Next Fight Options For UFC 114 Winners

Options for UFC 114 Fighters

On an event that seemingly featured nothing but upsets, Michael Bisping and Efrain Escudero must be happy to have live up to their betting line expectations. Both Bisping and Escudero fought well and left little doubt in the minds of either the judges or the fans as to whether or not they were victorious. As for the rest of the main card, the underdogs ruled the day, including the main event in which Rashad Evans moved well, earned his takedowns, and was able to beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to the punch more often than not.

Obviously, Evans will next fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight title. Less obvious are the futures for the rest of the winners from UFC 114. For those fighters, there are options.

MICHAEL BISPING

Option 1: Yoshihiro Akiyama

Figuring out options for Bisping is tricky. He’s nearly on the cusp of title contention, if only because he’s one of the UFC’s bigger stars, but there aren’t a lot of options for fighters on that same level at the moment. Alan Belcher would make a lot of sense as a Bisping opponent, but he will reportedly meet Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 22 on September 15. Instead, a guy who beat Belcher (well, kind of) might wind up as Bisping’s next opponent.

The winner of Bisping v. Akiyama could conceivably receive a title shot, but Akiyama will need to get past Wanderlei Silva at UFC 116 on July 3 in order to make sense as an opponent for Bisping. If he can do that, he’ll not only have beaten Silva, who Bisping feels he defeated and has expressed some interest in fighting once more, but will also be on a similar fight schedule to Bisping.

It may seem obvious to suggest Bisping v. Silva in a rematch, but when the topic was broached by Kenny Florian on MMA Live following UFC 114, Bisping seemed only lukewarm on the idea. It doesn’t sound like Silva v. Bisping will happen in the near future.

Option 2: Nate Marquardt

This would be another match where the winner could rightly earn a title shot. First, Marquardt will have to beat Rousimar Palhares when the two square off at UFC 118 on August 28. That’s the biggest problem with the match; when it takes place. With Marquardt already scheduled to fight in August, he’s on almost an entirely different fighting cycle than is Bisping. It’s a situation that can be fixed, but not without putting Bisping on the shelf for about six months, and you’d have to think that the UFC wouldn’t be particularly inclined to do with if other options were available to them.

Option 3: The winner of Mark Munoz v. Yushin Okami (UFC Live on Versus 2, 8/1)

Normally the options for each fighter only run two deep, but in this case, Bisping’s options are so few that this possibility should be mentioned as well.

As with Nate Marquardt, Munoz and Okami will not fight until August 1, so their fighting cycle does not sync up well with Bisping’s. However, the winner here might make the most sense as Bisping’s next opponent. While Bisping versus either Munoz or Okami won’t yield the next top Middleweight title contender (barring an injury to another contender), the winner will absolutely be in the contender’s mix. One hesitation for this option: if Munoz wins, will the UFC want to eliminate either him or Bisping as a potential contender?

MIKE RUSSOW

Option 1: The winner of Karlos Vemola v. Jon Madsen (UFC 116, 7/3)

Though his was not the greatest comeback of all time – that’s Scott Smith v. Pete Sell – by surviving a two-and-a-half round onslaught from Todd Duffee, Russow proved that he is incredibly durable and not an opponent to be taken lightly. What Russow didn’t prove is that he is ready to take a step up in competition. That makes the winner of newcomer Karlos Vemola versus TUF 10 cast member Jon Madsen about the perfect match for him.

Vemola is the latest Heavyweight to come into the UFC with tremendous hype, who with a 7-0 record with none of his matches getting out of the first round will be a fine stand-in for Duffee. Of course, he’ll have to get past Madsen, who himself is undefeated at 5-0 and has shown tremendous wrestling, if nothing else. Then again, if the UFC is inclined to reward Russow’s toughness and heart by bumping him up the ranks a bit, the next option makes a lot of sense.

Option 2: The winner of Ben Rothwell v. Gilbert Yvel (UFC 115, 6/12)

This may wind up being the easier fight compared to the winner of Vemola v. Madsen, but their veteran status will do more for Russow in victory than will either Vemola or Madsen, and in the case of Madsen, either Rothwell or Yvel will almost certainly put on a more crowd pleasing match against Russow.

– Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Option 1: Forest Griffin

This one is obvious, and given that Griffin is expected to return to action this Fall, his timeline matches up well with Nogueira’s. The winner of the match could realistically receive a title shot, although the likelihood of Nogueira facing the winner of Rua v. Evans had to have taken a hit following Nogueira’s underwhelming performance against Jason Brilz. Then again, a big knockout of Griffin would go along way towards helping people to forget about his performance against Brilz.

Option 2: The winner of Rich Franklin v. Chuck Liddell (UFC 115, 6/12)

This is a match that just feels right. The timelines match up well with Franklin v. Liddell scheduled for Jun 12, and all three fighters are at relatively the same position in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division.

