Two events and 21 total fights over the weekend have answered a few questions, but they’ve created a few more as well. Not a lot of what went down at UFC on FX 6 and The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale will have much effect on title chases or anything. But some guys took a step towards becoming more relevant in their respective divisions, while others might be looking for work pretty soon. With that in mind, here are 10 bouts that I would make in the wake of the weekend results.
Ross Pearson vs. Yves Edwards – I don’t know if Pearson is planning on staying at lightweight or not but if he is, I’d love to see him face off with Yves. Both are coming off huge knockouts and it would be a pretty great fight to top a prelims show or something.
George Sotiropoulos vs. nobody – Seriously, it might be time to hang em’ up. His decline has been sharp.
Hector Lombard vs. winner of Yushin Okami vs. Alan Belcher – Both would be tough challenges for the smaller Lombard and if he can beat either of these guys, he’d prove he’s for real in the middleweight division.
Chad Mendes vs.Dustin Poirier – Unless they go back to the Mendes vs. Hacran Dias fight, this just seems like a natural matchup to me. Mendes isn’t getting another shot at Jose Aldo anytime soon, but he can do his best to stop Poirier from eventually getting one.
Mike Pierce vs. Mike Pyle – Pierce has basically ran out of wrestlers to…well, wrestle with, so change things up a bit. Give him a smart fighter (Pyle) and see if he can adjust to Pierce’s gameplan. Both have won three in a row. One is 8-3 in the UFC, the other 7-3. It seems like a pretty logical matchup to me, despite the style clash.
Roy Nelson vs. Cheick Kongo – I know Kongo turned down a bout with Nelson at the Finale, but that was because he wanted a full camp to prepare. If Shane Carwin isn’t coming back to fight Nelson, let Big Country scrap with the big Frenchman.
Matt Mitrione vs. loser of Todd Duffee vs. Philip De Fries – Mitrione was supposed to face De Fries anyway, and a bout with Duffee would be interesting no matter what.
Pat Barry vs. winner of Duffee vs. De Fries – Why? Well, I can’t think of anyone else suitable in the HW division right now.
Rustam Khabilov vs.Mike Rio – Let’s see if Khabilov can throw around a really good wrestler before we get our hopes up too high.
Hugo Viana vs. Johnny Bedford – Both knocked out their opponents at the Finale. Both are 2-0 in the UFC. Both bring a lot of excitement. This might be my favorite possible fight on this list other than Mendes/Poirier.
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