Ennis' Take
ENNIS: The UFC entering a golden age of heavyweight MMA with Overeem-Lesnar and more
Sep 8, 2011 - 12:30:51 PM ENNIS: The UFC entering a golden age of heavyweight MMA with Overeem-Lesnar and more

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By: Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist

Since the beginning of combat sports – from Jack Johnson to Mike Tyson, from Karl Gotch to Brock Lesnar - the imaginations of fight fans everywhere have been captured by a particular group of fighters: Heavyweights. Whatever the reason, the prospect of two giants pummeling each other holds an allure to both casual and hardcore fight fans.

There have certainly been periods in MMA when high level heavyweights have been active at the same time. In the golden age of Pride, Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Josh Barnett, and Big Nog were at the top of a deep pool of big men.

With this week's announcement that the UFC had signed Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem (lineal title followers rejoice!) the current golden age of heavyweights just got stronger. The fact that Overeem will fight the UFC's biggest draw right off the bat makes the signing that much more of a blockbuster.

The fight itself is endlessly intriguing. Here we have two monsters, both chiseled like an Adonis, who excel at different aspects of the game. It's not quite as lopsided as some of your old school grappler vs. striker matchups, but each man's advantage in his discipline is certainly pronounced. Lesnar is a very strong wrestler who has been able to nullify some very high level jiu jitsu in the form of Frank Mir, while Overeem is a killer on the feet with the ability to knock anyone out using a wide variety of strikes.

Lesnar's huge drawing power, coupled with his susceptibility to top-level strikers, make this fight a risky proposition for the UFC. It's a risk that should be well worth it though, as either man could emerge a strong draw. The key will be the promotion of Overeem before the fight. Lesnar is a known quantity already, and Overeem should be extremely easy to promote. He's brash, he's got a great highlight reel, and to top it off he speaks English. There's a chance that Lesnar wins the fight of course (a pretty strong chance if you ask me), but there's also a real chance that Lesnar is brutalized for the third straight fight by a powerful striker. The last time Lesnar lost, the winner became Heavyweight Champion. If he loses again, Overeem needs to come off as a star in taking him out.

We are long past the days of Andrei Arlovski defending the UFC Heavyweight Title against Paul Buentello and Justin Eilers. Between the big fights (Velasquez-dos Santos, Lesnar-Overeem, Nogueira-Mir II), fights that should tell us who's getting to the next level (Kongo-Mitrione, Barry-Struve, Herman-Russow), and the debut of guys like Philip De Fries and Stipe Miocic, the division is more intriguing than it has perhaps ever been. It's not often that we see this many high quality heavyweight fights in such a short span. It's actually somewhat rare to see this many heavyweight fights at all.

We may or may not be in the midst of an age comparable to that of Pride's bygone days, but the division (especially in the UFC) is far deeper than it has been in a long time, and perhaps deeper than it has ever been.