This is another match in which the winner can realistically receive a title shot, though again, a knockout victory for Nogueira would help to ensure a title shot in light of his match against Brilz. With Nogueira being the twin of former UFC interim Heavyweight champion and MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and both Franklin and Liddell being stars in their own right, this would be a fringe main event or a very strong semi-main.

The question here is Liddel’s future, though if he can beat Franklin it seems reasonable to think that he’d keep fighting towards another title shot. The third match with Ortiz is looming, but with Ortiz’s health concerns, it may not be realistic to count on that match happening anytime soon.

JOHN HATHAWAY

Option 1: The winner of Carlos Condit v. Rory MacDonald (UFC 115, 6/12)

By beating Diego Sanchez, Hathaway proved that he should enter the discussion of potential contenders in the UFC Welterweight division. He’s not a contender yet, but a win over either Condit or MacDonald would be another strong push in the right direction. Alternatively, if either Condit, the former WEC Welterweight champion, or MacDonald, who is also undefeated can beat Hathaway, they will very much find themselves in the thick of the title hunt. That Condit v. MacDonald will take place on June 12 puts the winner, barring injury, on a near identical fighting cycle to that of Hathaway.

Option 2: Dong Hyun Kim

Two undefeated fighters coming off of victories over champions from The Ultimate Fighter on the same event. It’s almost too perfect a match not to make. The winner here will absolutely move into title contention with maybe just one more victory needed to face Georges St. Pierre. The problem is that neither Hathaway nor Kim are, at this point, going to yield great returns in terms of buy rate, live gate, and so forth if matched against St. Pierre. Fortunately for them, a champion on the level of St. Pierre sells himself, and while an opponent with a bigger name helps to sell the event, St. Pierre against anyone is going to do big business. St. Pierre against any undefeated fighter is going to have a certain caché, even if the fighter isn’t established as a star.

– Dong Hyun Kim

Option 1: Chris Lytle

Lytle will first have to get past Matt Brown, whom he will fight at UFC 116 on July 3 in what may be one of the great slugfests of the year, but there is evidence to suggest that this fight will happen. First, this match was scheduled for UFC 110 before Kim withdrew due to a knee injury and Lytle went on to force replacement Brian Foster to submit with a kneebar in a somewhat poetic finish. Second, with a win over Brown, Lytle will have earned three victories in a row in the meat grinder than is the UFC’s Welterweight division, and that would warrant some discussion about Lytle’s potential as a contender. Then there’s the fact that Kim is also entering his name into the discussion of contenders, and a win over Lytle, who has been somewhat of a gatekeeper thus far, would legitimize his contendership. Finally, as with just about any Lytle fight, the match would be wildly entertaining.

Option 2: John Hathaway

Again, the timing and credentials of each fighter make this a near-perfect match. If the UFC is ready to give Kim a chance to become a legitimate contender, this is the way they will go. Stylistically, it’s intriguing as well. Can Kim use his judo to take down Hathaway, whose takedown defense was a strength against Sanchez? Can Hathaway pick Kim apart on the feet the way he did Sanchez? It would be a treat to see such questions answered.

– Efrain Escudero

Option 1: Jeremy Stephens

Following his loss to Evan Dunham, Escudero is on the outside looking in towards becoming a contender in the UFC’s Lightweight division. The win over Dan Lauzon helped move him in the right direction, but only slightly. While the lost to Dunham indicates that Escudero isn’t quite ready to face top talent in the division, he still only has one career loss, so it’s not as though he should linger around the lower levels of the division. A match against Jeremy Stephens, who surprised many when he defeated Sam Stout at UFC 113 earlier this month, would pit two similarly ranked opponents against each other while weeding out the potential contender from the also-rans. Of course, someone else on the UFC 114 card expressed an interest in fighting Jeremy Stephens (well, “Jeremy Stevenson,” whoever that is), and that someone would also make a reasonable opponent for Escudero.

Option 2: Melvin Guillard

After defeating Waylon Lowe, Guillard talked about title shots and called out a fighter he had only just made up. Presumably he meant Jeremy Stephens, but maybe he meant fellow Team Jackson fighter Joe Stevenson. Doubtful, considering their strict policy against fighting teammates, but can’t you see Guillard ignoring that policy? Either way, another option that he failed to mention is Escudero,who fought just a little while after he beat Lowe. Escudero v. Guillard would have the potential to be as explosive as the final moments of Escudero v. Lauzon, only we’d likely not have to wait as long to get to that point in a match that would almost certainly not go the distance. A win here would better justify any discussion of a Guillard title shot, but regardless of who wins, he will remain two or three fights away from contention.

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Options: Next Move For UFC 114 Fighters