The UFC’s latest offering came to us in the form of UFC 181, Saturday night from Las Vegas. Two title fights topped the card, with Robbie Lawler dethroning Johny Hendricks in the welterweight division, and Anthony Pettis retaining his UFC Lightweight Championship against Gilbert Melendez. It was a great night of fights, but 10 men need their next opponent. LWOS is here to book the fights:
Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks: The Lawler and Hendricks rematch was not as classic as their first encounter, but it was every bit as competitive. Lawler took this one by split decision, and although UFC president Dana White said Rory MacDonald was next in line for a title shot next spring, the match to make is the trilogy fight between Lawler and Hendricks. Two close fights, two great fights, why not do it again?
Anthony Pettis: Another impressive performance from Pettis, who has now finished four straight opponents. Next weekend, Rafael dos Anjos and Nate Diaz square off in Phoenix at UFC on FOX 13. The winner of that could be a good next title challenger, but if Pettis is healthy, that opportunity should go to Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian is an impressive 22-0, including a 6-0 UFC record. Plus, he has a victory over dos Anjos in his most recent fight.
Gilbert Melendez: A tough loss for Melendez, who is now 0-2 in UFC title fights. He was implementing his gameplan well, but got caught. It happens to the best of them, and Melendez is still certainly one of the very best lightweights in the world. Three times before, he’s met Josh Thomson inside of the cage, and each time, they’ve gone 25 minutes. Thomson took the pair’s first meeting, with Melendez taking the next two. Both are far away from a title shot at this point, and every time they square off, the fans get a great fight. No one would complain about seeing them go at it a fourth time.
Travis Browne: This was a big win for Browne, who gets back on track after a loss to current interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum last April. Browne is a mammoth of a man with insane knockout power and so is Ben Rothwell. A fight between these two big boys would result in a “slobber-knocker” for sure.
Brendan Schaub: Schaub has now lost two straight fights, and four of his last six. Roy Nelson is also skidding, losing three of his last four. Schaub and Nelson met once before, in December of 2009 in the finals of the TUF 10 tournament. Nelson won by first round knockout, Schaub’s first career loss. Four years later, match them up again, and see if Schaub can avenge that loss.
Todd Duffee: Duffee looked as good as ever in his return to the UFC, knocking out Anthony Hamilton in a mere 33 seconds. Up next, Duffee should take on the winner of Alistair Overeem vs Stefan Struve. Overeem and Struve do battle next weekend in Phoenix at UFC on Fox 13. Duffee met Overeem once before, in December of 2010 in Japan. Overeem won by first round knockout.
Anthony Hamilton: Hamilton is now 1-2 in the UFC with the loss to Duffee. Next up, book him against Josh Copeland. Copeland made his UFC debut last month, losing a unanimous decision to Ruslan Magomedov.
Tony Ferguson: Ferguson looked great Saturday night, showing off his heart, durability, and skills both on the feet and on the floor. As he continues his ascent up the lightweight rankings, he should keep his eye on January’s Joe Lauzon vs Al Iaquinta fight. Ferguson should take on the winner of Lauzon vs Iaquinta next.
Abel Trujillo: Defensive wrestling and a poor gas tank continue to be Trujillo’s biggest flaws, as they led directly to his second UFC loss. Next, he should take on Ross Pearson, who lost last month to Al Iaquinta. Trujillo vs Pearson would be absolute fireworks, and Pearson’s wrestling isn’t as strong as Ferguson’s, so Trujillo wouldn’t need to worry about that aspect of the game as much.
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