...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
Clearly Cain Velasquez has no legitimate challengers remaining in the UFC's heavyweight division. At this point, all he's good for is to make the rest of the UFC's heavyweights look weak and unmarketable. But I come with a proposal to fix this Velasquez Situation. The UFC should offer Cain Velasquez to Bellator, so long as Bellator gives him an immediate title shot against Alexander Volkov in his Bellator debut. And if Bellator holds firm to their Real Sport™ format and refuses to hot shot a title shot for Velasquez, then they'll be caught with their pants down and no longer be able to say that they have the best fighters in the world.
On to the fights to make coming out of UFC 166:
Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum
Look, Nick Kalikas has already said that the opening line on Velasquez vs. Werdum would be Velasquez -705. And I think that would be an extremely safe bet. If it's me, I'm pulling Josh Barnett out of the fight with Travis Browne and giving him the next title shot against Velasquez. After all, Barnett might actually be able to get the line down to -450-ish. This is the conundrum the UFC will be facing until Jon Jones goes up to heavyweight for an instant title shot. Barnett might be competitive against Velasquez; no other current heavyweight can ever be. But, all that aside, Dana White's already said they're likely to go with Werdum next, so disregard everything I just wrote.
Junior dos Santos vs. the loser of Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
That's the only fight that makes sense for dos Santos right now. Dos Santos is so far ahead of the rest of the division (non-Velasquez sub-category), that he's got to fight a close to elite HW every time out. Does it make sense for him to fight Shawn Jordan next? Um, no. A fight with Alistair Overeem makes some sense, but if Overeem loses to Frank Mir then Overeem's going to be on the street. And even if he somehow stays in the UFC with a loss to Mir, there's nothing at all in it for dos Santos. Dos Santos might be looking at Mark Hunt or Antonio Silva next, too.
Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Dana White is on the record saying that Glover Teixeira gets the next title shot with Jon Jones (in March or April), but he never said it would be a gimme fight. The UFC wants to make Cormier vs. Jones, but they've already promised Gustafsson a title shot with a win his next time in the cage. If they go with Nogueira vs. Gustafsson next, then Phil Davis vs. Cormier could happen. The winner of Rashad Evans vs. Chael Sonnen makes sense too, as long as they're comfortable with making broadcasters fight each other that frequently.
Gilbert Melendez vs. the winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Josh Thomson
Melendez put himself in front of T.J. Grant. It's a tough world, so sorry. Assuming Pettis gets past Thomson on December 14, Pettis vs. Melendez is the best lightweight fight the UFC could possibly put on. If Thomson defeats Pettis (you can't see me, but I just did a spit take at the very thought of it), then this is the rare situation where it's logical for a trilogy to lead to a tetralogy. Melendez holds two wins over Thomson, and there would be no fairness in denying him a shot at the champion just because he happened to already fight him thrice for another company. There's a slim chance that T.J. Grant could fight Melendez in a no. 1 contender's fight, but the timing doesn't really work out. Grant vs. Melendez might happen in March, which would be three months after Pettis would have last fought. If Grant fights Pettis in late winter or spring, that would necessitate one more fight for Melendez. In that scenario, Rafael dos Anjos would be the highest ranked contender for him to fight.
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Stipe Miocic
Gonzaga thinks he's top ten again. Let's find out for sure. Miocic is looking for a fight, Gonzaga needs a step up in competition. Sometimes this is easy. However, in case Joe Silva comes up with something different, Gonzaga could fight the winner of the upcoming fight between Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir, or he could fight Brendan Schaub in a rematch of their 2010 fight.
John Dodson vs. the winner of Ian McCall and Scotty Jorgensen
Dodson might be in line for a title shot against Demetrious Johnson or Joseph Benavidez next, especially if Benavidez wins the title on November 30. And really, I wouldn't have a problem with that. But if he's not in line, then a number one contender's fight between McCall or Jorgensen. I suppose they could do Dodson vs. John Lineker, assuming he runs through Phil Harris in his next fight out.
Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nogueira is on the record saying he wants Stefan Struve. But since Struve is on the shelf ill, Nelson is the perfect fight for him. Two well accomplished veterans whose paths have never crossed could make for an excellent match. Nelson vs. Shawn Jordan might happen, but it doesn't make a ton of sense as long as Nelson is making the type of money he's making now. Nelson could also fight the loser of December's Antonio Silva vs. Mark Hunt. I've wanted to see Nelson vs. Hunt for years, although the luster is fading on that fight daily.
Everybody's Favorite Punching Bag Diego Sanchez vs. the loser of Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
Fight of the night? Sure. Entertaining as hell? Absolutely. Best fight since D-Day? Pass. Look, Diego Sanchez is a berserker punching bag, more Leonard Garcia than Gilbert Melendez. He swings and misses like the illegitimate love child of Rob Deer and Adam Dunn. Please don't be conned into being one of those people that thinks he's a great fighter. He's a punching bag with slow hands and bad reflexes. He also has enough head movement when he's swinging like a bored Montreal housewife to avoid kill-shot haymakers. All of this makes him extremely valuable. Casual fans prefer entertainment to skill. A fight with Nate Diaz, if he loses to Maynard after Diaz's prom lets out, could be fun. The same goes for a fight with the loser of Donald Cerrone and Evan Dunham, or the loser of Melvin Guillard and Ross Pearson. I love watching Sanchez fight. That is, when I am able to put aside the unnecessary amount of brain murder he's taking.
Tim Boetsch vs. Luke Rockhold
Sometimes this part of the gig is pretty easy, as this would just be the fight that was supposed to happen at UFC 166. Rockhold has been calling out Francis Carmont and Costa Phillipou, but why would he want to be blanketed by Carmont, and what does he have to gain from a fight with Phillipou? If this fight was signed, sealed, and delivered before Boetsch got a gift :"victory" thanks to a couple of completely incompetent judges who were in over their heads, then it's still the fight to make now. That said, if Rockhold gets a fight with Carmont at UFC 168, Boetsch could wind up with the winner of Ed Herman vs. Thales Leites (SPOILER – won't be Herman), or the winner of Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal.
Hector Lombard vs. Nick Diaz
Look, let's sit down and have a little one on one face time, okay? You know, and I know, Nick Diaz isn't done fighting. Weed might be cheap compared to cocaine, but it's still kinda pricey. Diaz is coming back, and most likely in the next six months. And he won't be coming back to fight James Head, ya dig? The UFC obviously has a ton of money invested in Hector Lombard, and they need to see some ROI on that deal. Diaz is money, plain and simple. As for the fight itself, Diaz is scared of no man, and will come forward. His style will bring a good fight out of Lombard even if he reverts into his counter-striking self. This has fireworks written all over it. Killshot vs. Volume Striker. Judo vs. BJJ. Let's get it on. But, let's say that Diaz has somehow gotten the keys to Josh Rosenthal's backup warehouse in Vacaville, then he'll be out of the question. How about the winner of Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown? Or if that's too high up the ladder, then I suppose we're looking at a fight with Jake Shields. Shields won't be able to get Lombard down, but he's got a hellacious chin and is hard to land solidly upon. That fight could be a stinker, but it would be a very good test for the UFC's $300,000 man.
Some other fights I'd like to see include:
Jessica Eye vs. the winner of Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
KJ Noons vs. the winner of Al Iaquinta vs. Piotr Hallman
Adlan Amagov vs. Brandon Thatch (after he starches Paulo Thiago)
Tony Ferguson vs. the winner of Mac Danzig vs. Joe Lauzon
Shawn Jordan vs. the winner of Wlter Harris vs. Jared Rosholt
Darrell Montague vs. John Moraga
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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