The UFC Heavyweight Division Has Never Been Weaker

The UFC heavyweight division has historically been the promotion’s premier division. The champion of the division is regarded as truly the ‘baddest man on the planet’, and once he defends his belt, there’s usually no shortage of viable opponents for him. It was hard, at times, to place any fight ahead of a UFC heavyweight title fight on any PPV.

In recent years, however, the UFC heavyweight division has been truly dreadful. We’ve had champion’s duck interim challengers, the same fighters getting multiple shots after not earning them and more importantly, fighters being ranked when they have no business being in the top 15.

Let’s take a look at the UFC heavyweight division.

The UFC Heavyweight Division Has Never Been Weaker

Championship Issue

This one isn’t as big an issue for the UFC heavyweight division as it may appear. We have a legitimate champion in Tom Aspinall, who, unfortunately, due to no fault of his own, is unavailable to fight.

As a result of this, we now have an interim title fight between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira at the White House. This will mark the fifth time that Gane will fight for some form of the heavyweight title.

His first attempt came against Derrick Lewis in an interim title fight, which made a lot of sense as he was on a six-fight promotional winning run. He then fought for the undisputed title in a losing effort. His third title fight came after just one win over Tai Tuivasa, again in a losing effort. His fourth was off the back of just a two-fight winning run, which resulted in a no-contest due to an eye poke on the side of the Frenchman.

Alex Pereira has the chance to hand Gane his third loss in title fights and essentially eliminate him from title contention for the near future.

Aspinall holds wins over #2,#3,#4,#6 and #8 of the division. He was in the midst of a competitive fight with Gane, who was #1 before the eye poke. If Aspinall rematches Gane and wins, it brings into question where the next viable contender will come from.

Rankings Issues

Tai Tuivasa.

We could stop our argument there, but let’s look into it deeper. Before we start, it isn’t Tuivasa’s fault. He doesn’t put his own name in the rankings, nor does he pick and choose his opponents.

Tai Tuivasa embodies everything that is wrong with both the rankings system and UFC heavyweight division. The Aussie is ranked #15, despite being on a six-fight losing streak and being without a win since 2022. If those who determine the rankings honestly think that Tuivasa is a top 15 fighter, there’s an issue.

A further issue with the UFC heavyweight division is Tuivasa’s next fight. The 32 yaer old will fight Sean Sharaf on May 2nd. For context, the two men bring a combined 0-8 record in their last eight fights. If Sharaf, who is 0-2 in the UFC and only 4-2 in his professional career, gets the win over Tuivasa, he should, in theory, get ranked.

Another key issue comes with the scheduled Curtis Blaydes and Josh Hokit fight. Blaydes is ranked #4 in the division and holds wins over Aspinall, Alexander Volkov, and Jailton Almeida, to name a few. Hokit is 2-0 in the UFC and, if a major shock happens, could see himself being ranked in the top five of the division.

This image is the top 10 and the champion from March 18th 2013. Every single one of those men finish Hokit within the first round in their prime, and some would even give him a run for his money in their current state. It’ll be a divisional travesty if Hokit gets ranked, let alone a top-five spot. The UFC used to be the best vs the best, now it’s about clips and clicks, something Hokit provides.

The UFC heavyweight division has major problems. There are not enough up-and-coming heavyweight prospects, not enough potential stars, and ultimately, it has a bleak future.