Ever because the UFC ladies’s Featherweight division formally went the way in which of the dodo, the ladies’s Bantamweight division has taken the throne as probably the most stagnant division within the promotion. UFC 307 closely options that 135-pound division, which accounts for 2 of the 5 fights on the pay-per-view (PPV) portion of the cardboard.
A proven fact that helps clarify the explanation(s) pleasure for the occasion is so restricted.
Traditionally, there have been nice 135-pound title fights with great outcomes. Ronda Rousey’s profession was electrical, as was her surprising fall by the hands — or shin, extra precisely — of Holly Holm. Amanda Nunes’ seven-year title reign was stuffed with violence and dominant wins. By itself, her title defenses weren’t normally sufficient to headline a PPV, however no person was arguing they have been boring. The issue now’s that each one these large names have come and gone, but the also-rans of yesteryear are nonetheless hanging round within the title combine.
Critically, Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena have been prospects on The Final Fighter (TUF) coaching underneath Rousey and Miesha Tate 11 years in the past! That’s a lifetime in blended martial arts (MMA), but Pennington gained her title earlier this 12 months. In the meantime, Pena hasn’t gained a struggle since her historic upset over Nunes in 2021, however she’s one way or the other subsequent in line anyway as a result of the division is so uninteresting. These alternatives are usually not a Charles Oliveira scenario both, the place a longtime struggling fighter immediately fills the hole and explodes into title rivalry. Look intently on the ability units of each “Rocky” and “Vixen” then evaluate them to the 2 ladies of their early 20s on TUF, and there’s been no drastic change.
The higher fighters have merely moved on or aged out.
This title struggle isn’t taking place in a vacuum. The remainder of the division isn’t any extra attention-grabbing. The opposite would-be contenders, names like Ketlen Vieira and Irene Aldana, have been aside of the rankings for a very long time however frequently underwhelm in large moments. The inflow of former Featherweight expertise — which is to say, simply Norma Dumont and Macy Chiasson — after the division’s dissolution helped a bit, however a lot of the combination stays unchanged from a decade in the past.
Tate, Holm, and Germaine de Randamie stay ranked contenders in 2024.
Probably the only real exception to this huge swathe of ennui is Kayla Harrison, Olympic Judo gold medalist and former PFL champion. At 34 years of age, Harrison isn’t any flawless fighter or Nunes alternative. Larissa Pachecho proved that a lot in Nov. 2022, and it’s very a lot in query simply what number of profitable 135-pound weight cuts Harrison has left in her profession.
But, as compared with all her Bantamweight friends, Harrison would possibly as nicely be the subsequent Conor McGregor. There’s an precise depth of method and mastery in her grappling that’s genuinely attention-grabbing. She doesn’t must be good to run roughshod over the present ranks at ladies’s Bantamweight. She is the one hope within the division rising watchable and attention-grabbing as soon as extra. Actually, it’s lucky that Harrison will probably be massively favored to win every step of the way in which.
The 2 Bantamweight bouts on the UFC 307 card symbolize a transparent divide in previous and future. Uncommon because it sounds, the title struggle is actually the previous, two long-time veterans who caught round and tried arduous lengthy sufficient to capitalize on a weak discipline. The long run, in the meantime, is storming up the ladder and making an attempt to reside as much as the expectation of cleansing home.
Boring or not, Bantamweight isn’t going to get the ax like Featherweight. There are literally sufficient fighters to maintain the ranks, even when the faces stay largely unchanged. Anyone who needs the division to be worth-watching has a vested curiosity in Kayla Harrison, nonetheless, who at present stands out as the one hope for breaking up the stagnancy.
Do not forget that MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of your complete UFC 307 struggle card proper right here, beginning with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches on-line, that are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), earlier than the pay-per-view (PPV) foremost card begin time at 10 p.m. ET (additionally on ESPN+).
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