Five For Fighting – Fights To Make After Ultimate Fight Night 27 and Carlos Condit’s Big Time TKO of Martin Kampmann

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It’d be pretty hard for the UFC to top their first UFC on Fox Sports 1 effort, of course, but Ultimate Fight Night 27 was a pretty good night of fights I think. Now it’s time to play Joe Silva for the first of three times in the next week as we figure out what’s next for the winners (and losers) of Ultimate Fight Night 27.

Winners

Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown – Robbie Lawler is booked against Rory McDonald at UFC 167, I believe, or else that would’ve been the best possible matchup as McDonald/Condit 2 would be one both guys have said they wanted. With McDonald/Lawler potentially being a title eliminator for Lawler, as well, it doesn’t make as much sense because McDonald has said he won’t face GSP. So why have him face Lawler, then? Condit is still a bit from a title shot at McDonald/Condit 2 makes way more sense.

Condit looked great in his first win since defeating Nick Diaz for the UFC interim belt, especially against a game Martin Kampmann, and we have to take a good look at his standing to see where he should. He gave GSP his toughest fight to date, nearly finishing him, and lost in agonizingly close fashion to the man challenging him. Condit is as elite as it gets and a fight against Brown would be a candidate for the all-violence fight of 2013.

Brad Tavares vs. Andrew Craig – Tavares and Craig both got fairly substantial wins in the division and are on the come up to get to the fringes of the Top 10. Thales Leites or John Howard could make for an interesting matchup with the Hawaiian, as well, and I could see Ed Herman in this spot as well. Tavares will get someone of note but not someone spectacular in his next fight.

Rafael Dos Anjos vs. the winner of Diego Sanchez vs. Gilbert Melendez – Dos Anjos took apart Donald Cerrone for two rounds and looked like he’s a fight away from a title shot. Eventually he is going to get someone elite and the winner of Sanchez/Gilbert could be potentially one win away from another crack at the title as well.

Dylan Andrews vs. Clint Hester – Andrews got the KO after a separated shoulder, which makes it even that much more special. But he’s still a TUF prospect, which means he’ll be on the undercard or Facebook prelims for a while. Hester is in the same spot. Josh Samman could be in this spot as could Uriah Hall, as well. Andrews is an odd spot now where anyone from his season of TUF, or someone making their debut, could be here. John Howard could be reasonable here, as well.

Kelvin Gastelum vs. the winner of Chris Clements/Stephen Thompson – Gastelum looked phenomenol on Wednesday night … but not quite ready for anyone of note. My guess is he’ll need 3-5 fights under his belt before we can really see his ceiling. And the UFC is going to bring him along slowly, as well, thus he’ll get someone lower on the pole in a deep, deep division. The winner of Thompson/Clements would be in a similar spot and I could see the loser of Pascal Krauss & Hyun Gyu Lim being here as well.

Losers

Donald Cerrone vs. the loser of Jamie Varner vs. Gleison Tibau – Cerrone fought horribly last night, don’t kid yourself. Dos Anjos took it to him but Cerrone didn’t look like the guy who ran roughshod over nearly everyone in 2011. Something’s been off since the Nate Diaz fight; he just doesn’t look the same. I think he needs to take a big step back in competition but not sure if the UFC will allow him to do so. I could see Mac Danzig in this slot, as well. His next opponent will be indicative of where the UFC views Cerrone for the long term.

Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Pyle – Kampmann has been stopped in his past two fights … but they were against Hendricks and Condit, so it’s not like he lost to chumps. Pyle just got buried by Matt Brown and I could see this being a great fight between two guys who just lost. Kampmann’s ceiling seems to be just outside the Top 5; if you can beat him odds are you’ll find your way into title contention sooner than later. The loser of Marquardt/Lombard could be here, too. Kampmann is still near an elite fighter and won’t be pushed out of it unless he gets a third loss.

Robert Whittaker vs. Neil Magny – Whittaker looked really good against Court McGee, who’s usually hard to look good against. He looked like he could be an elite fighter … just not in the near future. It was a good gauge of how good he could be, though, as this was a good loss for him. He’ll take a step back in competition and Magny would make for an interesting fight.

Erik Perez vs. Francisco Rivera – Perez was given a fighter who’s a gatekeeper to the Top 10 and lost a tough, but spirited, fight that he never was out of. He wasn’t outclassed, which is good, but he just isn’t ready to take that next step. This is a good loss for him, much like Whittaker, and Rivera would be for a fun little war.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Cody McKenzie – Hioki has lost profoundly ever since he passed on a title shot against Jose Aldo. He can’t be considered anywhere near the fringe of the Top 10, anymore, but he still has value. He’s still a Top 10 fighter … but he hasn’t shown it. McKenzie would be a nice rebound fight.