This past Saturday, the UFC ventured to Sacramento, California, for an event that saw Demetrious Johnson defend his belt against Joseph Benavidez in a rematch. The card was stacked from top to bottom, and many fans might be asking what is the next step for fighters, specifically those that appeared on the main card. In this article, I’ll be looking at what those next steps might potentially be for the winners and losers of the UFC on Fox 9 main card.
Mac Danzig
Danzig might as well say farewell to the UFC. After losing on Saturday to Joe Lauzon, his losing streak continued, and he now possesses three losses in a row. Even before his recent streak of hardships, Danzig struggled to remain consistent in the UFC after winning season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter” (his UFC record is an unimpressive 5-8). The UFC will likely cut Danzig from their roster following his most recent lost. That doesn’t really give Mac a lot of options for his fighting career, and what he does next really depends on if/what organization signs him should the UFC release him (which they likely will). WSOF or Bellator MMA would likely be interested in adding him to their rosters, and he’d likely find some success in their lightweight divisions. However, Danzig will be 34 in less than a month. He’s experienced some crushing losses recently, and has expressed to the media that he has been planning for a career after fighting (some options he’s come up with have included coaching or photography). When a fighter has one foot in the fight game and another one out of it, it usually means it is time to walk away from the sport. I’m sure that is what Danzig intends to do, and retirement should be the next step that Danzig takes.
Joe Lauzon
Lauzon got a much needed win by defeating Danzig by decision over the weekend. After losing an all out war to top lightweight Jim Miller, many expected Lauzon to bounce back when matched up with huge underdog Michael Johnson. Instead, Johnson got the upset victory over Lauzon and the biggest win of his career. Should Lauzon have lost a third straight fight to Danzig on Saturday, he could have kissed his chances of becoming a top ten lightweight again any time soon goodbye, as well as maybe his spot on the UFC roster. Now back to his winning ways, Lauzon still isn’t back to being top ten material. A fight with Ultimate Fighter winner and fellow submission specialist Michael Chiesa would be suitable.
Nik Lentz
It is important for Lentz to keep his head high after a loss to the number one contender at featherweight, Chad Mendes. He wasn’t ranked nearly as high as Mendes, nor was he the favorite to win the fight. So, despite losing to Mendes and not being able to continue his climb up the rankings might suck for Lentz, the loss was kind of expected. And when you’re the underdog going into a fight, you don’t have much to lose by walking away with a loss. Lentz will need to go back to the gym and continue to improve. The man Mendes beat prior to Lentz, Clay Guida, would make for a good opponent for Lentz in his next fight.
Chad Mendes
If you want the right to fight for the belt, you must earn that right. Chad Mendes has earned that right. He has won five fights in a row, four of which he stopped his opponent with strikes. Only Lentz managed to make it to the judges scorecard with Mendes. Chad has been almost unstoppable, and has earned the right to fight for the belt again. He came up short last time against Jose Aldo, but his striking has improved tremendously. The next fight for Mendes should be a fight against the winner of Jose Aldo/Ricardo Lamas.
Michael McDonald
I have had the pleasure of meeting McDonald and having my picture taken with him. Not only is he a great guy, but he is a very good fighter. McDonald has already knocked out two former WEC champions, and fought for a UFC title. And get this, McDonald is only 22 years old. The possibilities of this guy seem endless, and he has a ton of potential. This is true any day of the year, except for this last Saturday; the possibilities for McDonald DID come to an end when he met Urijah Faber in the cage. Faber made it impossible for McDonald to get the win, submitting “Mayday” in the second round. McDonald shouldn’t let this loss get to him though. Faber is a former world champion and is becoming a legend of the sport. Also, McDonald is till very young, and has many years left in the sport. Another prospect in the bantamweight division, Yuri Alcantara, is also coming off a loss to Faber. A fight between McDonald and Alcantara would be a good fight to decide who gets back on track to becoming a title contender, and would be fun for the fans.
Urijah Faber
Not much can be said about Urijah Faber. This veteran of the sport is 0-5 in his last five title fights. But every time he loses a title fight, he wins and wins after that, earning himself another shot at becoming a world champion once again. This is the case right now for Faber. He lost an interim-bantamweight title fight to Renan Barao, but is now undefeated in his last four fights, his most recent win an impressive one over McDonald. It is hard to deny Faber has earned another title shot. The next fight for Faber should be against the winner of Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao for the title.
Joseph Benavidez
It’s hard to say what Benavidez can do next. His first fight with Demetrious Johnson to decide the UFC’s first flyweight champion was a close one. After that, he improved his striking with the help of new head coach Duane Ludwig, and found himself on a three fight win streak, two of which he finished using strikes. The unofficial knockout king of the flyweight division was actually considered the favorite by many in his rematch with Johnson. Instead, Johnson scored a spectacular and devastating knockout in the very first round, something very few expected. A third fight with Johnson and Benavidez would be very hard to sell now. Benavidez better look to return to action soon, work his way to another title shot, and hope that if/when he gets to that title shot that Johnson is no longer the flyweight champion
Demetrious Johnson
Fighters don’t get much better than the current UFC flyweight champion of the world. Excellent takedowns, submissions and striking are possessed by Johnson, as well as being recognized as the fastest fighter in the world. Johnson struggled in many of his early UFC fights; most of them were very close, and saw Johnson hurt or threatened often throughout the fight. As of late, his improvements have shown. It started with his fight previous to the one with Benavidez, against John Moraga. Johnson not only successfully defended his title for the second time, but he did so by earning his first win by finish (a beautiful armbar in the fifth round). And now, there’s his win over Benavidez, which is even more impressive. Next up for Johnson will likely be a rematch against John Dodson, the man Johnson first defended his belt against, and the man to arguably give Johnson his toughest test to date. Until that day, Johnson can relax and rest up, and know that he has earned.
That concludes this article. Next up for the UFC is a year end show on December 28th. UFC 168 will see the legendary Anderson Silva look to regain his title against the only man to ever defeat him inside the Octogan, Chris Weidman. Also, Ronda Rousey will defend her belt against rival Miesha Tate in co-main event action.
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