UFC 171 on paper looked like a terrific card and it delivered in nearly every way it mattered. Lots of finishes, a main event that might be one of the best fights of 2014 and a division finally got some direction as we have a new champion. For the first time since 2011 someone not named Matt Serra, Matt Hughes or Georges St. Pierre has held the undisputed welterweight title. The only one to have a claim to anything beyond that is Carlos Condit, who held an interim title, but other than his temporary title only three men set the standard at 170 for nearly 13 years.
That’s insane in a lot of ways and Johny Hendricks has a lot to live up to. Now it’s time to figure out who he’ll fight next, as well as the rest of the most intriguing winners and losers from Saturday’s card.
Winners
Johny Hendricks vs. Rory MacDonald – The UFC all but anointed Rory Mac as his next opponent after Hendricks won and this where I think they’ll go. I don’t think he should get the title shot but he makes sense. Condit lost, Lawler just lost and Jake Ellenberger is the next man up after Rory. Rory has a win over him and everyone else is coming off a loss that’s ranked equally as high. I’d write more about this but I’m going to have a column coming out later in the day exploring the division much more fully.
Tyron Woodley vs. Dong Hyun Kim – T-Wood may lay claim to a title shot but I don’t think he gets one. Finishing Carlos Condit would seem more badass but breaking his knee with a kick after he already blew it out normally doesn’t earn guys a title shot in his position. He looked great and I thought was en route to winning that fight, of course, and his movement and foot speed looked incredible. He looked like a title contender and he finally looks like he’s starting to hit that ceiling we thought he had. He needs one more big win to get over that hump and earn a title shot. Kim is in that spot and this would make for a great feature fight on a bigger card.
Hector Lombard vs. Rory MacDonald – This is the fight I’d rather see Rory Mac in, to be fair, because I think both guys need one more win before earning a title shot. Hector looked like a beast against Jake Shields and threw him around like it was easy. He looked a couple weight classes bigger and was just man handling him with the throws; it was awe-inspiring. Matt Brown would be a nice fit in this spot, too, and Tarec Saffiedine would make sense in this slot as well.
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Mike Pyle – Gastelum looked like he’s ready for a bigger name opponent … in the fight after this. He’s young and hungry, though, and took a win from Rick Story. That’s still an impressive scalp this early in his career, especially after such a bad weight cut, and it’s only going to get tougher for him. Pyle is never dull and could give Gastelum fits inside the cage.
Myles Jury vs. the loser of Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller – It would’ve been easy for Jury to get lost in the moment and just decide to throw hands with Diego Sanchez. The crowd was into it and Diego really wanted to brawl. But he fought smart and took a good win. The next step is a guy on that Top 10 fringe and the loser of Green/Miller gets into that category. Jury has graduated from prospect to contender on the rise. He may never hold UFC gold … but he looks like he’s about to enter the equation.
Sean Strickland vs. Antonio Braga Neto – Bubba McDaniel is a nice temperature check for guys in the UFC, as he’s the guy who’ll give you a good gauge on prospects in the UFC. And Strickland showed that Bubba isn’t really all that good at MMA, it seems. Strickland looked super impressive but he won’t get anyone supremely talented next. Neto just made his UFC debut and looked impressive, as well, and I wouldn’t be shocked at this matchup. Strickland could get someone making their debut, as well, as he’s not going to get anyone super talented at this point in his career. He’s going to get slowly built up and his next fight will be another temperature check/gatekeeper type.
Losers
Rick Story vs. Hyun Gyu Lim – Story looked like he could’ve been a title contender so many years ago and remains one of two men with a victory over the current UFC champion. He owns it outright, too. But his ceiling is about where it is, as a gatekeeper to the Top 10, and he’s on the down slope of his career right now. If he ever was going to become elite that time has passed and now he’s just another guy in the division. Lim showed tons of heart in his last fight and this could make for a fun little undercard scrap.
Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields – Lawler lost a close fight to Hendricks, one some people gave to him, but here’s the thing. When you come at the king, you best not miss. And he missed. Now he has to work his way back into the title picture and he can’t be more than a pair of wins, including a finish, from another title shot. Shields makes sense in this slot and if Lawler has really found his second life in the division this should be a tough but winnable fight for him. This makes a ton of sense for Shields as well; he’s not far from the title picture again as well and a win here gets him right back where he was.
Diego Sanchez vs. Melvin Guillard – Sanchez is about to drop out of the Top 15 and I think he’s done, career wise, with everything he can do. He hit his ceiling … fought for a UFC title … but the fact that some have to justify his style with “no one wants to fight the way he does” is an excuse for Diego’s not learning to become a professional prizefighter and not a blood and guts brawler. I wish he’d retire, because the way he fights is going to leave him in bad shape physically, but if he continues on another fallen star in Guillard would make for a great fight.
Nikita Krylov vs. Patrick Cummins – Krylov isn’t all that good at MMA, it seems, but has plenty of power in his hands. He may have gotten choked out in hilarious manner but I think he gets a pass for this because it was on short notice. Let’s see him against a similar level fighter and Cummins makes a bunch of sense here.
