By Michael Owen
The dust has settled following UFC 170 and it’s time to think about who’s next for the fighters who competed on the main card.
No matter whether you thought stoppages were poor or performances could have been better, it’s most definitely a case of onwards and upwards for the winners. Let’s see who could be in store for them in the coming months.
Ronda Rousey – The UFC women’s bantamweight champion showed there was more to her game than just eye-wateringly efficient armbars and defended her belt against one of the few possible credible opponents at the same time. Her performance – along with the ongoing mystery of when Cat Zingano might be able to fight – has made it even more difficult to imagine who else might pose a threat to her dominant reign in the near future. Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos could be the answer to that question, but seeing as she is not in the UFC for now she’s not yet part of the discussion.
The most likely opponent for the Olympic judo medalist is probably Alexis Davis. Even though many observers thought she did not do enough to beat Jessica Eye, her hand was ultimately raised. She’s the highest ranked fighter who isn’t injured or a two-time victim of a Rousey armbar so she is the leading candidate. It does not matter that no-one outside of the hardcore knows who she is or that she does not appear to pose a threat to the champ one bit. The fight will sell anyway because – for now at least – the UFC’s women’s division is the Ronda Rousey show and she’s the only girl that matters.
Daniel Cormier – Beating up Pat Cummings does nothing for Cormier’s standing at 205 pounds. It’s hard even to grasp where he really belongs in the division because his opponent was such a novice. While it’s clear he is an excellent fighter for the weight class based on the ruthless efficiency of his win and his standing as a top-five heavyweight, he still has not faced a litmus test to see where he belongs amongst the likes of Jones, Evans, Gustafsson, Teixeira and company.
Unless he was absolutely needed as a late replacement, he’s not quite in a position to challenge Jon Jones for a title just yet. A fight against his originally scheduled opponent – Rashad Evans – would make sense – but a six month layoff for ‘Suga’ and DC’s preference to get regular fights mean that is not on the agenda. The Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson winner from UFC 172 would be a good test and a suitable one in the light heavyweight title-chasing landscape.
Rory MacDonald – Rory Mac showed some of the fire that he had in his pre-2013 UFC fights to immediately re-establish himself as a title contender. He beat the #6 ranked fighter by persevering through adversity, flexing his takedown defence and boasting some of the crisp boxing that lit up BJ Penn a little over a year ago. Journalists, fans and matchmakers should be excited again to see just what he can pull off against some more of the 170 pound elite.
It’s common for Joe SIlva to match winners with winners towards the top of the division. It’s also likely that he has grand plans for certain fighters to line up opposite Robbie Lawler or Johnny Hendricks if they can win their next fight. However – win or lose – I would like to see a rematch between MacDonald and Carlos Condit up next. There might not be the same heat between the two as there once was, but that would be another outstanding fight.
Mike Pyle – The welterweight veteran is enjoying the best years of his career at the moment. Aside from the odd loss against legitimately top fighters he has shrugged off the ‘inconsistent’ label and strived to put good fighters away on a regular basis. He’s not young, his striking is limited, his chin is not great and he certainly won’t beat anyone on the road to a title shot, but Joe Silva could put him in against almost anyone at 170 pounds and see a return in the form of an exciting contest.
An appropriate match would be against another tough scrapper who won’t have a title run ended by a loss to a gritty veteran. Brian Ebersole is not currently booked to fight anyone and he fits that bill.
Stephen Thompson – ‘Wonderboy’ may not be the all-conquering striking demigod that was put on a pedestal by Joe Rogan after his Octagon debut, but if he’s allowed to fight at range he’s going to knock some fools out. He has improved his takedown defence and grappling, but not enough to stop them from being a liability against anyone ranked in the top 15.
Thompson is another fighter who would benefit from some fun matchmaking. He won;t be challenging Hendricks, Lawler, Condit or anyone for their places at the top of the division, but he would be useful as someone to add some spark to the main card of a UFC on Fox Sports 1 show. ANyone who would be willing to stand up would be suitable for now, so how about Nicholas Musoke. The Swede is fresh off a win of his own and holds a similar position outside of the division’s elie. Put them together and hopefully the leather will fly.
