UFC: The Great Fall

It's no secret that in the greatly-expanding world of MMA, there are great upsets, rising stars, and the ability to evolve so much that whoever seems dominant can fall out of the limelight with one swing.

I’ve grown onto the sport. I’ve become so obsessed with it that I have even trained in various aspects such as BJJ, Muay Thai, boxing, and wrestling.  I have my own favorite champions and iI look up to many of the fighters who are—with all due respect—not going to be around very much longer.

Back when the UFC first started gaining high profile recognition, guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture ruled the spotlights and dominated their opponents. The same goes with Matt Hughes and Tim Sylvia. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened: the new generation took charge. Chuck Liddell got knocked out by Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, and lost a close decision to Kieth Jardine. Randy Couture retires, comes back to beat half a man in Tim Sylvia, beats a young pup in Gabrielle Gonzaga, and then gets wrecked by a guy who hasn't even been in the sport for very long.

Matt Hughes was at the top of his division. Some even argue that he was the most dominant champion of all time. GSP came in and destroyed him. Not only did GSP destroy Hughes, but after losing to Matt Serra by a fluke, he came back and destroyed Hughes again.

Since then, Hughes has been destroyed, yet again, by Thiago Alves.  Tim Sylvia used to be a monster in the game. Then he got scared of getting hit, started coming out on top with decisions, but couldn’t pull the trigger. Since then, he got handled by an old man, submitted by a guy who was highly overrated in Noguira, and got stomped out by the best heavyweight in the world at 36 seconds.

How the mighty have fallen. Back in their primes, no one wanted to get in the cage with them. And it will keep happening. The world of MMA will become more dangerous and versitile with every passing year. Guys like Ken Shamrock hold onto that idea that they are still mighty fighters that they can handle anyone. But you are very wrong Mr. Shamrock; you should have quit when you were in the WWE.

The new day has dawned, and new champions will be crowned. Chris Horodecki, Demian Maia, Shinya Aoki, Thiago Alves, and others will see their share of glory days, and will wear their crowns, then fall with the mighty as well. It's sad to say that MMA is not a permanent sport; the great fighters open gyms to train the next generation in their ways.  Long live the evolution of MMA.