Fights To Make After UFC 144 – The Winners Edition

By Raphael Garcia

When UFC 144 was first announced, people were not too excited about the card that was presented to the public. However, as the weeks passed and the event drew closer, excitement began to grow. Led by Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson, a main event that delivered on its promise of an action-packed bout, as well as matchups featuring a number of Japanese stars performing in front of their hometown fans, UFC 144 was easily one of the best cards the UFC has put on since the start of the New Year. As we move towards the next event with a new lightweight champion, here are some suggestions for the next fights for the winners of UFC’s pivotal event in Japan:

Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis

Saturday night, Benson Henderson looked like a man possessed with winning the lightweight title, and he was able to pull it away from the “Answer’s” grasp by the end of the evening. If the former champion is not granted an immediate rematch, Henderson will not have to look far into his past to find the first contender to his title reign.

With a sickening thud, Anthony Pettis landed a highlight reel head kick that was able to put Joe Lauzon away in the first round. The last man to wear the WEC lightweight strap, Pettis was on his way to a title unification bout until he decided to face off against Clay Guida, which resulted in a defeat in his UFC debut. Months later he defeated Jeremy Stephens by split decision in a back and forth bout. While his resume may not be as extensive as that of some other fighters in the lightweight division, statements from UFC President Dana White after UFC 144 suggest that Pettis is the next bout on the docket for Henderson. Holding a win over the current champion helps, and we all remember the exciting battle they put on for five rounds back in December of 2010. A Henderson-Pettis matchup may be more of a business move than a rankings move, but I still see this as the next fight for both individuals.

This bout will be much different than their first contest. Henderson isn’t the same fighter that he was back in the WEC, as the level of aggression he exhibits during his fights has been elevated. In each of his four bouts since moving into the UFC, he has continued to move forward and press the action against his opponent, using his size and strength to control exactly where the fight takes place. That would will be a major advantage if he was to face Pettis for a second time.

When they first met, Pettis’ standup abilities were not well known to the MMA world, but that isn’t the case this time around. I do not see Henderson being willing to give Pettis any space to land the high impact kicks that gave him his second loss in his career. Instead, I see Henderson pressing Pettis against the cage and dragging him to the ground where he can land punishing ground and pound en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Ryan Bader vs. Phil Davis

Ryan “Darth” Bader left Japan with what may be the most important win of his career over a depleted Quinton Jackson. Going forward he will have to use the momentum from this win to continue to develop a career that hit quite the snag in 2011 with losses to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz. Even though the UFC usually stays away from pairing winners and losers, the idea of Bader versus Phil Davis is very intriguing to me.

Davis is coming off a one-sided defeat to current number one contender Rashad Evans at UFC on Fox 2. Many feel that the fight against Evans was too much too soon for the Penn State wrestling standout, and his performance showed that he has much more room to grow and develop.

Bader versus Davis would pit two wrestlers against each other, and those bouts tend to turn into striking matches. While Bader tends to rely on overhand rights to stun his opponent, Davis uses kicks and jabs to keep his opponent at range and off balance, which helps to set up his takedowns. In this bout he would have to use constant head movement to avoid the overhand right that Bader’s used to put out opponents in the past. I see Davis being able to set up one to two takedowns per round in order to hold position on Bader and score a decision victory in what may not be an exciting fight, but a fight that places one of two young prospects in the division closer to a title shot come 2013.

Jake Shields vs. winner of Martin Kampmann – Thiago Alves

Call it controversial if you must, but Jake Shields was able to find a way to defeat Yoshihiro Akiyama even though much of his offense was ineffective throughout the bout. This win doesn’t catapult him back towards the top of the welterweight heap, although it is a great way to build momentum for the rest of 2012. I would match him against the winner of the upcoming Martin Kampmann – Thiago Alves fight, which is set for FX.

