What will '09 be remembered for?

Behind Brock Lesnar (right) and Randy Couture, the heavyweight division may become the UFC's flagship weight class. AP

There's no way, really, to know which major themes will emerge as mixed martial arts plows into 2009. It seems reasonable that the sport's overarching issues -- regulation, television, promotional challengers to the UFC, fighters' rights -- will all continue to play out over the next 12 months. But they also seem unlikely to define MMA's '09 campaign.

How, then, will we come to remember this year?

For starters, this could easily be known as the year of the megafight. Beyond great MMA, of which there will be plenty in the coming year, '09 should deliver the sport's first series of "event" fights, where high stakes rival big personalities in the ring or cage.

In January alone, two fights qualify.

Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski may not be megastars in the U.S., but one is the best heavyweight in the sport and the other is a legitimate challenger to the crown. Not only is it an intriguing and important bout for each man, Emelianenko-Arlovski could go a long way in determining whether Affliction Entertainment and Golden Boy Promotions have the wherewithal to remain in MMA.

There's no such concern for the promoter of the biggest fight in January, which comes a week later with an interdivisional masterpiece featuring UFC champions B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre.

Getting the HBO 24/7 treatment via a multi-part look at both men on Spike TV, the Jan. 31 bout in Las Vegas could be one of those fights that transcends MMA. Two great fighters in their primes, both ranked in the top five pound-for-pound, meet for the second time in their careers. It has all the elements. Plus, the promotional heft of the UFC helps make this kind of fight more than a battle of young stars.

As matchups unfold based on results, new monster fights will emerge over the course of the year. And several will manifest in the heavyweight division.

Combat sports are rarely healthier than when a competitive heavyweight division brings with it exciting and important fights. And one of two things seems certain about the weight class this year: we'll know, or we'll really want to know, who reigns as the top heavyweight.

With the emergence of Brock Lesnar as Zuffa's most marketable heavyweight since it purchased the UFC at the start of the decade, the division looks poised to supplant light heavyweights as the company's flagship weight class. A rematch between Lesnar and Frank Mir sometime in the spring or summer -- another of the aforementioned megafights -- will go a long way in keeping the big guys at the forefront of the sport.

A sensible fight between Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira should create some interest, as could bouts featuring prospects like Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez.

But, as has been the case since he took the title from Nogueira in 2003, the division's main storyline revolves around Emelianenko. If the Russian handles Arlovski, particularly if he dominates the former UFC champion, Emelianenko is set for at least two more bouts this year. That kind of activity should ease the criticism that's emerged as a result of his fighting less-than-top challengers this past year.

If he manages to pull out three wins, this could be the year people come to appreciate Emelianenko for his skill and dominance. Most expect his next challenge to come from Josh Barnett -- this is assuming the youngest man to hold the UFC heavyweight crown defeats Gilbert Yvel on Jan. 24. If he does, Emelianenko-Barnett is a fight many longtime followers want to see.

It's very possible, however, that by the end of the year the one fight people will be talking about -- Emelianenko vs. Lesnar or Mir -- will bring frustration if Emelianenko's handlers and UFC President Dana White can't come to an agreement that would finally put the Russian in the Octagon.

But keeping Emelianeko out of the Octagon is only a fraction of what fans may not get to see in '09.

This almost seems unfair, especially in the face of high-profile fights on the docket for the next 12 months, but 2009 could also be remembered as the year we missed out on some globally relevant bouts.

Having already lost a superfight between Couture and Emelianenko in 2008 when both sides failed to come to terms and the UFC sued Couture for breach of contract, the obvious example is the Emelianenko-Lesnar/Mir bout. And, unfortunately, there could be others.

Assuming Penn chooses to compete at 155 pounds and Shinya Aoki continues to submit people, a fight between the UFC champ and the top Japanese lightweight would be wonderful. Anderson Silva's status as the top fighter in MMA could suffer if he doesn't meet the best challengers, and there are several currently not under contract to the UFC. (However, Thales Leites, Demian Maia and several other UFC-signed middleweights won't make it easy on him.)

Certainly, these men will be plenty busy. The hope is they will have an opportunity to face the best challengers, or meet the champions they've earned the right to fight.

And if missing out on some top fights weren't enough, consider this: 2009 could be the year Zuffa succeeds in stamping out its challengers, thus officially asserting itself over the whole of MMA. Just the same, it might not. But I get the sense we'll have a much clearer understanding of where MMA and the UFC are headed by the end of the '09.