Is There Anything to Look Forward to in the UFC Heavyweight division?

Dana White says the UFC was fine when Randy Couture retired and will be fine with his decision to retire from the UFC again. That might be true but Randy Couture retired from a very stacked light heavyweight division and woke up an extremely weak heavyweight division.

Couture had lost to then light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell for the second consecutive time when he announced that he won't be entering the cage ever again. Only a year later he was fighting Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight championship. Couture dismantled Sylvia to regain the belt and add some much needed life to the heavyweight division. Just the story alone was a reason to watch.

The UFC landed former Pride standout Mirko Cro Cop and gave him a number one contender bout against fellow heavyweight Gabriel Gonazga. Cro Cop was expected to walk through Gonzaga setting up a showdown with Couture. Gonzaga was a big underdog. So big, in fact, that he was the only one who thought he would win. He and one other person. Randy Couture knew of Gonzaga's style and predicted that he would beat Cro Cop, and pointing out that Gonzaga would be a tougher opponent for him than Cro Cop. For those of you who haven't seen the highlight reel, Gonzaga decapitated Cro Cop with a high kick to the head (Cro Cop's signature move), knocking the big man out.

Couture then faced Gonzaga as a huge underdog considering what Gonzaga had just done to Cro Cop. Everyone, myself included, thought Couture was in way over his head this time. This is when Couture proved once again why he is such a legend in this sport. He neutralized Gonzaga with his wrestling, smothering him and eventually stopping the 28 year old in the 3rd round.

There were other opponents for Couture but he felt the only big fight left for him would be against the man who is ranked the #1 heavyweight in MMA, Fedor Emelianenko. When the UFC failed to land him, Couture walked away. Sighting that reason, as well as many others, for leaving the UFC. That move has now left the heavyweight division in shambles.

So now we're back to Tim Sylvia getting a shot to regain the heavyweight belt against Antonio Nogueira at UFC 81 on February 2. The fight will be for the belt that Couture refused to defend again.

Former champ Frank Mir, who broke Sylvia's arm a few years back, will face newcomer and former WWE champ Brock Lesnar in the other heavyweight bout of the night. A fight that doesn't make much sense given the lack of talent in the division. If Lesnar wins, Frank Mir is all but done in the UFC. In his last fight, Mir finally showed some signs of regaining the form he had before his motorcycle crash. If Mir beats Lesnar, it already tarnishes Lesnar's reputation of invincibility, making him less of a draw in the future. He's only had one MMA fight but the division lacks the big name, forcing Lesnar to jump right in the fire. A move that could bite Dana White in the ass.

Sylvia was already a less than popular champion, and Nogueira didn't look terribly impressive against Heath Herring in his last fight. There are no other heavyweight draws in the UFC.

Either Frank Mir gets back into the mix or Lesnar jumps into the mix, depending what happens in their fight.

Brandon Vera is out until at least May with a broken hand. He broke it fighting against Tim Sylvia, saying that it prevented him from fighting to his ability but not using it as an excuse.

Andrei Arlovski is all but forgotten after a couple boring fights, both wins. Only a few years ago, Arlovski was deemed untouchable and had a nice 6 fight win streak going when Tim Sylvia avenged a loss and knocked him out. Since then he hasn't been the same. He lost a terrible 5 round fight to Sylvia in the rematch, but rebounded with 2 wins. He hasn't fought in close to a year and doesn't seem to be in Dana White's plans. The UFC isn't in a position to be picky and Arlovski is only 28 years old. At least let the guy fight out his contract and see if he has anything left.

Mirko Cro Cop doesn't have his head on straight and appears to be a 'scared' fighter. Cro Cop was extremely feared and he dominated while in Pride FC. He stated that he had a tough time adapting to the cage, as opposed to fighting in the ring. Then Gonzaga kicked his head off and into Dana White's lap, sending White back to the drawing board. Since Cro Cop was a big signing, White had to keep him in his plans in hopes that he would return to his dominating form and be the big draw he had in mind. That ended the night lightly regarded Cheick Kongo easily won a unanimous decision over Cro Cop, making the once dominant heavyweight, look plain.

If Cheick Kongo is a serious threat in the UFC heavyweight division, Dana White should just abolish the division entirely. At this point, it looks very plain.

Not being able to sign Fedor was a much bigger blow to the division than anticipated. Given the terms Fedor wanted to be signed under, I'm surprised anyone was able to sign him. In the mean time, we UFC fans get to watch mediocre fights, involving mediocre fighters. Luckily the other divisions are more than picking up the slack.

Dana White says the division went on before Couture, it'll go on after Couture. That might be true but he should also point out that the division will undoubtedly suck.