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WALKER: Faces of MMA in 2012, and the names they've replaced
Feb 13, 2012 - 11:35:48 PM WALKER: Faces of MMA in 2012, and the names they've replaced

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By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Contributor

This is going mostly be constructed of my opinions on who people previously thought were the faces of certain companies and divisions of MMA, and who they should be today. Many times I will be having an idle conversation about a recent fight somewhere at a restaurant, and some out-of-the-loop eavesdropper will say "Man Chuck Liddell is so awesome!" This is also the eavesdropper who I roll my eyes at and remind that the man has been retired since 2010 and he needs to stop turning on UFC Unleashed just before his buddies come over so they think he is into the sport the same way that they are. (C'mon we all know a few people who PRETEND to be fans and then go "I can't wait to see Brock Lesnar's next fight," and you want to roll up your newspaper and swat them with it) But for all of those part-time MMA fans and all of those people mid-discussion with an MMA expert trying to look up fighters' statistics on Wikipedia so they don't sound silly - here is your new lineup of the faces of MMA.

Commentary

For so long we have gotten comfortable and used to the team of Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg calling UFC events and Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock or Pat Miletich calling the Strikeforce plays. In hindsight it would be fair to say Rogan and Goldberg are the standing faces of commentary, and I wouldn't change that... Much. I would happily give an arm and a leg to see the team of Joe Rogan and Mauro Ranallo calling plays for the UFC, it's highly unlikely but you can't tell me it wouldn't be awesome. Unfortunately these faces will not be changing, I just wanted to use this to express my interest in seeing a Rogan/Ranallo team in the booth just once incase Dana White decides to google "UFC Announce Teams Brad Wants To See."

Let's move on to the fighters, shall we?



Heavyweight

Old Face: Randy Couture/Brock Lesnar

These two are by far the strongest champions the weight class has seen in the United States, mostly because Fedor opted to stay in Japan. One of them is a Hall of Famer, the other probably will be in the near future, but since they're both retired we need a fresh face for the heavyweight division. Who do we pick - who can possibly be the face of the entire division for all of MMA? There is only one true answer and that man is...

New Face: Alistair Overeem

Yes, I am fully aware that if Junior dos Santos eats him alive I am going to be printing this article out, covering it with ketchup and literally eating my words. However there is no guarantee in that, because Alistair is the bigger man, with a better rounded game and, well, he did make Brock Lesnar look like an easy task. Overeem has been a prominent fighter for years, and since moving to the heavyweight division has been on a wrecking spree. He held the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship for the entire time he was with the company, and to this day is the only person to ever hold it. So let's put this fresh face on the heavyweight division, not just because I said so, but because Overeem is the real deal.

Light Heavyweight

Old Face: Chuck Liddell/Tito Ortiz

These two are well deserving of having been the face of the division; both are former champions, and have had a rivalry with each other that render most others quite moot. Chuck is now retired, but Tito is still fighting, albeit not very well - but he's still throwing down inside the cage. Ortiz has suffered an epic downturn in his quality of fights, losing much more frequently than winning, and Liddell didn't exactly go out on top. There have been a lot of contenders for this crown, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, and even Shogun Rua. None of them has earned it as much as this next man has...

New Face: Jon "Bones" Jones

He is quite possibly the most gifted light heavyweight ever to enter the cage, not just in UFC but in general. He has the ability to make the best of the best look downright silly, and so far has not had to absorb much damage at all in his career. His length and power make him deceptively fast and incredibly scary to his opponents. I would even wager a bet that he would be relatively dominant in the heavyweight division if he were to move up. Jon Jones isn't likely at all to lose his title in the near future if at all, and even if he does, he's going to come back with a fury to reclaim it.

Middleweight

Old Face: Anderson Silva

The Spider is the best fighter in the world right now, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. No matter where he fights, or who he fights, he is nothing if not consistent, and he tears his opponents to shreds. The only man who has looked as if he had a chance to defeat him was Chael Sonnen, but even he fell victim to the Spider, and his web of tricks. So how in the world could he possibly be replaced? Who in the world could ever take that spot as the face of the middleweight division?


New Face: Still, Anderson Silva

I had to give myself a reality check after watching Bisping and Sonnen go at it for three rounds at UFC on Fox. Neither one of them looked like they were going to give Silva a run for his money, much less take the title away from him. Sure, they were both expecting to face other guys, but if two elite fighters have such a close encounter that we can't honestly say which guy won, how are they going to beat the reigning champion? The only guy in the wings right now who I think has a chance at beating Anderson Silva is Vitor Belfort, but even that is unlikely as he will fear the front kick for the rest of his life. Same face, same division - and well earned by Silva.

Welterweight

Old Face: Matt Hughes

In the most literal of senses, that is definitely an old face. Matt Hughes was one of the best at his peak, and took home wins over some of the greatest fighters of all time. He was a ground and pound monster with a submission game that stirs up fears in the hearts of his opponents. If you were in the cage with him, the odds in Vegas were against you; if the fight had started - you were probably on your back. I think we all know where this story goes, because the guy who has run the division for three years now isn't backing down from anyone.

New Face: Georges St-Pierre

GSP is an absolute freak athlete in a way that the sport has never seen before. Who else would take the time to study gymnastics just to help their martial arts career? This guy is a dynamo, everything he learns he makes sure he's the best at, and if you say he's not the best, he's going to beat you with the skill that you question. Josh Koscheck second guessed his striking, and got beat like a rented mule for it. I expect Carlos Condit to be picked apart by GSP - who will then face a returning Nick Diaz, and perhaps I will have to rewrite this column in 2013.

Lightweight

Old Face: B.J. Penn

When Penn is on his game, there are very few fighters in the world at any weight, who can beat him. The only problem with Penn is that he constantly wants to change weight classes just to make a point. It has historically worked against him, and most recently Nick Diaz showed him whose boss. However at his home weight, lightweight, Penn is probably considered to be the greatest of all time. Sure, he lost the title, but he also held it for nearly three years and defeated some of the best to keep it but in the end there was lingering questions until we had The Answer.

New Face: Frankie Edgar

Edgar has been nothing short of a fighting champion since he first put the gold around his waist. He had a couple scares against Gray Maynard and his concrete fists, but came back to a draw in one case and in the other to get the victory. He will be defending the title again in Japan against Benson Henderson, which will determine how legitimate my argument is here. He's a powerful fighter, with great striking; and his jiu-jitsu isn't shabby either. He's the face right now, and he will be the face after UFC 144 as well, until someone defends their title as well as he has, like a true champion.

Thank you all for reading and feel free to let me know what you think! Follow me on twitter - @BradMMATorch