We have brought back the popular MMATorch Roundtable feature. Most days we will publish a question followed by several staff members' answers. We will run several batches of staff responses to the following question over the next several days, and then introduce a new topic after that.
TODAY'S NEW TOPIC:
If Randy Couture beats Mark Coleman convincingly, what's your pick for Couture's next opponents? And Coleman?
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BJORN HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Same opponent I wanted for Randy Couture prior to his bout with Mark Coleman was announced: Nogueira. I loved Big Nogueira vs. Couture so much (2009 Fight of the Year, in my opinion), I just have to find out if there’ll be the same fireworks with Lil Nogueira vs Couture.
Additionally, if Lil Nog beats Forrest, whom he is scheduled to fight at UFC 113, they will fall more or less in the same pecking order.
If Coleman loses convincingly, I could see him taking some time off to wait for Tito Ortiz to have his brain rattled by Chuck Liddell yet again. Tito called him a “sissy” for backing out of their originally scheduled matchup at UFC 106, and the trash-talking has continued since.
Or, since Mark Coleman isn’t fighting for belts anymore, you could spice things up and make him fight for his moniker against Matt Hammill: The Hammer Resolution... two men enter, only one man exits as "The Hammer."
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AIDEN LEAHY, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
If Randy wins convincingly I think the UFC might push him for one last title shot, but I personally would like to see him face Jon Jones provided Jones defeats Brandon Vera in March.
If Coleman looses convincingly I think he should retire but I don’t see that happening, so an opponent like Vladimir Matyushenko or Steve Cantwell (provided he returns) would be a good fit.
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FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I'd like to see Couture face Forrest Griffin. It'd be a nice match-up, and a hard fight for Forrest. I don't think you can realistically put either guy in there with Rashad or Rampage, unless you're wanting them to get beat down. Forrest could possibly submit or get the decision over Couture, but you're not going to worry for his safety like you would if he was fighting either Rashad or Rampage. If Coleman loses, I'd want to see him fight Matt Hamill or Jon Jones.
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GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO HOST
If Randy wins, I totally see him close to a title shot, even though he wouldn't really deserve it based on these last few matches. I could really see UFC putting him in there with Machida or Shogun to see if lightning will strike for the thousandth time as Randy figures out a gameplan for UFC's top LHW
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SHAWN ENNIS, MMATORCH SENIOR COLUMNIST
If Couture wins, he's probably closer to title contention than Coleman gets with a win. With that under consideration, I wouldn't mind seeing Couture take on the winner of Griffin-Lil Nog, which happens in May.
For Coleman, I'd still like to see a fight between him and Tito Ortiz. Coleman was supposed to be Ortiz's comeback opponent, and I thought that was a pretty good fight. You don't need Coleman fighting as often as Couture wants to, so waiting until after Ortiz's re-rematch with Chuck Liddell would be fine.
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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
If "The Natural" beats Coleman like most everyone thinks he will, then his next opponent should either be Jon Jones or Rampage. Rampage being such a good wrestler would be hard to takedown and this matchup could hopefully result in a good ol' fashioned brawl. Jon Jones needs to be tested against a top-caliber wrestler and his dynamic approach to striking (i.e. the nasty move he pulled on Jake O'Brien with a fake shot turned into an overhead elbow) could make for a Couture fight that's actually exciting.
The truth is I'd really like to see both fighters retire, both for themselves and the sport. The wrestling approach to fighting is incredibly boring from a spectator's point of view. It's also the biggest turnoff for newcomers to the sport.
While both these fighters proved that a wrestling approach to MMA could be extremely successful by using strikes to setup takedowns, the ultimate result has been a generation of bigger, stronger wrestlers holding down smaller opponents and eeking out unanimous decisions through control instead of damage. I'm ready for the sport to expand and show its progression into kickboxing and submission grappling.
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MORE PREDICTIONS COMING IN A FEW HOURS. CHECK BACK WITH MMATORCH FOR THE NEXT BATCH.
Our next batch of Roundtable Topics to be addressed over the next week or two are as follows (so keep coming back to MMATorch every day for this and more exclusive features):
-If Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?
-Who are the two or three current Strikeforce fighters (other than Fedor) you'd be most intrigued to see acquired by UFC. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?
-Who are the two or three current UFC fighters you'd be most intrigued to see leave UFC for whatever reason (perhaps not being given a fair shake, already fought everyone, hit a ceiling, etc.) and be acquired by Strikeforce. What match-ups would you make from those acquisitions?
-Would you prefer Strikeforce in two years was out of business, close to UFC's equal (in revenue, ratings, buyrates, talent roster), or had surpassed UFC (assuming UFC stays static in the mean time)? Why?
-Should UFC add a women's fighting division?
-What would you do to try to make WEC successful on PPV, even if in general you disagree with WEC going on PPV? In other words, what advice would you give to Zuffa assuming they were open to some outside-the-box or aggressive marketing ideas?
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