UFC 152 was exactly what the Ultimate Fighting Championship needed. After a rocky past few months filled with underwhelming cards, injuries, and other situations, fans were given a night of exciting fights, knockouts, and title matchups that captivated the audience. With the momentum on their side, the UFC can push forward with a number of fights for the night’s top winners.
Jon Jones vs. the winner of Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida
Jones walked into the Octagon as a hated fighter, but none of that stopped him from putting on a dominating performance. He survived an armbar that would have stopped most bouts and proceeded to control Vitor Belfort en route to a fourth round submission. Riding an eight-fight win streak and creeping up on Tito Ortiz’s record for light heavyweight title defenses, Jones should look forward to facing either Dan Henderson or Lyoto Machida as his next challenge.
While the fight itself has not been announced, the UFC has made an effort to get Henderson and Machida to agree to a fight later this year. Henderson was the challenger for Jones at UFC 151 until his injury set in motion the actions that resulted in the show being cancelled. Machida was given the opportunity to step in at UFC 152; however, turning that fight down caused UFC President Dana White to negate the announcement of Machida as the number one contender after the way he knocked out Ryan Bader at UFC on Fox 4. Now, both individuals need another big win in order to be considered the top challenger to Jones; they should have to go through each other, with the man who gets his hand raised placed into the position of number one contender to the light heavyweight championship.
Demetrious Johnson vs. the winner of Jussier Da Silva vs. John Dodson
For the majority of the 25-minute flyweight championship bout, Demetrious Johnson put on a technical clinic, as he outpaced Joseph Benavidez and beat his opponent to the punch in many different ways. As a champion should, he survived the dreaded Team Alpha Male guillotine chokes, finding a way to come out on top and become the first UFC fighter to hold the 125-pound title. Now, in a new weight class, the division is almost wide open, but the first contender should come from the Jussier Da Silva vs. John Dodson fight that is set for UFC on FX 5.
Dodson isn’t a new face to UFC fans, as he won the 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter last year by stopping T.J. Dillashaw. After that, he defeated Tim Elliot in what was an exciting and fast-paced flyweight contest. While he may not be the biggest name in the division, he’s one of the top talents available in the weight class.
On the other hand, Da Silva is new to the UFC, though he has been on a tear outside of the United States. At 14-1, his only defeat comes to Ian McCall back in 2011. Since then he has defeated five straight opponents and surged up a variety of ranking lists. While mainstream fans may not recognize Da Silva right out of the gate, he is an import that can immediately make an impact in the weight class.
Michael Bisping vs. the winner of Tim Boetsch vs. Chris Weidman
The middleweight division is in a very tough position at this point. The champion, Anderson Silva, has dominated the weight class for years, and his fighting schedule has him competing twice a year. Since he’s been penciled in to fight Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153, it is tough to see him fighting before April 2013. Even at that time, however, rumors are mounting about the UFC matching Silva against Georges St. Pierre in a MMA superfight at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. These developments mean that the 185-pound title may not be defended very often in the coming months.
Michael Bisping is left to suffer through the situation. Does he wait to fight the champion, or continue competing, to stay fresh and continue developing as a fighter? The middleweight division has a number of fighters with claims to a title shot, including Chris Weidman, Tim Boetsch, and others. Between these three fighters, it would be hard to place Bisping at the top when you compare their resumes. However, Bisping has the ability to market and promote a fight, which has become very important in the current mixed martial arts landscape.
Matching him against either Weidman or Boetsch would give the UFC an opportunity to stall for some time until Silva is ready to defend, while at the same time creating a true number one contender in the weight class. While many would be ready to accept Bisping as the top contender to Silva, this is more of a scheduling question.
Cub Swanson is often overlooked in the featherweight division. Although he has an 18-5 record, if you look across his resume, you will see that his most recent losses have come to top fighters at 145. But riding a three-fight win streak, he may be ready to push towards the top of the weight class himself, and possibly earn a title shot next year. To get there, he should be matched against Hatsu Hioki, who was a former contender until being upset earlier this year.
Swanson is a very well-rounded fighter, who has shown that he can defeat fighters by both grappling and striking with them. In pairing him against Hioki it would be interesting to see what type of strategy he would employ, because Hioki is also well-versed in both areas. Hioki has very technical striking and has shown that he can control fighters on the ground when needed. The question for this matchup would be how well the Japanese star can take the power that Swanson brings to the cage. This is the type of fight that would work well on a FX or Fox card, and expose both of their personalities to the fight public.
Vinny Magalhaes vs. winner of Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
Vinny Magalhaes is a fighter that many people have been looking forward to seeing back in the Octagon. At 24 years of age, he made his first appearance in the Octagon in 2008. After two back-to-back losses, he was released from the UFC and headed overseas to compete. Since that time he has gone 9-1 and became one of the more prominent submission artists in the sport. He’s finished six of those opponents by coaxing tapouts with a variety of attacks. Vinny shouldn’t be considered an automatic top name at light heavyweight, but he can keep moving towards that spot by defeating either Glover Teixeira or Fabio Maldonado.
Glover Teixeira is a name that has garnered some attention outside of the UFC, and now that he is a part of their roster, he has high expectations following him. He has brought an 18-2 record with him to this point, and has shown that he knows how to win bouts in more ways than just one. Fabio is a powerful striker that hasn’t been able to translate his boxing ability into sustained success into the Octagon at this point. He’s stepping up to fight Glover at UFC 153, and the winner of this contest would be a viable next fight for Magalhaes later this year or early 2013.
UFC 152 was a strong rebounding effort, a card for the organization to build upon. UFC matchmakers have a number of viable options to go with involving the winners and losers from this event, and they can potentially keep building on the positive fan experience that was taken from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