A bout against Kampmann would be a rematch of Shields’ UFC debut, in which many people believe he was defeated by the Danish striker. in the third round of that fight, Kampmann went away from his game plan and became overly aggressive, which gave Shields an opportunity to take him down and control that frame, which was able to convince two judges that he earned a decision. If they were to face each other a second time around, I believe that Kampmann would be able to keep the fight on the feet and use his technical striking to outpoint Shields and batter him across three rounds for a decision victory.

Shields would also be in for a tough fight against Thiago Alves, who is another one of the great stand up fighters at 170 pounds. The main difference is that Alves has shown a weakness against individuals who try to wrestle him to the mat multiple times during fights. Shields would have to come out and immediately close the distance to get him against the cage and try to drag him to the floor. The longer the fight stays on the feet, the more time Alves would have to pick him apart. In this bout I believe that Shields would be able to employ the same strategy that Jon Fitch, Georges St. Pierre, and Rick Story used in order to earn a decision win over the “Pitbull.”

Tim Boetsch vs. Riki Fukuda

It wasn’t “the greatest comeback in UFC history,” as Joe Rogan put it, but Tim Boetsch shocked everyone in attendance and watching across the world when he was able to stop Yushin Okami with thunderous uppercuts in the third round, and earn a very tough win. Riki Fukuda, on the other hand, was able to defeat a wilting Steve Cantrell after pummeling him throughout the second and third frames. While Boetsch and Fukuda are not big names in the 185-pound division, I would match them against each other on a free television card in hopes of creating a buzz around the fighters.

Fukuda is an experienced Japanese wrestler, and displayed that wrestling acumen with his ability to blast double legs straight through Cantrell. His striking wasn’t too clean on the feet, but he was able to score when he needed to, however some of that may be attributed to Cantrell crumbling as the fight went on.

Against Boetsch, Fukuda would have to worry about the “Barbarian’s” heavy hands. Once he was able to touch Okami he was able to rock the tough Japanese fighter, who had only been stopped once before in his career. If Boetsch found a way to cut off the Octagon and corner Fukuda, he would be able to land big shots on the way towards a knockout victory. Fukuda would have to use his wrestling to keep his opponent on his back and limit Boetsch’s opportunities to hit him flush. In this bout I see Fukuda being able to score takedowns and frustrate Boetsch into charging forward, opening himself up to more takedowns en route to Fukuda earning a decision victory.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Jose Aldo

Ranked #3 in the world, Hatsu Hioki proved why he holds that position, as he dismantled Bart Palaszewski over their three-round contest. He took control of the bout from the very beginning using pinpoint striking and textbook Jiu Jitsu. While many people questioned his ranking after the bout with George Roop back in October of last year, this performance should be enough to quiet many of his critics.

Hioki benefits from a featherweight division that lacks many contenders to Jose Aldo’s crown. Aldo has been a dominant champion since winning the belt back in the WEC. He recently dismantled Chad Mendes back in Brazil at UFC 142, and in doing so placed his title reign in limbo. A fight against Hioki will create a matchup between two of the top featherweights in the world, but another detail could add a little more intrigue to the bout. Back in 2010 Hioki was able to defeat Marlon Sandro, who is a teammate of Aldo’s at Nova Uniao, which could provide more fuel for the champion to avenge his “team’s” loss with a dominating win.

While Hioki displayed a crisp striking style in his UFC 144 bout, Aldo will still have the advantage in that area, and would be able to pick Hioki apart on the feet, and rock him with strikes to the head. Hioki does not display a great aptitude for defense, and Aldo’s powerful Muay Thai would be a detriment to Hioki staying conscious over five rounds.

On the mat, both fighters are very technical grapplers. While we haven’t seen Aldo use his Black Belt level BJJ in many of his fights, he has the ability to pass his opponent’s guard and look for submissions when needed. Hioki would be the better mat technician, however I do not see him having the ability to submit Aldo over the course of five rounds of a championship bout. In fact, I would pick Aldo to win by TKO in the third round.

UFC 144 was a big event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the MMA community as a whole. Going forward the winners from the evening should have a lot to look forward to with these and other upcoming matchups.

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