Over the last few years, the UFC Middleweight Title has had an array of owners. Long gone are the days of Anderson Silva’s dominant reign but even still, 185 lbs remains a fascinating division within the MMA landscape. Whether it’s the sport’s most loaded division though, well that’s a different question altogether.
Last week, Fightful’s own Harry Kettle asked top contender Jack Hermansson for his own thoughts on how the Middleweights stack up. “I think that there are divisions with a greater depth of talent but the top of the middleweight division, there’s been the same people for ages now just because those guys are that good,” he said. “It’s really, really hard to get in there and get into the top five because those guys have been on another level.
Many people look at the middleweight division, the top of the middleweight division as one of the strongest divisions for sure. Then I think there is more depth to other divisions but it’s a really, really tough division, and then names that I have in front of me now like Israel Adesanya, maybe the best striker in the UFC. You have Yoel Romero, maybe the most feared fighter in the UFC, he’s such a beast of a man. And you have Robert Whittaker, never a disappointing performance. Those guys are really, really good and its hard fights.”
Hermansson now belongs alongside those names too, most recently defeating Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in a career best win. The result’s impact has already been noticeable for ‘The Joker’ as well. “Everything has shifted,” he said. “A lot more attention, a lot more popularity. I probably have interviews like this every day since the fight so that’s something new and something positive about it. That’s what you need as a fighter, to reach out to the fans.”
If his current form continues, this trend looks unlikely to end for Hermansson and in truth, he may now be just one win away from a title shot too.
Check out the video above to see Hermansson’s full interview with Fightful's Harry Kettle.
