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MOORE: Breaking down the state of European fighters in the UFC (Part Three - Middleweight)
Jul 2, 2015 - 2:10:22 PM MOORE: Breaking down the state of European fighters in the UFC (Part Three - Middleweight)

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By: Dan Moore, MMATorch UK Columnist

A couple of years ago I wrote a series of articles for MMATorch covering every single European fighter on the UFC roster. As we know only too well, a lot can change in the MMA landscape, and it certainly has as far as who's still on the roster, and who isn't. Over the next few weeks I will take a look at who's on the roster in 2015 (division by division), and report on how they're all doing. I will also attempt to predict what outside talent may join them in the next year or two. This week I take a look at the UFC middleweight division (Check out part one with the heavyweight division here, and part two with the light heavyweight division here):

CONTENDERS

Michael Bisping (26-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) has been the face of UFC-led European MMA for many years since he won TUF 3 back in 2006. He's since been somewhat overtaken by Alexander Gustafsson, Conor McGregor and now Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but he's still incredibly valuable to the UFC brand. He continues to headline events all over the world, and anyone remotely interested in MMA will know who he is. With twenty-three UFC fights to his name, there's too many to mention individually, but suffice to say, he's been very successfully. Yes, he's never fought for a title and probably never will, but despite failing to reach the absolute pinnacle, Bisping will ultimately end up in the UFC Hall of Fame. In my humble opinion, he thoroughly deserves it.

Another very successful European fighter is Gegard Mousasi (37-5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), although most of his success came before while competing in DREAM and Strikeforce. Mousasi is Iranian and was born in Tehran, but he qualifies for this segment as a naturalised Dutchman, having spent most of his life living in Holland. His UFC debut was supposed to be against Alexander Gustafsson at light-heavyweight, but he ended up facing newcomer Ilir Latifi instead (UFC on Fuel TV 9).

He's since earned additional wins over Mark Munoz (UFC Fight Night 41), Dan Henderson (UFC on Fox 14), and Costas Philippou (UFC Fight Night 66). However, two tough losses to Lyoto Machida (UFC Fight Night 36) and Ronaldo Souza (UFC Fight Night 50) have halted his push into title contention. Next up is a planned encounter with Roan Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 77 later this year. Another win will probably afford him a further opportunity against one of the top five contenders in the division.


VETERANS

Cypriot born Costantinos Philippou (13-5 1 NC MMA, 6-4 UFC) continues to hover around the UFC top 15 rankings without ever making any real progress. After a five-fight win streak that culminated with a win over Tim Boetsch (UFC 155), he's now lost three of his last four fights including a horrible loss to Francis Carmont at UFC 165. His sole win in the last two-years came against Lorenz Larkin at UFC Fight Night 40. At 35 years old the only way is down for Philippou and it's a matter of time before he leaves the top 15.


ESTABLISHED

After a submission loss to Francis Carmont (UFC on Fuel TV 2), Swede Magnus Cedenblad (13-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has now won three straight. In no particular order he's beaten Jared Hamman (UFC 164), Scott Askham (UFC Fight Night 53), and the Pole Krzysztof Jotko (15-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 41. He's well rounded and an accomplished grappler, and added to his considerable height he's a tough fight for almost anyone. Jotko's loss to Cedenblad is sandwiched between two wins over Bruno Santos (UFC Fight Night 33) in Australia, and Tor Troeng (UFC Fight Night 53) in Sweden. Jotko was expected to face Derek Brunson, and then Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 69, but neither fight materialised and he was removed from the event altogether.

Brad Scott (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) loses one and then wins one. You get the message; he can't put together a winning streak. His two defeats came against two very talented guys in Robert Whittaker (TUF Smashes Finale) and Claudio Silva (UFC Fight Night 37), while his wins came against Michael Kuiper (UFC Fight Night 30), and most recently Dylan Andrews (UFC Fight Night 65) in Australia.


NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

After his debut defeat to Magnus Cedenblad in Stockholm, Scott Askham (13-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) recently bounced back with a win of his own over Antonio dos Santos Jr at UFC Fight Night 69 in Berlin, Germany. Bartosz Fabinski (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was successful in his debut. The Polish native defeated fellow debutant Garreth McLellan at UFC Fight Night 64 in Krakow, Poland a few months ago. Both Askham and Fabinski will look to fight again this year, and it's not such a bad idea to suggest they fight each other next.


HEADING FOR THE EXIT

It's surely win or go home for Tom Watson (17-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) as he prepares for his next fight with Chris Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 73 in early August. Watson has been very hit and miss thus far. A loss to Brad Tavares (UFC on Fuel TV 5) on his debut was followed up with his best performance to date. His comeback win over Stanislav Nedkov (UFC on Fuel TV 7) in London was one of the most enjoyable fights I've ever seen live. A resurgent Thales Leites (UFC 163) then halted that momentum, which was followed by another loss to Nick Catone (UFC 169) in an incredibly close fight. His win over Sam Alvey (UFC Fight Night 47) looks impressive in hindsight, but again he failed to win two-straight when he lost to Rafael Natal (UFC 183).


RECENTLY DEPARTED

Englishman Luke Barnatt (8-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov (12-2 1 NC MMA, 1-2 1 NC UFC) both began their respective UFC tenures with wins. Nedkov looked terrific on his debut when he blitzed through the experienced Luiz Cane at UFC 134 in Brazil. But three bad losses to Thiago Silva at UFC on Fuel TV 6 (later overturned), Tom Watson (UFC on Fuel TV 7), and Nikita Krylov (UFC on Fox 14) led to him being released this year and deservedly so.

Barnatt not only won his debut fight, he then put together a three-fight win streak that should've been four if not for poor judging in his fight against Sean Strickland (UFC Fight Night 41). That started a three-fight losing streak, and his loss to a retiring Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 66 was the final nail in the coffin. Outside the Octagon, Barnatt is highly regarded by the UFC for being a company man, so, if he strings a few wins together on the regional scene he'll be welcomed back with open arms.


ON THE RADAR

First European middleweight outside the UFC, anyone ever mentions is always Mamed Khalidov (30-4-2 MMA). The veteran Russian is fighting for KSW in Poland, and is long considered one of the best not currently plying their in the UFC. But if they were interested in signing him, they would've probably done it before their long awaited debut in Poland. For now he's on a ten-fight win streak and continues to remain one to watch.

Another KSW fighter worth consideration is the Polish born Michal Materla (22-4 MMA). He's the current KSW middleweight champion who has lost only once in his last eleven fights. Another man on a good run (despite one blip) is Ramazan Emeev (12-3 MMA). He did lose to Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (26-3 MMA) in M-1 Global last year, but he avenged the loss with a win of his own back in April. Both would be excellent additions in a division that has no prominent Russian talent. Throw the younger Anatoly Tokov (20-1 MMA) into the mix and you have a great trio of signings who could make a real impact.

Bulgaria recently lost its only UFC star as mentioned above, but Krasimir Mladenov (12-0) could put them back on the MMA landscape. He currently plies his trade in WSOF, but a positive relationship between the two organisations makes the move possible, if not unlikely at this moment in time. The UFC are currently signing up the best Cage Warriors FC talent available so their middleweight champion, Jack Hermansson (9-2 MMA), should also expect a phone call sometime soon.


Next week I'll cover the Welterweight division. Follow me on Twitter, @MMATorchDan and let me know your opinion on anything I've written about.

[Michael Bisping art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]