On Saturday night, the UFC made its first trip to Mexico with UFC 180. Despite UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez being forced off the card due to a knee injury, along with losing the likes of Diego Sanchez, Joe Lauzon, Norman Parke and Erik Perez, the event was a major success. Fabricio Werdum knocked out Mark Hunt in shocking fashion in the main event, hitting Hunt with a flying knee, and taking home the interim UFC heavyweight championship. That wasn’t the only finish though, as the other four main card bouts all ended inside of one round. Let’s see who LWOS would book as the next opponents for UFC 180’s main card winners and losers:
Fabricio Werdum: Depending on health, the match-up to book here is as obvious as the sun is hot. A title unification bout between interim champ Werdum and the official champ, Cain Velasquez, is what needs to happen upon Velasquez’s return from injury. Originally, Werdum vs Velasquez was the main event of UFC 180, and rebooking the fight for the UFC’s next Mexico card would be a great idea. The Mexican fans were raucous all night long, and they love both Velasquez and Werdum. The atmosphere would be amazing.
Mark Hunt: A disappointing loss for Hunt, who comes up short in his long journey to capturing UFC gold. Luckily for him, he took the fight on short notice, he’s still a fan favorite, his style is great for exciting fights, and a win or two puts him right back into contention in the shallow heavyweight division. At UFC 181 in December, Travis Browne and Brendan Schuab square off. Both are top heavyweights, and the loser of Browne vs Schaub should get Hunt next. Either man would be a fun opponent for the former K-1 Grand Prix winner.
Kelvin Gastelum: Gastelum passed the biggest test of his young career with flying colors, as he becomes the first man to defeat Jake Ellenberger inside of the first round. Gastelum is just 23-years-old, and you don’t want to rush him too quickly, but he’s already a top 10 welterweight. A lot of the top welterweights are currently busy: Rory MacDonald is fighting for the title next, Hector Lombard has a fight booked with Josh Burkman, and Carlos Condit and Demian Maia are recovering from injuries. That leaves one man for Gastelum’s next bout: Tyron Woodley. It would be a tough match-up for Gastelum, but he proved tonight that despite his age, he’s ready top jump into the deep end of the welterweight division.
Jake Ellenberger: This is a devastating loss for Ellenberger, his third in a row, and he likely falls out of the top 10 at welterweight. In August, Dong Hyun Kim lost to Woodley. Match Ellenberger up with the South Korean next, and whoever loses that one will definitively be done as a top 10 fighter.
Ricardo Lamas: This was a great win for Lamas, who pumped the brakes hard on the Dennis Bermudez hype train. Rarely does the UFC book a fighter coming off of a win with a fighter coming off of a loss, but based on the current landscape at featherweight, I think they can make an exception here. In October, Chad Mendes failed in his second attempt to dethrone Jose Aldo. Lamas knows that feeling all too well, as he failed to dethrone Aldo in February. All the other top featherweights are booked, plus Lamas and Mendes have never fought before. In addition, both guys are into the fight, so booking it is a no-brainer.
Dennis Bermudez: This was a tough loss for Bermudez, who sees his seven-fight win streak come to an end. But, it’s just his second loss in the UFC, and he’s still just 27-years-old. The future remains bright for Bermudez. In January, a big match-up main events a Fight Night card in Boston: Conor McGregor vs Dennis Siver. In order for Bermudez to get right back into title contention, he should face the loser of McGregor vs Siver.
Augusto “Dodger” Montano: Dodger is a Mexican prospect with a ton of hype, and he did not disappoint in front of a partisan crowd. In May, Peter Sobotta made a return to the UFC after a four year absence with a win over Pawel Pawluk. A fight against Dodger would be a good next test for the red-haired up-and-comer.
Chris Heatherly: Heatherly is now 0-2 in the UFC, with an omoplata loss to Ben Saunders, and a knockout loss to Dodger Montano. If he’s not cut, match him up next with TUF Brazil 3 vet Wagner Silva. He’s also winless in the UFC.
Hector Urbina: This was an emotional win for Urbina, who was eliminated in the opening round of the TUF 19 middleweight tournament. He looked much better at welterweight, and he has great will to fight. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 56, Colby Covington moved to 2-0 in the UFC with his second submission in as many appearances. Covington is yet to face anyone with the grit of Urbina, and a fight between them would be a great scrap.
Edgar Garcia: Saturday night was Garcia’s first fight in the UFC since December of 2009, and he did not look great. In June, Andreas Stahl lost his UFC debut in a fun bout against Gilbert Burns. Garcia vs Stahl looks like it would be a good fight. Book it.
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