UFC London, The Morning After: Light Heavyweight Is WASHED

03/23/2025 09:55 AM

Here's what you may have missed!

Light Heavyweight is supposed to be the best division in the UFC.

For a bulk of the promotion's 31-year run, that's been the case. Frank Shamrock, the division's first champion who defended his title four times, stands out as one of the most well-rounded fighters of the "Dark Ages" era. Then came the triumvirate of Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, and Chuck Liddell, three of the earliest pay-per-view (PPV) stars who all captured gold and made history opposite one another.

"Rampage" Jackson, Forrest Griffin, "The Machida Era" — the division continued roll forward and create spectacular moments and champions until the arrival of Jon Jones. "Bones" mauled most everyone for a decade, cementing his legacy as an all-time great almost entirely by dominating the UFC's premiere class.

Since Jones left, the 205-pound class has slowly gone to s—t. Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz weren't good enough to be champion in their respective primes, but UFC opted to let most of the wrestlers leave the division, and the rest of the talent ended up washed or retired.

There's a reason Alex Pereira was able to steamroll the division. There just wasn't much depth of talent remaining, especially outside of the Top Five. That's how Khalil Rountree ends up in a random title shot, and it's why UFC was so intent on keeping Magomed Ankalaev — one of the only actually talented up-and-comers — away from his title.

As has been mentioned by many, Ankalaev beating Pereira in a ho-hum affair is the worst case for the UFC and the division. A rematch is the UFC's only chance at getting the belt back to "Poatan," but the most likely outcome is a similarly uninteresting bout with the same outcome.

Then what? I love Jiri Prochazka, but one man alone is not a division's worth of contenders, and even I have to admit that a savvy counter puncher like Ankalaev is a very dangerous match up for "BJP."

UFC London was supposed to provide some clarity towards the division's future. Former champion Blachowicz returned versus streaking kickboxer, Carlos Ulberg. It's the kind of fight that seemed almost guaranteed to generate some level of excitement, as well as another contender for the 205-pound mix.

Not so. Blachowicz, 42 years old and entering after two major shoulder surgeries, was a little hesitant and slow to pull the trigger on his blitzes. Ulberg, somehow 34 years old despite his prospect label, didn't do much in response to his opponent's uncertainties. We ended up with a 15-minute, low output, no takedowns, no knockdowns coin flip decision that didn't get anybody excited about either man.

There's a term in MMA that describes Ulberg's approach to the bout, the reason he swayed the judges to his side. Coined by the great Nick Diaz, that term is "baby low kicks." You know the ones. We're not talking about a heavy chopping blow, intended to introduce shin to thigh or calf at some great velocity. No, we're talking about a quick flick of the foot, the kind of kick that wouldn't manage to kill an adult horsefly.

Baby low kicks won Ulberg the fight, his showcase against an aged former champion with no shoulders. Despite his eight-fight win streak that features several knockouts, it feels safe to say that nobody is actually excited about "Black Jag," the division's best "young" up-and-comer.

The Light Heavyweight situation is grim, and it's time for UFC to take notice. Outbid PFL whenever Vadim Nemkov's contract is up. Convince some more Middleweights to bulk up, a la Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos a few years back. I have no idea who the ACA Light Heavyweight kingpin is right now, but buy out his contract too for good measure.

Something has to give.

For complete UFC London results and play-by-play, click here.