Five Fights to Make After UFC 139

UFC 139 Miguel Torres vs.  Nick Pace-6Five fights we’d like to see after the awesome UFC 139 event

1. Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans: In a perfect world, Rashad Evans would sit on the sidelines and wait for Jon Jones to destroy Lyoto Machida. We’d finally have one of the biggest fights the UFC can possibly make. But Evans doesn’t want to wait on the sidelines, and there’s always the possibility that Machida somehow defeats Jones and captures the title. With that in mind, we turn to the next best idea: a legitimate title contender bout between Evans and Dan Henderson. Jones burned the candle at both ends during 2011 and he should rightly be given some time off, so it’s a perfect fit. Henderson and Evans face off to determine the next title contender in February or so, and the winner will be waiting for Jones when he’s done resting.

2. Shogun Rua vs. Rampage Jackson: Jackson is doing the mating dance with Stephan Bonnar, but he’s also come out and discussed the idea that he’d like to fight Shogun again in Japan. I think that fight makes a lot of sense, perhaps as the co-main event to the Frankie Edgar/Ben Henderson fight. It’s a throwback to the PRIDE days and they’re gonna need several of those to appease the Japanese fans who aren’t exactly getting the kind of card they’re used to seeing.

3. Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort/Anthony Johnson: Assuming Silva doesn’t ride off into the sunset – and that’s a fair possibility of this point – it only makes sense to pair him with the winner of January’s bout between Belfort and Johnson. A rematch with Belfort would be a perfect fit for the UFC’s rumored trip to Sao Paolo in June, and the same goes for Johnson should he get past Belfort.

4. Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz: We already know this one is happening, but we don’t know when. It actually makes perfect sense to make these two fighters the coaches of the first live season of The Ultimate Fighter on FX. It gives Cruz extra time for his hands to heal, and it exposes the two biggest stars of the bantamweight division to millions of people on live television every week, adding a lot more importance to their eventual third meeting.

5. Miguel Torres vs. Scott Jorgensen: If Torres is willing to go right back into training camp – and he told me he would if the right fight were presented to him – then this bout makes a ton of sense for the UFC on FOX show in Chicago in January. Both guys are perennial title contenders and while this one wouldn’t exactly earn them an immediate title shot, it would go a long way towards establishing them in that upper tier of potential opponents for Cruz.