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MOORE: Top Fights to Make After UFC Fight Night 59 "McGregor vs. Siver"
Jan 19, 2015 - 2:40:25 PM MOORE: Top Fights to Make After UFC Fight Night 59 "McGregor vs. Siver"

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By: Dan Moore, MMATorch UK Columnist

I hate UFC events on a Sunday night that roll into the early hours of Monday morning here in England. It messes up my entire working week, but I wasn't going to miss yet another Conor McGregor master class. Luckily for me, the Packers vs. Seahawks game was epic, and that alone kept me awake for long enough to see the top two fights on the UFC Fight Night 59 card. No point messing around with more small talk, so let's take a look at what's next for the winners and losers in Boston last night:


NOTABLE MAIN CARD WINNERS

Conor McGregor (17-2, 5-0 UFC) - I know the UFC hype him to the moon and back, but this guy is truly phenomenal, and he deserves every single last drop of the attention. Plenty of fighters are often lambasted for their lack of showmanship, so when the polar opposite comes along, we should embrace it and applaud. Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson fought last night; both well known commodities in their own right, yet nobody was remotely interested in it because of McGregor.

You might be McGregor's biggest fan, convinced he can take the title off Jose Aldo. Or, like my colleague Tommy Strong, you tune in hoping to see him be humiliated. Either way, though, one thing is guaranteed: you're invested in his hype. Jose Aldo should be kissing his backside, because his next pay-per-view fight will actually make some serious money. The Brazilian is a genius inside the Octagon, but he can't sell cold water in the Sahara Desert. Lucky for him, we all know an Irishman who can.

Next Fight vs. Jose Aldo


Donald Cerrone (27-6 1 NC, 14-3 UFC) - Man did Donald Cerrone get out of jail with that win. I applaud risk takers, but that was always going to be a stupid fight to take on short notice. If not for incompetent judging, his win streak would've been for nothing. I might watch this fight again and score it closer, but last night I had Benson Henderson as the winner without hesitation.

If only for longer than two weeks, Cerrone needs to take some time off now, and the UFC should insist he does exactly that. Cerrone vs. Nurmagomedov is as clear a No. 1 contender fight as you will ever see, and it needs to happen. Hopefully the undefeated Nurmagomedov will be fit and ready to go by early April at the latest. Winner of that one gets a title shot against Anthony Pettis, who himself won't lose to Rafael dos Anjos.

Next Fight vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov


Uriah Hall (10-4, 3-2 UFC) - He did what he needed to do and avoided the banana skin, but a win over Ron Stallings leaves him back at square one. Sure, Hall is a talented enough fighter, but I'm yet to be convinced he's anything more than that. He was originally scheduled to face Costas Philippou last night, and there's no reason not to make the exact same fight again.

Next Fight vs. Costas Philippou


NOTABLE MAIN CARD LOSERS

Benson Henderson (21-5, 8-3 UFC) - What goes around, comes around in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Benson Henderson has history of stealing close fights, so it makes a change to see him on the receiving end. In the cold light of day, he can't really complain too much about ending up the loser last night. I still think he should move up to try the surroundings of welterweight, but Myles Jury, or Eddie Alvarez, both offer a competitive fight for Henderson, who needs to stop the skid.

Next Fight vs. Myles Jury


Dennis Siver (22-10 1 NC, 11-7 1 NC UFC) - He was brought in as the bad guy to complement the Irish hero, and he executed his role to absolute perfection. There was no way on earth he was ever going to get close enough to McGregor, let alone finish him. UFC top brass knew it, we knew, and so too did Siver himself. He's still ranked, though, and every man and his dog in the featherweight division want to take his place. Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes (winner or loser) or Darren Elkins is fine with me, but I prefer Siver vs. Tavares or Lentz next.

Next Fight vs. Loser of Thiago Tavares vs. Nik Lentz


WHO'S NEXT FOR EVERYONE ELSE


Ron Stallings

Cannon fodder, but he stepped up when asked. He will get another chance.

Next Fight vs. Sheldon Westcott


Norman Parke

He didn't do enough and rightly got beat. Young and talented enough to bounce back immediately.

Next Fight vs. Loser of Ross Pearson vs. Sam Stout


Gleison Tibau

If you can't sleep at night, go on Fight Pass and watch a Gleison Tibau fight.

Next Fight vs. Winner of Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Daruish


Cathal Pendred

The MMA gods clearly love the fighting Irish. How did he win that?

Next Fight vs. Omari Akhmedov


Sean Spencer

Hard not to feel a little sad for him, but don't leave it to the judges.

Next Fight vs. Loser of Nico Musoke vs. Albert Tumenov


John Howard

He's lost his last three, so his head is on the chopping block now.

Released by UFC


Lorenz Larkin

That drop to welterweight worked like a dream.

Next Fight vs. Ben Saunders


Zhang Lipeng

Zhang won't get cut after one defeat, but clearly not of the standard required.

Next Fight vs. Frankie Perez


Chris Wade

He didn't need the point deduction to help him, but he sent a few people to sleep last night.

Next Fight vs. Jake Matthews


Patrick Holohan

Dominated from start to finish to bounce back from the surprise loss to Chris Kelades.

Next Fight vs. Louis Smolka


Shane Howell

Proved tough to finish, but if that's all you've got, you're not hanging around for long.

Released by UFC


Johnny Case

Yet another good performance by Case that will add to his growing reputation.

Next Fight vs. Francisco Trevino


Frankie Perez

Tough fight to take on short notice but he will get ample chance to make amends.

Next Fight vs. Zhang Lipeng


Charles Rosa

Backed up his impressive showing again Dennis Siver with a nice victory.

Next Fight vs. Doo Ho Choi


Sean Soriano

Three strikes and you're out. No point keeping him around in a healthy division full of talent.

Released by UFC


Sean O'Connell

Stayed the course and got the win. Man, the depth at 205lbs is non-existent.

Next Fight vs. Hans Stringer


Matt van Buren

He should've finished the fight before he got finished himself.

Next Fight vs. Justin Jones


Joby Sanchez

This one wasn't a judging decision I disagreed with. It was close, but Sanchez did enough.

Next Fight vs. Darrell Montague


Tateki Matsuda

Flyweight doesn't have enough depth to cover two releases in one night. Matsuda is a lucky man.

Next Fight vs. Richie Vaculik


I'm in Sweden next weekend, so I'll be back next Monday with a slightly delayed article covering UFC on Fox 14 (Gustafsson vs. Johnson).

Follow me on Twitter and share your opinion, @MMATorchDan