UFC Fight Night 54 emanated from the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada last Saturday night, featuring the country’s native son, Rory MacDonald, taking on the final welterweight champion of Strikeforce, Tarec Saffiedine. The main card was filled with decisions, but was bookended with exciting finished from MacDonald and his fellow Canadian, Mitch Gagnon. Let’s see who LWOS would book against them next, as well as the rest of the main card winners and losers:
Rory MacDonald: MacDonald looked as good as ever with his third round knockout of Saffiedine, and the win moved him to a perfect 3-0 in 2014. It also gave him his first stoppage victory since April of 2012, and firmly established MacDonald as the next in line to challenge for the UFC welterweight crown. Up next for the young Canadian should be the winner of Johny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler. They headline UFC 181 in December, with the UFC welterweight championship on the line.
Tarec Saffiedine: This was a tough loss for Saffiedine, who was thoroughly dominated in the area he is best at: striking. But, he made no excuses post-fight, and barring any injuries, which Saffiedine is prone to, he’ll be back in the octagon sooner rather than later. A fight against highly-ranked wild man Matt Brown would be spectacular.
Raphael Assuncao: Assuncao looked dominant in his unanimous decision win over Bryan Caraway, and he looked deserving of a shot at the bantamweight title. Unfortunately for him, Dominick Cruz is next in line for champion TJ Dillashaw, and deservedly so. So, with that in mind, a number one contender’s fight against former champ Renan Barao seems like the no-brainer fight to book here. Winner gets the winner of Dillashaw vs Cruz.
Bryan Caraway: In his fight against Assuncao, Caraway was trying to establish himself as a top bantamweight contender, and even though he lost convincingly, he showed great heart and true grit from bell to bell. He has the grappling to contend with anyone in the division, and a fight with former title challenger Michael McDonald would be a great match-up.
Chad Laprise: Laprise, the TUF Nations welterweight winner, looked impressive in his UFC lightweight debut, dominating Yosdenis Cedeno for fifteen uninterrupted minutes. The Canadian showed he’s ready for a step up in competition, and a fight with a fellow TUF winner, TUF Brazil 2 champion Leonardo Santos, would be a fun scrap. Both won their seasons at welterweight before dropping to lightweight, and both are unbeaten so far in their young UFC careers.
Yosdenis Cedeno: With the loss to Laprise, Cedeno’s UFC record dips below the .500 mark. He’s a fun striker, so next up, he should matched with another fun striker. Brazilian Valmir Lazaro, who lost his UFC debut to James Vick back in August in an exciting brawl, fits the bill perfectly.
Elias Theodorou: Theodorou, the TUF Nations middleweight winner, moved to a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career Saturday night, with a unanimous decision win over Bruno Santos. The bout was closer than the scorecards indicated, and Theodorou, though highly skilled, still has tons of room for improvement. A fight against once-beaten Brazilian Marcelo Guimaraes would be a good test, but also a very winnable fight for the Canadian.
Bruno Santos: Santos has now fought to a decision in fourteen of his sixteen career fights, including losing two of his last three. A fight against fellow Brazilian Guilherme Vasconcelos on the prelims of a card in Brazil would be a good loser-goes-home fight, with “going home” meaning released from the UFC in this case.
Nordine Taleb: Taleb, a veteran of both TUF Nations and TUF 19, looked solid in his UFC welterweight debut, claiming a decision win over Li Jingliang. For his next fight, a fight against fellow TUF 19 competitor Cathal Pendred would be good. Earlier in the day in Sweden, the Irishman picked up a decision win of his own against Gasan Umalatov.
Li Jingliang: The Chinese fighter was competitive in defeat, and he always brings the action. Up next, a bout with Roufusport product Mike Rhodes would be fun. Both men love to stand and trade, but both are also complete martial artists, and the fight would be a close one.
Mitch Gagnon: Gagnon looked impressive as the heavy favorite over UFC debutant Roman Salazar, picking up a first round win via rear-naked choke. It was his fourth win in a row, with three of them coming by way of submission. The Canadian is quickly and quietly ascending up the bantamweight rankings, and a fight with Brazilian striker Johnny Eduardo, who is coming off of an upset win over Eddie Wineland, would go a long way in showing just how far Gagnon can rise up.
Roman Salazar: Salazar was a late-replacement, and a heavy underdog, and it showed, as Gagnon quickly submitted him. It will be interesting to see how Salazar looks with a full camp under his belt before his next fight, which should be against fellow recent late-replacement, Team Sityodtong’s Tateki Matsuda.
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