UFC Fight Night 55 emanated live from the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on Friday night (Saturday morning local time), and it was a night filled with finishes. All eleven bouts on the card ended inside the distance, including all four main card match-ups. With the great night of fights behind us, LWOS looks ahead, and books the next bouts for the main card winners and losers:
Luke Rockhold: Rockhold put on a show in the main event with a spectacular finish of Michael Bisping, dropping the Brit with a headkick at the beginning of round 2 and finishing him off moments later with a tight guillotine choke. With Chris Weidman’s defense of his UFC Middleweight Championship against Vitor Belfort being pushed back until February of next year, the fight to make for Rockhold is obvious. While Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has done enough to earn a title shot, so has Rockhold. They need to fight, maybe even on the same card as Weidman vs Belfort. The winner would deserve the next shot at the belt. In September of 2011, Rockhold beat Jacare by unanimous decision, taking Jacare’s Strikefore middleweight championship in the process.
Michael Bisping: This is a tough loss for Bisping, who finds himself submitted for the first time in his career. At this point it looks like Bisping may never get a title shot, but he’s still a good fighter. His mouth can help get fans excited for any of his future fights. While Bisping has fought seemingly every top middleweight the UFC has on its roster, one man he’s yet to face off with is former Strikefore and DREAM title holder Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi is looking to bounce back from a September loss to Jacare, and a fight with Bisping would be a very interesting striking match-up.
Al Iaquinta: This was Iaquinta’s biggest win to date. He’s now won five of his last six, including the last two by knockout. The New Yorker is a young gun on the rise. At UFC 181 in December, two more young rising stars are set to square off. Iaquinta should take on the winner of Tony Ferguson vs Abel Trujillo next. All three are vicious strikers, and a bout between Iaquinta and Ferguson would be especially intriguing with the jiu-jitsu acumen of both men.
Ross Pearson: The loss to Iaquinta is a big set back for Pearson, who was riding high off of an August knockout over former two-time title challenger Gray Maynard. Like his fellow Brit Bisping, Pearson may never challenge for a UFC title, but the TUF 9 winner will always be an exciting fighter to watch. Next, I’d like to see him face the loser of Ferguson vs Trujillo. Any combination of Pearson-Iaquinta-Ferguson-Trujillo looks like chaotic fun on paper.
Robert Whittaker: An impressive knockout win for Whittaker in his middleweight debut against the larger Clint Hester. The TUF Smashes welterweight winner runs his UFC record to 4-2, and he’s still just 23 years old. Up next, Whittaker should take on the winner of Ed Herman vs Derek Brunson. They are set to meet in December, and both would provide a stiff test for the Aussie, especially the wrestling-based attack of Brunson.
Clint Hester: The loss to Whittaker is the first of Hester’s UFC career. A fight against Andrew Craig next would be ideal. Both are big middleweights coming off losses, and both love to stand and trade. A fight between them would almost assuredly end in an explosive finish on the feet.
Soa Palelei: Palelei rebounded nicely from a June decision loss to Jared Rosholt with a second round clobbering of Walt Harris. In January, seven-fight UFC veteran Shawn Jordan welcomes Jared Cannonier to the octagon at UFC 182. Palelei should take on the winner of Jordan vs Cannonier, especially if it’s Jordan. That would be an interesting styles clash between two long-time UFC heavyweights.
Walt Harris: Harris looked alright in his return to the UFC, but obviously not good enough to avoid being finished by the thundering ground-and-pound of Palelei. He took the fight on short notice so he’ll likely get a fourth shot to earn his first UFC win. Another man winless in the UFC on multiple attempts is Ruan Potts. If the South African isn’t cut after his 0-2 start to his UFC career, a match-up with Harris would be good. At least one of them would finally taste victory inside the octagon.
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