UFC Fans Stunned: Could it Really Happen? – MMA Breaking News

By Barnaby “Mattress Man” Kellaway

FABRICIO WERDUM

The heavyweight division in the UFC has gone from being injury torn and predictable to perhaps the most exciting of them all. Now that Cain Velasquez has been knocked off his perch there are options aplenty for the matchmakers. But what next for our new champion?

Firstly, if Cain Velasquez desired an immediate rematch he would be entitled to it. However, fighting in back to back title fights after almost two years out is surely a bad career move. Instead he should take a ‘warm-up’ fight: an opponent who he should handily dispose of but will give him the chance to sharpen all the tools that have been blunted during his time away.

The second happiest man in the world on Saturday night, after Werdum, was Junior Dos Santos. With two losses to Cain Velasquez the Brazilian thought he would spend the rest of his career as the gatekeeper of the heavyweight division, never again being able to challenge for the gold. However, the surprise victory opened things back up again for ‘Cigano’. One man’s good fortune is another’s misfortune, as Stipe Miocic, who looked every bit a title contender in his las fight against Mark Hunt, must be excluded from contention because his fight before was a loss to Dos Santos. At number four in the rankings is Andrei Arlovski, who in knocking out Travis Browne last month, eliminated him from contention. ‘Pitbull’, who was champion a decade ago, miraculously has a shot at being gifted the golden ticket. He is unbeaten since his return to the UFC and had his best performance in some time at UFC 187.

Whatever happens we will not see a title fight for some time because Werdum has been handed a six month medical suspension. With this in mind it is a good idea to have a title eliminator between the two top contenders, Dos Santos and Arlovski. Whilst both men are deserving of a title shot, neither claims it over the other, meaning they should scrap for the opportunity. Not only does it solve the problem justly but it would be a fantastic bout.

WERDUM VS DOS SANTOS/ARLOVSKI

EDDIE ALVAREZ

Eddie Alvarez earned his first UFC victory on Saturday night, scraping a split decision against Gilbert Melendez. In doing so, the former Bellator champion jumped five places in the rankings, leap-frogging his opponent in to number four. But like Werdum, Alvarez faces six months on the sideline after his eye blew up in the first round.

In terms of who next, there are a few options, the lightweight division is one of the most stacked in the UFC. If he gets the chance to fight someone ranked higher than him then it has to be Khabib Nurmagamedov or Anthony Pettis. Both of these fighters are also out with injury until later in the year so this may very well work. But considering Nurmagamedov was in line for a title shot until he got injured, it is fair to assume that once he regains fitness that is what he will get. This leaves former champion, Anthony Pettis. He was dethroned unceremoniously at UFC 186 and much like Velasquez he would be advised to take another fight before going straight back for the belt. Therefore a matchup against Alvarez makes sense. It would be a fight Pettis should win but would also be enough of a test to prove he is ready to get his title back.

ALVAREZ VS PETTIS

KELVIN GASTELUM

In his debut at middleweight Kelvin Gastelum easily disposed of a visibly aged Nate Marquadt. It is important to note here that Gastelum was forced by the UFC to go up to middleweight after weighing in at 180lbs in his previous fight at welterweight. Now, after essentially serving his punishment, he seeks to return to welterweight where his size is more fitting. However, Dana White does not look like he will be persuaded, so for now we must consider Gastelum a middleweight.

After looking great at 170 and having had his warm up fight at 185 it is time for the American/Mexican to face a much tougher test and fight a ranked opponent. Breaking in to the top ten is a bit much to ask in his second outing in the division so someone ranked 10-15 seems appropriate. He needs someone on their way up as opposed to on their way down, which eliminates Dan Henderson and Roan Carneiro. A fight against either of these two would almost certainly go the same way the Marquadt fight did. Ranked at 11 and 12 are CB Dolloway and Costas Philippou. But with both of these men coming off losses it may be more appropriate for them to fight each other than Gastelum. The UFC tends to match up winners with winners and losers with losers, so if they act accordingly neither of these are next for Gastelum. That leaves the young Kiwi, Robert Whittaker. He is on a three fight win streak having disposed of a dangerous Brad Tavares in under a minute last month. A fight between these two seems a perfect match. A loss for either would not be a disaster as they are both so young and both so dangerous. Instead of seeing them blaze through a veteran it would be interesting to see two of the youngest, most promising fighters in the UFC go at it.

GASTELUM VS WHITTAKER

YAIR RODRIGUEZ

Yair Rodriguez, the Ultimate Fighter winner, fought only his sixth professional fight and his second with the UFC this past weekend. He went about his business with all the boldness and creativity you hope for from a twenty-two year old, earning the fight of the night award. He showed incredible ability, with Joe Rogan likening him to “a combination of Jon Jones and Anthony Pettis”. With hype like that behind him he must be given the opportunity to break the rankings in his next outing. Although at such a young age with such little experience he must not be pushed too far too soon.

For this reason he should be matched with Hacran Dias. The Brazilian is a fighter who is a proved UFC calibre fighter but equally has proved he is not a title contender. This fight would present Rodriguez with an opportunity that not many young fighters get, the chance to show he is already a legitimate top fifteen fighter. If the Mexican happened to lose then it would not be too damaging as he is only twenty two and Dias a tough fight. However if he did win, which is perfectly plausible, then he would propel himself in to the rankings and become the latest name in a long line of featherweight contenders.

RODRIGUEZ VS DIAS

TECIA TORRES VS RANDA MARKOS

In the most disappointing fight of the main card at UFC 188 Tecia Torres ground out a decision victory against Angela Hill to take her unbeaten run to six. In this impressive run she has already beaten three other top ten straights leaving not too many options ranked higher than her.

However based on that performance and taking in to account the depth of the division, she does not deserve a number one contender fight. Therefore it makes sense for her to face number six ranked Randa Markos. There is already an element of intrigue about this fight because Markos defeated Torres when the two appeared on the Ultimate Fighter. This win does not appear on Markos’ record because it was on the Ultimate Fighter so she is undoubtedly deserving of the opportunity to rectify that.

[si-contact-form form=’2′]