As the tenth season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show continues, a disconnect remains between the heavyweight fighter of most interest to casual fans and the heavyweight bout that devoted MMA fans are clamoring to see. While far from title shot contention, Kimbo Slice remains the heavyweight fighter that draws more interest than any other, unmoved from the top of the divisional rankings since September. Below Kimbo in 2nd and 3rd sit the two heavyweights that the rest of the MMA community so desperately wants to see fight, Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko.
Rounding out the top 5 buzz rankings for the heavyweight division are the free agent professional wrestler Bobby Lashley, who brings with him a considerable carry-over fan base, and Ben Rothwell. Rothwell had his unsuccessful UFC debut in October against Cain Velasquez, and despite the loss was able to earn himself more fan interest than at any other prior point in his career.
Among those dropping out of the top 20 in October was Mirko Cro Cop, now a month removed from his bruising UFC 103 defeat at the hands of Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos also fell out of the top of the rankings.
| October Rank |
Heavyweight Fighter | September to October Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson | No Change |
| 2 | Brock Lesnar | Up 1 |
| 3 | Fedor Emelianenko | Down 1 |
| 4 | Bobby Lashley | Up 1 |
| 5 | Ben Rothwell | Up 16 |
| 6 | Shane Carwin | No Change |
| 7 | Roy Nelson | Down 3 |
| 8 | Cain Velasquez | Up 9 |
| 9 | Andrei Arlovski | Up 4 |
| 10 | Brett Rogers | Up 2 |
| 11 | Ken Shamrock | No Change |
| 12 | Tim Sylvia | Up 2 |
| 13 | Frank Mir | Down 3 |
| 14 | Wes Sims | Down 7 |
| 15 | Bas Rutten | Up 17 |
| 16 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | Down 7 |
| 17 | Alistair Overeem | Up 3 |
| 18 | Houston Alexander | Up 16 |
| 19 | Seth Petruzelli | Down 3 |
| 20 | Gabriel Gonzaga | Up 7 |
Dropped out of Heavyweight Top 20:
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (#23), Jeff Monson (#27), Junior Dos Santos (#28), Ron Waterman (#41)
[...] 20 Heavyweight Buzz Rankings for recent months: – October 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo Slice) – September 2009 (#1 Rank: Kimbo [...]