UFC Balance Of Power Regains Normalcy

With the wins of Randy Couture and Georges St. Pierre on Saturday night, the pair finalized UFC's return to general predictability (a good thing) following a span of upsets which stretched from 68 to 71, effectively throwing three of the five title pictures in disarray. With Sherk's win (let's forget about the steroids for a moment), Couture's first successful defense of the HW title, and St. Pierre displaying his ability to shake the Serra blues, it appears that we can start narrowing the talent into some Superfights.

No need to give Gonzaga another title shot now. And after St. Pierre's dismantling of Koscheck, it's obvious that St. Pierre and Hughes are the only guys who deserve to be on the top of that division. Not Sanchez, not Kos, not Parisyan, and certainly none of the other guys who were said to be in line for a title shot. Just the best of the best. Had Koscheck won the fight on Saturday, it would've taken even more legitimacy from the division and possibly...just possibly set up for Koscheck-Serra. Instead of being forced to witness that eyesore, it looks as if we're on track for GSP-Hughes III, which is the best fight for the fighters, the fans, and of course, the sport.

Couture's huge win marks the reality of his second coming in the UFC as he has now dispatched of two contenders (Sylvia and Gonzaga) who have at times been heralded as greats, but have now been reduced to pawns. This is significant because now Couture can start wading through the real contenders, the PRIDE guys. Similar to the Koscheck-Serra scenario, I think I speak for everyone when I say we really dodged a bullet with the potential Gonzaga-Nogueira matchup. Instead, we should be treated to Couture-CC, Couture-Nog, or even Couture-Fedor. With CC's recent loss and Nog's less than stellar opening show, there really is no contender in the UFC who should be considered a favorite against "The Natural." It may be up to White to sign someone who can fill these shoes.

The narrowing of competition continues at UFC 75 with the Henderson-Rampage match, a virtual win-win for the UFC. With a Liddell and Shogun wins at 76, the UFC should be set up perfectly for a winter to remember. Silva and Franklin will kick things off with what should be a war. We will most likely see Shogun against the winner of Rampage-Henderson. Couture will almost definitely fight Cro Cop or Nogueira. And barring something amazing happening, Hughes will get another crack at GSP. It may have not been the most exciting event in the world, but UFC 74 has now set the stage for the success that is to come.