Image: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
It feels as though the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division has been in a strange place for nearly a decade, but Saturday in Paris is the harbinger of a fun new era at 185 pounds. Since Luke Rockhold dethroned Chris Weidman at UFC 194, ushering in a period of several years during which nobody seemed to want to hold onto the belt, the division has alternated between chaos and stagnation. Israel Adesanya managed to impose stability during his dazzling three-year title reign, but a side effect of his dominance was that he exhausted the pool of available contenders to the point that the only viable options were to go on an endless rematch tour or try his hand at light heavyweight.