Rich Hansen's Take
HANSEN: Moving On From Chicago - Fights to Make After UFC On Fox: Evans vs. Davis
Jan 30, 2012 - 10:30:29 PM HANSEN: Moving On From Chicago - Fights to Make After UFC On Fox: Evans vs. Davis

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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist:

It's a quick turnaround for the UFC coming off of their first multi-fight card for the Fox Network. We're just a few days from UFC 143. Since the calendar keeps moving forward, and yesterday's card will soon be forgotten from our collective memory, let's take one look back at the fighters coming out of UFC On Fox and figure out some good matchups.

Rashad Evans: It has already been announced that Rashad will be destroyed by Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in April.


Chael Sonnen: Georges St-Pierre is the only logical choice for Sonnen, since he's made it clear to the world at large that Anderson Silva wants nothing to do with him. And since everything that comes out of Chael's mouth when hyping a fight can be taken as gospel...


Phil Davis: Clearly, and to the surprise of exactly nobody (likely including Mr. Wonderful himself), Rashad Evans was too much for Phil Davis to handle at this point. He needs to take a step back, but not too far of a step back, lest they make the decision to put him in the main event of a network TV fight look even more foolish than it actually was (and it was pretty damned foolish). Forrest Griffin come to mind, but I have no idea when he's coming back. Stephan Bonnar might be too much of a step back for Davis, since he does hold a win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira already. So, in the battle of young wrestlers who have beaten Nogueira, how about Ryan Bader, once Bader loses to Rampage Jackson at UFC 144?


Michael Bisping: Michael Bisping loses nothing in defeat to Chael Sonnen. Frankly, his status should be elevated, because he hung with Sonnen, outmuscling him in the clinch, and lost a razor thin decision that I personally scored a 29-29 draw. Bisping can absolutely hold his head high, and should be given a fight against another top-five guy. A fight with Yushin Okami makes sense for early this summer, assuming that Okami gets past Tim Boetsch in February.


Chris Weidman: OK, the fight was a turkey. But a win is a win, especially when taking it on thirteen days, and especially when the man you defeated was by far the best fighter you've ever faced. So, let's get a full camp under your belt and see what you have against a better fighter. Mark Munoz anybody? Yes, please.


Demian Maia: When Demian joined the UFC, his goal was to not only win fights with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. But to do so without even throwing one strike. After going 5-0 in the UFC, with four of those five submission victories earning a bonus, Maia hasn't submitted anybody. He went from pulling guard, sweeping, and submitting to getting on the ground and beseeching the referee to stand up the fight as soon as his trunks hit the ground. OK, Mr. Maia, you think that you want to stand? Then try Brian Stann on for size, once he shows off his power against Alessio Sakara in April. I'm willing to bet Maia will pull guard within fifteen seconds of the opening horn, and maybe then we'll see the submission machine he once was. And if not, we'll be able to make plenty of awesome animated GIFs of his head flying into row 13 if in fact he tries to stand with Stann.


Evan Dunham: Dunham probably wants to winner of Anthony Pettis and Joe Lauzon. But with Nick Diaz and Jim Miller having recently been booked, and looking at the rest of the 155 roster, one could surmise that Anthony Pettis is getting a title shot after defeating Lauzon in Japan (I'm from Milwaukee, I write opinion, so nyah). So since he won't be looking at Pettis, how about another step up against Clay Guida? Even if it's not the name he wants, it's the step up in competition he deserves.


Nik Lentz: It almost seems as if the UFC has been daring Lentz to lose a fight, ever since the dog of a fight he had with Andre Winner on the Spike prelims for UFC 118. They finally got that loss against Mark Bocek, and a very easy to predict loss to Evan Dunham. But he does still possess a stellar 21-5-2 record, so if he gets one more UFC fight, pit him against Jeremy Stephens. If he defeats a strong striker, he'll show something to UFC brass. And if he doesn't, he'll show something to either the fine people of Yuma or the fine people of Calgary sometime in the near future.


Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson: A couple of polar opposite featherweights with one thing in common, they're PERFECT for each other. I don't think either guy is, forgive me, in the mix quite yet, behind guys like Poirier, Koch, Jung, or the Hioki/Palaszewski winner. So pit them against each other and let's add the inner to the mix.


George Roop: Other than my not wanting to see anyone lose their job, I wouldn't have a problem with George Roop asking Mark Pavelich for a meeting next week. I'd prefer him to face Tyson Griffin in a loser heads to Edmonton match.


Lavar Johnson: Let's not go crazy just yet. While Johnson is the first Strikeforce heavyweight to come over to the UFC after Strikeforce dissolved their heavyweight division (so no Alistair Overeem tweets, please), he is still 1-2 in his last three fights, which includes his impressive KO victory over Joey Beltran on Saturday night. I'd like to see him against Dave Herman, if Herman defeats Struve. Otherwise, Matt Mitrione makes sense. Johnson would benefit from the exposure a win over a name like Mitrione would provide. Mitrione is coming off of a loss admittedly, but the UFC heavyweight pool is bereft of low level fighters coming off of a win, and Mitrione needs a win, even one over Sarah Kaufman would be appreciated right now.


Michael Johnson: Shane Roller is a seasoned veteran, and Johnson looked better than ever against Roller. Dennis Hallman is essentially a gatekeeper to the midcard, which is the next step in Johnson's progression.


Mike Russow: Junior dos Santos, because there's no commodity more valuable than an undefeated HW, and 4-0 is better than Alistair Overeem's crappy 1-0 UFC record.


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