WHAT'S NEXT FOR UFC 143 FIGHTERS
By Joe Lebeau on 2/5/2012 1:01 AM
UFC 143 is in the books. The fights were wild. It's time now to take a look at what's next for tonight's competitors.
Winners:
Stephen Thompson (6-0): Thompson is a bit of a slow starter, and tonight, that was to his advantage. Following his highlight reel knockout of Dan Stittgen, I'd love to see Thompson make my dreams come true and take on
Siyar Bahadurzada, but realistically, match him up with his original opponent
Justin Edwards.
Rafael Natal (14-3-1): Natal won a clear cut unanimous decision over Michael Kuiper. He looked good in the fight, and in his next outing, I would like to see
Nick Catone or the winner of
Riki Fukuda/Steve Cantwell across from him.
Matt Riddle (6-3): Riddle needs to work on his stand-up defense and come back stronger.
Jake Hecht would serve as excellent opposition for "Deep Waters" upon his return.
Matt Brown (13-11): With the impressive win tonight, Brown has secured his future in the UFC, at least for now. Perhaps line him up for a showdown with
Sean Pierson or T.J Waldburger.
Edwin Figueroa (9-1): Edwin looked good despite the bad luck with the low blows. He clearly needs to work on his ground game, as his defense was just embarrassing. I'd like to see him fight
Nick Denis, as it would be a striking clinic.
Dustin Poirier (12-1): A great case could be made for a
title shot, but that seems more likely for the winner of Hatsu Hioki/Bart Palaszewski fight coming up in Japan. In lieu of a title fight, match him up again with
Erik Koch in a future title eliminator.
Ed Herman (20-8): With his 20th career win, Herman has build himself quite a nice little streak. Put the improved Herman against
Alan Belcher in a rematch of their close 2008 fight that Herman lost by split decision.
Renan Barão (28-1 1NC): A shot at the
winner of Faber/Cruz III. Beating Pickett and Jorgensen back to back with ease leads me to believe that this man is ready for a title shot, make it happen Sean Shelby. If not, the winner of
Michael McDonald vs Miguel Torres in a title eliminator.
Josh Koscheck (17-5): Kos squeaked by Mike Pierce tonight. With the welterweight division tied up the way it is, put him up against
Jake Ellenberger, Diego Sanchez in a rematch of their 2007 fight, or
Johnny Hendricks. These fights will clear up the top of the division a little.
Fabricio Werdum (15-5-1): "Vai Cavalo" showed some amazing improvements in his striking against Roy Nelson. Climbing the heavyweight ladder quick, there are two intriguing matches I would like to see. First, if
Shane Carwin returns from injury any time soon, Werdum poises interesting challenges for him. Outside of that, the winner of
Mark Hunt vs Cheick Kongo could prove an interesting opponent for him.
Carlos Condit (28-5): He wants to defend it beforehand, but they indicated several times during the broadcast that a title unification bout with
George St. Pierre is on the horizon sometimes in late 2012.
Losers:
Dan Stittgen (7-2): Stittgen has some obviously holes in his stand-up games, but he was facing a pretty serious striker in Thompson. I'd like to see him return to the octagon once more and welcome
another newcomer to the promotion.
Michael Kuiper (11-1): Kuiper looked great against Natal, despite losing. I'd like to see him back in the cage taking on either a
new UFC signee, or the loser of
Riki Fukuda/Steve Cantwell, as they would be at a similar level.
Henry Martinez (8-2): I expect the Jackson's MMA fighter to keep his job, go back to his natural weight class, lightweight, and make a much more impressive return to action. Match him up against a fellow lightweight who recently had an unsuccessful debut,
Tommy "Wild Card" Hayden.
Chris Cope (5-3): At this point in his career, and with all due respect to Matt Brown, losing to Matt Brown, it may be time for C-Murder to go
back to the smaller shows, change his nickname to something more appropriate, and work his way back up. If he stays with the promotion, he needs to
drop to lightweight, big time.
Alex Caceres (6-5): Despite being 1-3 in his four UFC fights, I'd like to see "Bruce Leeroy" back in the cage. He looked very good, and without a two point deduction, would have easily won that fight. A brawl would ensue if he were locked in a cage with
Jared Papazian, so let's do that.
Max Holloway (4-1): Taking a tough loss to Dustin Poirier, the 20 year old should get another shot in the promotion. Put him against
Jason Young and let's see how well he handles the scrappy Brit.
Clifford Starks (8-1): Starks has a lot of power in that right hand of his. I'd like to see him exchange blows with fellow middleweights
Francis Carmont or Brad Tavares.
Scott Jorgensen (13-5): No shame in losing to a man that hasn't lost in 28 fights. Jorgensen could try to drop to flyweight, but he's already pretty lean for his division. At this point, Jorgensen vs
Brian Bowles makes the most sense to me, or perhaps the loser of
Michael McDonald vs Miguel Torres.
Mike Pierce (13-5): Pierce fought a close fight with Koscheck. Despite the loss, his stock shouldn't suffer too much. He should face fellow wrestler
Rick Story.
Roy Nelson (16-7): Nelson looked as tough as always, but still like crap. He gassed quick, he didn't handle the striking well, and he easily lost. I am not a religious man, but I pray, I desperately hope and plead with "Big Country" to take some time off and
drop to light heavyweight, please. If he can't make it, maybe put him against
John Olav Einemo or Mike Russow?
Nick Diaz (26-7 1NC): Diaz's stock didn't go down at all, and personally, I had him winning the Condit fight 48-47. Diaz says he's
retiring, but we'll see how that takes, as
MMA retirements don't usually last. If it sticks, Diaz goes down as one of the greatest fighters in history.
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