UFC 136 was a card with high expectations. Where others may have faltered, this event delivered with a stellar night of fights. From upsets to comebacks, UFC 136 gave fans many great contests, and now matchmakers have a number of different ways they can go to continue to make interesting bouts for those who participated.
Frankie Edgar vs. Winner of Ben Henderson/Clay Guida
UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar cemented his claim as the top lightweight in the world, as he stopped Gray Maynard in the fourth round of their fight. Wobbled early, he came back to take command of the bout and push his way to victory. Moving forward from here, the next contender should come from the “Battle of the Hair” that is set to take place next month.
Both Guida and Henderson pose an interesting challenge for the champion. While neither fighter is known for his explosive knockout power, they both have an ability to push the pace that rivals that of Edgar. We’ve all seen Henderson and Guida continue moving around the cage when other competitors would have gassed out.
Henderson, however poses a more dangerous challenge than Guida. Edgar should be able to stuff Guida’s takedown attempts, score a few of his own, and outclass him on the feet en route to a decision victory. Henderson, on the other hand, has decent boxing skills of his own, and is a rather large fighter at 155. It would be interesting to see how he would try to push Edgar around, and to find out whether he would be able to score enough points to defeat the champion.
Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva
With those post-fight comments, this bout is almost mandatory. Like him or not, Sonnen knows how to get a crowd fired up and how to incite rage. Over two rounds he dominated an opponent in Brian Stann that was surging up the middleweight ranks.
Questions have come up since Silva and Sonnen first fought in 2010. Sonnen was mere seconds away from claiming the title when he was caught in a triangle choke that put him away. Silva complained about a rib injury that almost forced him out of the bout, while Sonnen was caught up in a doping scandal. This time around Silva is healthy and Sonnen is clean, so one could wonder if that will create a different matchup altogether. Regardless, this is a seriously dangerous bout for the current champion, as Sonnen has proven that he has the abilities and game plan to defeat him. The question is: Can he pull it off?
Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
Jose Aldo dominated Kenny Florian using crisp striking and takedown defense. But looking at the way he fought, one has to wonder how he would do against a wrestler that has been quietly waiting for his shot at the featherweight title.
Chad Mendes is a wrestler’s wrestler, one who has proven that he can take down almost anyone at will. While his standup game is slowly improving, he knows when to stick to what brought him to the dance. Against Aldo the relevant questions would be whether or not he will be able to weather the storm on the feet, and how much will Aldo’s crushing leg kicks slow down his explosiveness. Sizing the two up, I would pick Aldo to win this bout, but I do not think it would be as one-sided as his most recent title defense.
Joe Lauzon vs. Donald Cerrone
Joe Lauzon was an absolute underdog in his bout against Melvin Guillard, but quickly turned that around with a counter left hand. Seconds later he took Guillard’s back and forced the tap out with a rear naked choke. While this victory doesn’t make Lauzon an immediate contender, it does make him a name on the “who to watch” list in the lightweight division.
Donald Cerrone has been on a tear since moving over to the UFC from the WEC. He has three victories and is always jumping in on late notice when asked by matchmakers. This bout would be an exciting contest, as both competitors have strong ground skills, but have no problem trying to put their opponents away standing. Lauzon may be a bit more developed on the ground, while Cerrone’s varied standup abilities would give him an advantage in that area. The victor in this bout would be determined by where the fight took place, and I think that Cerrone would be able to pull out a decision victory.
Demian Maia vs. Vitor Belfort
While often overlooked, Demian Maia has a very impressive resume of wins. Though he didn’t look as good as I thought he would with his victory over Jorge Santiago, he has solidified himself as a contender within the middleweight division. Matching him against Vitor Belfort would remove one of the two fighters from top five status in the weight class.
It’s obvious that Maia’s striking has continued to improve, but his ground game is still his greatest strength. That being said, it would be interesting to see how he would be able to stand up against the outright pressure that Belfort brings at the start of all his bouts. If he can weather that storm and get this fight to the ground to slow things down, I believe that he could pull out a victory. If not, I see Belfort winning this bout by a brutal TKO.
