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 Mark Coleman beats Randy Couture convincing, what's your pick for Coleman's next fight? And Couture?
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MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST & AUDIO ANALYST
If Coleman beats Couture convincingly, it'll be hard to deny him a fight with a top contender next time out. He should still be ten miles from a title shot, but a fight with the loser of the Rampage-Rashad fight or even taking on one of the young guns like Thiago Silva, Luiz Cane, or Ryan Bader might be fun.
If Couture loses, let's face it, he'll always have a job in the UFC and he just signed a new long term contract so it's not like he's going anywhere. Just like with a Coleman loss, another fight with Chuck Liddell would do big numbers. Plus, the odds of one of them getting hurt are slim, so that's a positive too.
Other than that, I've always wanted to see Couture take on Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin, and those are both fights that seem destined to happen sooner or later.
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JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Should Randy Couture lose a decisive match to Mark Coleman, then Coleman would move into the top contender discussion in line for a title shot. He wouldn’t get the next shot, but would likely be paired up with the winner of Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The next title shot after Shogun vs. Machida, will likely go to the winner of Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson.
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BRIAN SWEET, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
I see Coleman fighting the winner of Jon Jones-Brandon Vera. At Coleman's age, he probably wont be fighting more than a year or two longer and needs to finish out his contract quickly. I see Couture vs. the loser of Liddell-Ortiz 3.
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ANDREW O'DONNELL, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
I won't be surprised if Mark Coleman's last fight is Saturday night with a win or loss and, if he were to potentially win, he'd probably get the loser of Griffin-Nogueira regardless if it's convincing or not. Mark Coleman's gastank just hasn't been there. It definitely screws Dana's plans on bringing back Captain America as a top contender at light-heavyweight.
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LARAMEY LEET, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
If Mark Coleman wins the fight it will be the upset of the year! But if he happen to pull it off, he would probably fight a lower ranked opponent still. In his two previous fights his conditioning has been a problem. After Couture beats him, he will only have one more fight left in the UFC and I see Dana and Lorenzo giving him an easier fight for his last. I would assume that he would retire going 2-2 in his comeback! If Couture lost he will still go against a better opponent than Coleman no matter what the outcome! Couture sells fights.
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ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
If Coleman beats Couture, he would need at least two fights before a title fight or, at the least, one high-profile fight, such as a Rich Franklin. For both fighters, Rich Franklin would be a great fight and, if Coleman were to beat "Ace," that would definitely be a huge stepping stone. A more reasonable fight would be someone like a Matt Hamill, who has a newer and similar style to his, and they could decide who the real "Hammer" is.
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SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
If Coleman can prove to be stronger, both mentally and physically, than he's ever been before, and is able to pull out an upset, then he deserves a shot at one of Greg Jackson's boys, Rashad Evans or Keith Jardine. I think it would be interesting to see how he deals with Evans speed, striking, and great wrestling base, while Jardine is so unorthodox and crafty it might throw Coleman off his usual gameplan of takedown to ground and pound.
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FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Brandon Vera would be my first choice. He lost a crap decision to Couture, so he should get a chance to redeem himself against another old fighter. A fight against Griffin might be a good choice, too. If Couture loses, he should fight Matt Hamill.
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):
-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?
[Mark Coleman photo credit Mike Lano (c) MMATorch]
