge momentum. Sadly, information on this guy is lacking according to my research. I have found out that he is 6’1” and 246 pounds. Pictures of him however make him appear pudgy, so his conditioning right now is a mystery. His strengths are wrestling and jiu-jitsu and Josh was a two time All-American wrestler Ashland University (OH). In this writer’s view, expect to see Hendricks’ pull the upset against Gabriel Gonzaga this Saturday. Both are roughly the same size, and similar skill sets, but I feel Hendricks’ has the confidence and hunger right now in his career to win this fight. Due to Gonzaga’s seemingly lack of the iconic brazilian toughness and heat.

How ever. This is Gabriel Gonzaga, who is full of surprises. If he does win this fight, it will not be an overwhelming surprise, as this is his fight to win. I just hope people realize that Hendricks’ is no can.

The Answer

A rising star in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division, Frankie “the Answer” Edgar is set to explode even deeper into the divisions ranks as the year goes on. A wrestling standout from Clarion University of Pennsylvania where he earned All-American honors in 2004, he is quickly earning a reputation for his fast-paced bouts and technical boxing which, when combined with his wrestling pedigree and underrated Jiu-jitsu makes Edgar prospect to keep an eye on.

But Edgar’s greatest strength is his tenacity. Surviving a painfully deep knee-bar in his bout with Tyson Griffin, and shown again in his recent bout with Hermes Franca. In round one of their match up this past Saturday (7-19-08), Franca exploded into a brutal arm-bar in which Edgar once again show cased his heart by hanging in, and eventually pulling his arm out. Many fighters would have tapped in either situation, but Edgar’s “tenacity” or “heart” kept him in the fight and led him to win both of his bouts.

Edgar’s professional record of nine wins holds three very notable victories. He holds a decision win over Spencer “the King” Fisher, a dynamic striker in the LW division who has at multiple times been considered near title contention. A win over Tyson Griffin could arguably be called his biggest win. Tyson is undefeated with the exception of his loss to Edgar, and could perhaps see himself next in line for title contention after the winner of Huerta v Florian at UFC 87. Finally this past Saturday Frankie defeated Hermes Franca, a former UFC LW contender who challenged Sean Sherk at UFC 73.

With 6 other wins, The Answer only has one blemish on his otherwise remarkable record. At UFC Fight Night 13, Gray “The Bully” Maynard was able to outwrestle Edgar for a decision win. Maynard seemingly outmuscled Frankie, with a couple of big slams in an otherwise technical wrestling match held in the octagon. This loss pointed at out the one weakness some critics label Edgar with: He’s too small for lightweight.

One could argue that Grey Maynard was simply a bad match up. A large lightweight with similar wrestling credentials, The Bully simply just out muscled Frankie. And looking at some his other fights, size hasn’t been an issue. Except that the UFC lightweight division does contain large fighters, with Sean Sherk a prime example.Sherk is a fantastic wrestler who uses his wrestling and strength to control opponents in similar fashion as Maynard and Edgar.

In my opinion it’s still too early in Frankie’s career at 155lbs too consider a drop to featherweight. With only one loss so far on his record, and wins over some top LW fighters, Edgar himself is knocking on the door of the upper echelon of LW fighters in the UFC. While only Edgar himself can answer the question of whether or not he needs to pack on more size in order to stay competitive, one thing is for sure. Keep an eye on “the Answer” for his response will be shown in the octagon the next time he enters the cage.