In combat sports, the heavyweight division will always be the weight class that most fascinates fans. There’s something about watching gigantic men pummel each other that’s impossible to ignore. Unfortunately for the UFC, it’s also one of the thinnest divisions in the promotion. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its gems. Let’s take a look at the tiers and the major upcoming fights. And of course, we’ve listed all available odds for you to get your gambling fix.
TIER 1: GENERATIONAL TALENTS
Members: Cain Velasquez
Upcoming Fights: Velasquez -149 vs. Fabricio Werdum +129, TBD
Many pegged the former champion as the greatest heavyweight of all time before Velasquez lost in stunning fashion to Fabricio Werdum. However, considering the fact that he’s 33 - which is young for an aging division - and how he had dominated every other opponent put before him, his ceiling is far higher than anyone else’s in the UFC. He’ll have the opportunity to become a three-time heavyweight champion in an immediate rematch with Werdum.
TIER 2: ELITE STATUS
Members: Junior dos Santos, Stipe Miocic, Fabricio Werdum
Upcoming fights: dos Santos -350 vs. Alistair Overeem +280, UFC on FOX 17
Stipe Miocic -300 vs. Ben Rothwell +250, UFC Fight Night 76
Werdum is the champion, and his standup has finally caught up to his world championship Brazilian jiu-jitsu pedigree. He’s one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world, but he’s 38 years old. We have to consider his advanced age as the tier system is based on the future potential of each fighter.
Junior dos Santos has beaten every single top heavy not named Cain Velasquez, but his struggles against Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic show that he’s not too far ahead of the pack. Speaking of Miocic, he probably has the brightest future of the three, as he hasn’t been in too many wars yet and has an extremely well-rounded combination of power, standup and wrestling.
TIER 3: BORDERLINE ALL-STARS
Members: None
Upcoming fights: N/A
Here’s where we see how light the division is on talent. Sure, you could make the argument that guys like Arlovski, Browne or Rothwell belong in this tier, but do you really consider any of those guys to be true contenders?
TIER 4: STARTERS
Members: Andrei Arlovski, Travis Browne, Ben Rothwell, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem
Upcoming fights: Mark Hunt -230 vs. Antonio Silva +190, UFC 193
There’s a few solid fighters residing in this tier, and any of them could be champions in Bellator or the WSOF. These guys are all solid veterans, with a few major flaws. Overeem and Browne suffer from weak chins, Hunt offers nothing on the ground, and Arlovski seems to have reached his ceiling.
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