UFC 166 was a historic event to say the least. A main card bout between lightweights Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez was deemed by UFC commentator Joe Rogan as the “greatest fight he’s ever seen”. Also, headliners Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos concluded their epic trilogy, which saw Velasquez retain his heavyweight belt by stopping dos Santos in the final round. After a great night of fights, there are some match-ups that should be made. The winners of UFC 166 will have advanced in the rankings, while the losers can expect to fight lesser opponents in their next outings should they remain on the UFC roster. Here’s a list of fights that should be made according to the results from UFC 166.
Tony Ferguson vs KJ Noons
Both of these lightweight warriors picked up big wins at UFC 166. TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson got back in the win column after a long layoff when he submitted Mike Rio. Noons also picked up a much needed win by defeating George Sotiropoulus. These two guys once had a lot of hype, and now that they both have some momentum an impressive win over the other would decide who deserves a top ten opponent. And, with both fighters possessing knockout power, it would be a great fight.
George Sotiropoulus vs Mike Rio
If these two are even still on the roster after their recent losses, they would most definitely be in a must win situation in their next bout. This fight would decide who stays and who goes, and would be an important fight for both men.
John Dodson vs Chris Cariaso
Sadly for John Dodson, his weight class is stuck. He just knocked out highly regarded prospect Darrel Montague, but there aren’t any fights to be made that get him closer to another title shot. Flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson is scheduled to rematch Joseph Benavidez, so those two men are unavailable. The last man to challenge Johnson, John Moraga, already has a fight scheduled. And number three ranked flyweight Ian McCall also has a fight scheduled. All of the best flyweights in the division are unavailable, so if Dodson wants to stay active, he must face a lesser opponent. Cariaso is no slouch and is available, so he fits this description best and should be Dodson’s next opponent if he doesn’t want to sit around and wait.
Hector Lombard vs Martin Kampmann
Lombard looked great in his welterweight debut, knocking out former world champ Nate Marquardt. An exciting match up would be against fellow striker Martin Kampmann. Still ranked in the top ten, Kampmann is coming off two big losses. A win over Kampmann gives Lombard the chance to switch places with him and become a top ten welterweight, while Kampmann would have the opportunity to get back in the win column and make a run for the title.
Gilbert Melendez vs Khabib Nurmagomedov
Melendez in my opinion is the lightweight champion. I, along with many others, feel he beat Benson Henderson in their five round title fight back in April. However the judges didn’t see it that way and he ultimately lost. Melendez took a step in the right direction by beating Diego Sanchez at UFC 166. With new lightweight champ Anthony Pettis already set to defend his belt against Josh Thomson, Melendez likely won’t want to wait for the winner of that fight. Nurmagomedov has compiled an impressive 21-0 MMA record and a solid 5-0 UFC record. Most recently, he defeated top lightweight Pat Healy. A fight between Gilbert and Khabib would be a great fight to decide who faces the winner of Pettis/Thomson.
Daniel Cormier vs Alexander Gustafsson
Cormier’s hype train continued to roll along when he defeated Roy Nelson at UFC 166. Despite not being able to finish Frank Mir and Nelson in his two UFC victories, Cormier is still highly regarded. Maybe it is his undefeated record or wrestling credentials that have people talking. I don’t know. Two lack luster performances over Mir and Nelson don’t warrant this kind of hype in my opinion though. Cormier has expressed interest in leaving the heavyweight division for lightheavyweight. He wants a title shot, but to earn that he still needs one more big win. Gustafsson last fought champion Jon Jones. The winner of Cormier/Gustafsson would likely earn a title shot against the winner of Jones vs Glover Teixeira.
Cain Velasquez vs Fabricio Werdum
Heading into UFC 166, dos Santos had won the first fight with Cain, and Velasquez possessed the win in their second bout. The first fight ended quickly, with Junior scoring a first round knockout. It was impressive for Junior, but seemed almost like a fluke. Cain was supposed to be unstoppable; he was supposedly the greatest heavyweight of all time. The true Cain Velasquez showed up in the second fight. The beating he out on dos Santos was unreal. He dominated him for all five rounds, letting him know he was a different man then in their first meeting. Their third fight was much like the second. Except this time, things were even worse for Junior. Velasquez managed to finish him. It would be hard to sell a fourth fight between the two given how dominant Cain was. Velasquez and dos Santos are the two best fighters at heavyweight. And heavyweight isn’t a very stacked division. Aside from Werdum, Travis Browne, and Josh Barnett, there aren’t really any fighters who seem like they’d stand even a small chance against Velasquez. With Browne and Barnett set to fight, Werdum seems like the only free heavyweight, and the most deserving. With improved striking and the best jiu-jitsu in the heavyweight division, it would be interesting to see if Werdum could pull off the upset.
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