Who Is The Best Heavyweight In The UFC

There is no doubt about it, the UFC heavyweight division is the most volatile in MMA. There have been many changes over the last year, champions have come and gone and now with Randy Couture leaving the question must be asked; who is the best heavyweight in the UFC?

Here are the fighters that I am considering for the top dog position.
- Although Randy Couture has left, I feel that he must at least be on the big list.
- Tim Sylvia former UFC heavyweight champion.
- Andrei Arlovski also a former UFC heavyweight champion.
- Brock Lesnar, former WWE superstar and outstanding amateur wrestler.
- Mirko Cro Cop, former pride standout and Pride open weight champion.
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who was a long time Pride heavyweight champion.
- Frank Mir is on the comeback trail, a former UFC champion as well.
- Gonzaga deserves honorable mention for his wrecking ball destruction of Mirko Cro Cop.

Picking the UFC heavyweight top dog is no easy task. The division is full of talented fighters and with the exception of Fedor and Josh Barnett has the best fighters in the world of MMA. Randy Couture is on the list, but because he's decided to step down I cannot pick him as the top UFC heavyweight fighter.

Tim Sylvia is the former UFC heavyweight champion and prior to him loosing decisively to Randy Couture would have been my pick as the number one heavyweight in the UFC. A lot has changed since his reign of terror however and Tim has lost to three of the fighters on my list. He lost of course to Randy Couture in a five round decision. Tim also lost to Andrei Arlovski by submission. Tim's most crushing defeat was to Frank Mir. Mir broke Sylvia's arm and submitted him, but it's worth noting that even with a broken arm Tim did not submit, the ref who heard the snap stopped the fight. Tim Argued, but of course the fight had to be stopped. Most recently Tim won over highly touted contender Brandon Vera in a three round decision. Tim is certainly a top runner as one of the best heavyweights in the UFC.

Andrei Arlovski was at one time considered the most dominant heavyweight in the UFC. He was knocking out and finishing opponents at a feverish pace. His quick victory over a very tough Paul Buentello was the last in a series of six dominant victories, including one ove Tim Sylvia. The rematch with Sylvia looked like it was going to be the same thing when suddenly something happened. Arlovski landed a crushing shot and Sylvia went down, but Sylvia got up and when Arlovski moved in for the kill big Tim nailed him, knocking him to the canvas and then rained down strikes to finish him. Still, I think Arlovski is a contender on any given night for the heavyweight title.

The "Next Big Thing" in the UFC heavyweight division may be Brock Lensnar, but not yet. Brock needs to prove himself against real competition before he rises to the top of this list.

Mirko Cro Cop was/is one of the most feared strikers in MMA, but back to back losses have taken the snap off of his devestating leg kicks. Many fans have written Cro Cop off, but I believe he still has some great wins in front of him. I can't give him top dog status because of those losses, but a win over a big name might just give him a title shot.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ( Big Nog) was the Pride heavyweight champion and as such deserves respect. The only fighters to defeat Big Nog are Fedor, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson. Fedor is not fighting in the UFC and Big Nog has avenged his losses to Henderson and Barnett. Until Nogueira gets beaten by someone in the UFC he must be considered one of the top dogs in the UFC heavyweight division.

Frank Mir hasn't done enough lately to deserve to be the number one ranked fighter in the UFC. However, Mir has a long history of winning big fights and he's been looking better and better lately. Something tells me that we'll see the championship quality version of Frank Mir again before it's all over.

Gabriel Gonzaga has made his name mostly off his big win over Mirko Cro Cop. Gonzaga started by catching Cro Cop's leg kick to the body, taking him to the ground and then ground and pounding him for most of the first round. When the ref stood the fight up, Gonzaga KO'd Cro Cop with one of the nicest kicks to the head (aside from Cro Cop's) that I've ever seen.

So, that's the quick and dirty on all of our contenders. Who is the best UFC heavyweight? Well, I already said that Randy Couture was out of the running, so I must give the honors to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. With his only recent losses being to Fedor and Barnett, Nogueira holds the title of best heavyweight in the UFC. I look forward to seeing who eventually takes Randy Couture's title and look forward to a great year of heavyweight fights in 2008.