Another Fox card in the books and now it’s time to play Joe Silva, figuring out who fights whom. For a card that was actually pretty solid from top to bottom, with yet another controversial Benson Henderson decision in the main event, there are plenty of intriguing matchups to be made from this.
Winners
Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson – Cerrrone/Henderson 3 makes a ton of sense for both guys because they’re both significantly far from a title shot because they’ve been finished by Anthony Pettis in the first round in recent vintage. Both are top fighters … but you can’t let them both lay waste to a division with Pettis on the mend. That’s the one downside to the Henderson victory tonight; Josh Thomson needs to rebound instead of build momentum.
Henderson/Thomson wasn’t promotional malpractice … but it was close to it.
Cerrone/Henderson is a sellable fight between two top guys with TONS of history to it. You can put it as a Fight Night main event and no one will complain, either, as five rounds between these two could be exceptionally fun. This would be a fun feature fight on a big card or a good co-main on another. A win here keeps them occupied and one or two more gets them properly back into the title picture. Bobby Green could make sense and I wouldn’t be shocked if Khabib Nurmagomedov gets his wish and gets a fight with Cerrone as well.
Stipe Miocic vs. Brendan Schaub – Miocic is being primed as one of the best athletes in the UFC. Schaub likes to discuss how much of a better athlete he is among everyone else on his podcast with comedian Bryan Callen. Schaub also wants a big name and thinks he can, ahem, beat Cain Velasquez on the ground. Eventually one of these two is going to have to distinguish themselves as a contender and this fight keeps them both busy. It’s also the best possible matchup based off the UFC’s own rankings; Bigfoot Silva is hurt, as is Mark Hunt, and the only other fight that could make sense would be the winner of Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri – Stephens took a dominant decision over Darren Elkins and moves into the Top 10 with his win. Kawajiri did so as well. I think a fight here between the two makes a ton of sense. Cub Swanson is free for a fight, as well, and slotting Stephens in there could make a bunch of sense too. Stephens is a fresh matchup for nearly anyone in the Top 10.
Eddie Wineland vs. T.J Dillashaw – Dillashaw is one fight away from a title and Wineland would be a perfect set up for him. Wineland is a tough out and a win here for Dillashaw earns him a title shot. Wineland is a recent loser to Barao but he could punch his way to another shot with a win and a finish. Michael McDonald could make sense here, as well.
Losers
Josh Thomson vs. Jim Miller – This is a matchup that’d guaranteed to be a barnburner, gives two guys who are only a handful of fights away from a title shot and would be a great main card fight somewhere. Thomson has spoken of retirement but he’s not far removed from a title shot, even with the loss. He spoke from the heart, after a gut busting loss, and this was raw and emotional immediately after a fight. I think he sticks around, especially when he looks like he’s a Top 3 lightweight and is being recognized as such. The winner of Melvin Guillard/Michael Johnson fight could be in this slot as well.
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Barnett – Barnett and Gonzaga are failed contenders to the heavyweight crown … but now both find themselves on the outside looking in. The key thing is that heavyweight is so shallow that a win against someone who matters gets one of those two potentially back in the mix. Roy Nelson could be in this spot, as well, as it’d be a fresh matchup for Gonzaga.
Darren Elkins vs. Nik Lentz – Both are Top 10 caliber fighters who’ve just lost in what could’ve been fights to ascend into the title picture. It’s a fresh matchup as well.
Walt Harris vs. Pat Barry – Harris might get cut with a second loss in a row, especially having gone 0-2 so far in his UFC stint and not looked good at all, but he has the athletic pedigree to warrant another fight in the UFC. Barry is also in that “probably should be cut but wasn’t” category and a loser leaves town heavyweight fight on the undercard of a bigger show wouldn’t be dull. Shawn Jordan could make sense in this slot, too, and a comeback fight for Ben Rothwell would be a good matchup for Harris too.
Sergio Pettis vs. Yaotzin Meza – The good thing is that Sergio Pettis looked like he deserved to fight in the UFC after a disappointing debut. The bad thing is that he did it in a loss, especially to someone with a low profile like Alex Caceres. It’s a good loss for him, though; Caceres is probably going to get a high profile fight with this win. Pettis gets to take a couple steps back in his career and he’ll be able to take a slower ascent to relevance. He’s still young, of course, and he hasn’t scratched his ceiling just yet.
The thing with the younger Pettis is that he probably was a fight or two away from being really ready for the UFC when he got signed, thus he’s had some on the job training to do. He’s starting to look like a fighter who could be elite in 2-3 years or so, maybe. He’s starting to show some poise … but he has the same learning curve his brother did at the same point in his career. Sergio will be a great fighter someday. He might make him and Anthony the first pair of brothers to hold UFC gold, perhaps at the same time.
But that day isn’t tomorrow and for all the good things that have come from Roufusport about Sergio Pettis the key is that he’s still young and still green. Meza is a tough test but one that should be winnable for Pettis. It’ll be a good test for how he rebounds from his first professional defeat.
