It’s the day after a UFC show so it’s time to play the role of matchmaker.
An explosive end to Saturday’s UFC event in Macau helped to leave fans with a sweet taste in the mouth instead of what could have been a bitter aftertaste. Strong showings from messrs Kim, Mitrione, Hioki and Hathaway were enough to make up for what could have ended up as a real stinker.
Massive numbered UFC events in big American arenas often end with immediate demands for fights for victorious combatants. Those competitors are usually high profile and at the top of their divisions so people often have a pretty firm idea of what should be next for them even before their fights have happened. Saturday’s fight night (or maybe more accurately fight morning/afternoon depending on where you are in the world) is different. We have some emerging talents who have been given some valuable exposure and for the most part acquitted themselves very well.
They’re not about to have a title shot, coach on TUF or enter into a number-one-contender’s fight, so who should they be matched up with next? Joe Silva, Sean Shelby, stand aside.
Dong Hyun Kim – The Korean judoka was once highly touted as a potential title challenger once upon a time. A series of boring fights and a brain-melting KO loss to Carlos Condit put a stop to that. However, since another loss to Demian Maia Kim has come out like a man possessed, fought with reckless abandon, won four straight and launched himself into the minds of most people with an eye on the top of the UFC welterweight division.
Even with such an impressive streak against decent fighters, Kim is still some way from the summit of the UFC’s 170 pound class, though that’s as much to do with the quality at the top of the rankings. The former Deep title contender is still hovering just outside the top 10, so he will need a win against a decent name to advance higher. The winner of Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields at UFC 171 would be ideal.
Zhang Lipeng – The TUF: China winner does not have too much going for him right now. Few people outside of eastern Asia will have seen him on the TV show, he showed skills that could kindly be described as unimpressive on Saturday and plenty of people thing the judges decision was bogus and Wang Sai should have won the fight. Neither one of these fighters are ready for any established fighter in the shark tank that is the UFC welterweight division.
As a TUF champion in a new market the UFC will want to push Lipeng, so their best bet is to draft in someone, anyone he can beat from outside the promotion.Furthermore, he’s better fight way over in the east the next time they have an event out there, because no-one in Europe or the Americas is going to give a rat’s ass about this guy competing.
Matt Mitrione – ‘Meathead’ is an exciting guy to watch and quite popular once more after brushing off the ill-advised comments about Fallon Fox that got him so much negative attention last year. He’s good as a Fight Night main card slugger or as an extra draw to liven up some Fox Sports prelims ahead of a pay-per-view, but far from the top of the division.
After a good win it would make sense to match Mitrione with another heavyweight coming off a win, so how about the Soa Palelei vs. Ruan Potts from UFN 40 in early May?
Hatsu Hioki – The former Sengoku champion put on another thrilling display of guard passing and top-position control, but he is still unlikely to make much of an impact – if any at all – on the featherweight rankings. Hioki has looked stellar when he has fought close to home, but he has looked half the fighter he really is when he has gone stateside in his UFC career (with the exception of the robbery that was the Clay Guida fight).
He’s a difficult man for Sean Shelby match up. On his day Hioki is capable of giving the division’s best a run for their money, but if travelling affects him he’s equally as likely to crap the bed and give up a lame decision to any old fighter. It would be good to see him given the benefit of the doubt and see if he can put together a run. Giving him the winner of Dennis Bermudez vs. Jimy Hettes at UFC 171 would be a good acid test. Bermudez is ranked at #13 at the moment, with Hettes likely to take his spot if he can get the better of him. Based on ability it would be hard to argue Hatsu Hioki does not belong in a different stratosphere to these men. He should go out and prove that to set up some big fights worthy of his outstanding talent and potential.
