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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
Thank God for Fuel TV. There, I said it. Not because I like BMX races. Not because surfing trips my trigger. Certainly not because they only air in standard definition on my cable company. But thank God for Fuel TV because they are willing to air live UFC fights in the middle of the day.
If the UFC were still on Spike TV, the UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic event would have only aired at 9 PM Eastern. And it probably would have been named something else, because why in the hell would Spike sign off on giving any attention to the lowly rated skateboarding and weed channel, #amirite? Anyhoooo, we would have had to put up with Dana White bitching about ESPN running a crawl (which means no college football), avoiding Twitter all day long so as to avoid spoilers, and the knowledge that somewhere in the world, there was live MMA and we have to stream it illegally can't watch it live.
The UFC 151 hangover is history, as far as I'm concerned. The UFC has put on two solid shows in consecutive weekends, with two more events coming up over the next two weekends. Right now the future is bright, and I'm ready to look forward as opposed to backward. So since we're all agreed to be optimistic and stuff, let's continue to look forward and think about some fights we'd like to see from some of the fighters from the Fuel TV show.
Stefan Struve: Stefan Struve is still an enigma, but the finishing sequence showed us that he has the ability to put it all together. When he's willing to work the jab consistently, and follow it up with uppercuts, he's a dangerous man. Add that striking experience to the fact that he's got an extremely active ground game, and his ceiling rose quite a bit. He's calling out Fabricio Werdum, which would be a very good way to stifle his progression. I like him fighting a top ten guy, but not a top five guy. I like the idea of Struve vs. Nogueira, presuming he rolls through Dave Herman on October 13. If Josh Barnett comes to the UFC, there's another fight I'd like to see. And maybe a rematch with Travis Browne makes sense. Antonio Silva would be a good fight for him, if Silva defeats Browne.
Up next: Stefan Struve vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Other possibilities include Josh Barnett or the winner of Travis Browne vs. Antonio Silva.
Dan Hardy: OK, beating Amir Sadollah semi-convincingly doesn't mean you're back from a competitive standpoint, but maybe it does from a marketability standpoint. I think people want to like Dan Hardy now, and why not? While I doubt that Hardy is ever going to run the gauntlet to another title shot (as the current gauntlet is just a wee bit more daunting than it was in 2009), he can certainly make noise in the division. I think a fight with B.J. Penn makes all the sense in the world. Well, it does for Zuffa and for Hardy. Whether or not Penn wants anything to do with it is an open question. If not Penn, why not Matt Hughes? That's a fight Hardy is trying to talk himself into, and it would sell. If not Hardy, who wouldn't want to see Hardy vs. Alves, in the battle of strikers that GSP ground into hamburger met?
Up next: Dan Hardy vs. B.J. Penn (if Penn loses on December 8)
Other possibilities include Matt Hughes or Thiago Alves
Brad Pickett: One Punch, indeed. Pickett and Jabouin was destined to be a slugger's delight, and Pickett finally lived up to his nickname after a Stout-like drought of not living up to his moniker. After the thrill of the moment, where I wrote that I'd like to see him against Michael McDonald next, I think I'd like to see him fight once or two more times before getting a title, or interim title, shot. Eddie Wineland is the fight I'd like to see. If the UFC has other plans for Wineland, maybe Mike Easton or Francisco Rivera?
Up next: Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
Other possibilities include Mike Easton or Francisco Rivera
Matt Wiman: I've always liked Matt Wiman, and I still insist that he beat Dennis Siver at UFC 132. I think his ceiling is a lot higher than many other people believe it to be. You've got to go back more than six years to find a fight where Wiman was finished, he doesn't have a bad loss on his UFC record, and he is almost always in entertaining fights. Right now he's a top-20 lightweight, with room to improve. That said, 155 is pretty backed up, and he's just going to have to keep beating guys at his level and hope a 6 or 7 fight win streak finally gets him noticed.
Up next: Matt Wiman vs. the winner of Jeremy Stephens vs. Yves Edwards on October 5
Other possibilities include Tim Means if he defeats Abel Trujillo on December 8, or the winner of Michael Johnson vs. Danny Castillo on October 5
John Hathaway: And sometimes THAT is what happens when friends and training partners are forced to fight. Especially when one is physically superior to the other. Hathaway, who looked like a killer against Pascal Krauss, looked like a lamb against John Maguire. That was the least impressive victory in the UFC since Nik Lentz defeated Andre Winner in August 2010. That said, a win is a win, and the UFC isn't in the position to just bury UK fighters out of spite. He'll get a tough fight against a good fighter, and hopefully can redeem himself.
Up next: John Hathaway vs. the winner of Paulo Thiago vs. Dong Hyun Kim on November 10
Other possibilities include The winner of Demian Maia vs. Rick Story on October 13 or the winner of Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch on October 13
Che Mills: What a strange couple of fights for Mills. He co-main-evented against Rory MacDonald and got destroyed, but even in defeat he managed on few occasions to land solidly on Rory's chin. And then against Duane Ludwig, in a fight that was booked to rebuild Mills, Ludwig's leg gave out before Mills could really open up. That's life, eh?
Up next: Che Mills vs. Kyle Noke
Other possibilities include the winner of Aaron Simpson vs. Mike Pierce on October 5 or the winner of Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick on December 8
Jimi Manuwa: Kyle Kingsbury done pissed off somebody something fierce. How else would he draw the debuting Jimi Manuwa immediately after drawing the debuting Glover Teixeira? That's just cold, man. That said, he took the best Manuwa had to offer and kept fighting his fight, takedowns, chin, and heart, and was down 19-18 on my card when the fight was stopped before the third round could begin. It's conceivable that the fight was tied on two judges' cards, which means that had Manuwa continued to gas out, he might have lost. Of course, that's not how it played out, so everything is puppies and rainbows when it comes to Jimi Manuwa and the UFC. Let's not just say that everyone who destroys Kyle Kingsbury needs to be elevated into title contention, okay?
Up next: Jimi Manuwa vs. Matt Hamill
Other possibilities include Rampage Jackson or Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Other fights I'd like to see
Brad Tavares vs. Michael Kuiper
Gunnar Nelson vs. Dan Miller
Robert Peralta vs. Ricardo Lamas
Stipe Miocic vs. the loser or Roy Nelson vs. Shane Carwin
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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