The middleweight division benefited from a number of high profile bouts in February, placing extra emphasis on the weight class as champion Anderson Silva’s next title shot approaches. Chael Sonnen’s upset of Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 as well as Wanderlei Silva’s decision victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 110 helped fuel the 185lb fan interest. Also in action was Demian Maia, whose victory over Dan Miller earned him the UFC 112 title shot when Vitor Belfort withdrew due to injury. With Maia, Belfort, and Sonnen in the mix, the divisional picture for middleweights is getting ever more interesting, and fans are responding by paying closer attention. The 185 pound class represented 18.7% of all MMA interest in February, up notably from January.
Weight class fan interest for recent months:
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
| February Share of Fan Interest |
Weight Class | January to February Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.6% | Super Heavyweight – Over 265 lbs | - |
| 31.4% | Heavyweight – 265 lbs | up 1.3% |
| 19.7% | Light Heavyweight – 205 lbs | - |
| 18.7% | Middleweight – 185 lbs | up 2.4% |
| 14.5% | Welterweight – 170 lbs | down -.9% |
| 10.3% | Lightweight – 155 lbs | down 2.7% |
| 1.8% | Featherweight – 145 lbs | down 1.1% |
| 0.5% | Bantamweight – 135 lbs | - |
| 0.1% | Flyweight – 125 lbs | - |
[...] class fan interest for recent months: – February 2010 – January 2010 – December [...]