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Brett Okamoto
Multiple Authors
You’ve got to give it to former UFC heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes. Even in defeat to newcomer Josh Hokit (and with a fractured nose and orbital bone), he kept his sense of humor in the aftermath of UFC 327.
In a social media comment shortly after his three-round barn burner on April 11, Blaydes asked, “Did we save heavyweight, chat?” It was an obvious reference to the dismal state of the heavyweight division in recent years, which has suffered from Jon Jones’ retirement, Tom Aspinall’s medical uncertainty and a lack of fresh talent.
To answer Blaydes’ question, no, that one (albeit entertaining) fight did not save the heavyweights on its own — but perhaps it’s a start.
Aspinall’s future remains the division’s biggest question, but he revealed that he did resume “light” training this month. And of course, the June 14 event on the White House lawn is co-headlined by an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. So although the weight class has been in flux across all of MMA, a sense of direction should be on the horizon.
Here are a few other questions that will shape the immediate future of the heavyweight landscape.
What’s the ceiling for Josh Hokit?
This became a big one at UFC 327.
Hokit’s WWE promo-style shtick is about as cringe as it gets. That’s no secret. He is bartering in cringe, and he knows it. That has proved to work during his 3-0 UFC start, but it’s not a guaranteed play long-term, especially if he loses.
The question isn’t whether Hokit can get fans’ attention. The question is how much substance does he have to attach to it? The quality of his win over a top-five heavyweight in Blaydes — not his shtick — earned Hokit a fight against Derrick Lewis at the White House. Yes, they work in tandem, but if he turns out to be an average talent in the long run, the antics will work against him.
But if he keeps winning, the possibilities get a little wild. In MMA, a circus act can actually become more entertaining if it starts to consume legitimate opposition. If his ceiling as a fighter ends up being championship-level, this persona can make him a star, unbelievable as it sounds.
How fast can Gable Steveson become legit?
There’s no question in my mind, Steveson will be really, really good at MMA. What’s impossible to say is how long that’s going to take. Because he’s not there yet.
The UFC probably needed to sign the Olympic gold medalist wrestler (which it did last week) to not risk losing him to another promotion. But I doubt the UFC really wanted to sign him this early into his MMA career. He debuted in MMA less than a year ago, and in his most recent fight, a first-round TKO over Hugo Lezama in February, he still looked unpolished.
That said, he is mentored and coached by former UFC two-division champion Jon Jones, and Jones has predicted Steveson will be a UFC champion within a year. I don’t see a world in which Steveson would even get an opportunity to fight for the heavyweight belt within a year — let alone beat someone like Aspinall — but the division is wide open. If Steveson starts winning UFC fights in highlight-reel fashion, things could move quickly.
It would not surprise me if the UFC signs a new fighter to be Steveson’s first opponent in July. Perhaps it finds someone on the roster, such as Allen Frye, who is 0-1 in the UFC and 6-1 overall, but I could see the promotion looking for someone on the regional scene with a 1-1 record to even the playing field for Steveson.
Where do Francis Ngannou and Netflix go beyond May 16?
Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian told Sports Business Journal this month that if their Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano-headlining MMA debut card does well on Netflix next month, the company will be “involved in MMA over the long term.”
If that is the case, it’s probably safe to assume Ngannou will be part of those long-term plans. Ngannou is fighting Philipe Lins in the co-main event, and Ngannou told ESPN he would like to keep fighting for up to five more years. He also said his activity will, obviously, come down to what opportunities are available.
That’s the big question then: What kind of opportunities can Netflix drum up for Ngannou, assuming he still looks like the best heavyweight on the planet? An MMA fight against Jake Paul may seem silly, but somehow possible. In fact, the two would have boxed last year had Ngannou had the interest. He said he would entertain the idea after the Lins fight. He also said he is open to reexploring a fight with world kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven.
Another angle is whether Netflix could lure a heavyweight away from the UFC in free agency. A truly interesting thought is Aspinall, whose relationship with the UFC has been strained by CEO Dana White’s comments about Aspinall’s eye injuries and the company’s handling of the heavyweight title once Jones retired in 2025.
The chances of Aspinall trying (and succeeding) to get out of his UFC contract are low, but Aspinall’s recent decision to sign a managerial contract with boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was a clear indication of the resistance between him and the UFC. If Aspinall did attempt to secure his release, knowing there was a major opportunity available with Ngannou and Netflix, those negotiations would be the biggest story of the year.
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