Fight Fixin’ is a fantasy matchmaking article that comes out after every major event and features possible matchups for main card winners and/or losers from the previous night.
Nate Marquardt
In the main event of the Strikeforce finale, Nate Marquardt lost the Strikeforce welterweight title to Tarec Saffiedine via unanimous decision. Although the fight was close since MMA is judged by rounds, one look at Marquardt’s leg after the fight showed that he was clearly the loser of this bout.
For his next fight, Marquardt should head back to the UFC and fight another top welterweight. I think Erick Silva is the perfect guy. Both Marquardt and Silva are on the bubble of the top 10 in the division, and the winner of this fight would certainly be “in the mix,” as Dana White likes to say. It sounds like an explosive standup fight, so I hope it comes to fruition.
Match to make: Nate Marquardt vs. Erick Silva
Dion Staring
The second of two major mismatches on the Strikeforce finale main card saw Dion Staring lose via second-round TKO to Daniel Cormier. No one expected Staring to win this fight, but it’s a testament to his toughness that he was able to stay in this fight for as long as he did.
Still, even though Staring is not UFC-calibre fighter, he at least stayed in this fight for a little while, and he fought up one weight class, too. So give him one fight in the UFC against Chad Griggs at light heavyweight and then cut the loser, and we’ll never have to hear from them again.
Match to make: Dion Staring vs. Chad Griggs
Nandor Guelmino
I don’t even know what to write here. Nandor Guelmino was expected to lose to Josh Barnett and that’s exactly what happened, as he tapped out to a first-round submission just minutes into their fight.
Guelmino probably doesn’t deserve to fight even once in the UFC, but since he did Zuffa a favour by taking the fight with Barnett when no one else would, it’s probably the right thing to give him one more chance. Like Staring, I believe Guelmino should be fighting at light heavyweight – he weighed only 229 pounds with excess muscle – so if he does indeed make the drop, I’d like for the UFC to feed him to Kyle Kingsbury.
Kingsbury is a warrior who has lost three straight fights, and is in desperate need of a win to keep his job. Kingsbury should beat Guelmino, who looked bad against Barnett, but then again with the way Kingsbury’s looked as of late, that’s not a guarantee, and it’d be an opportunity for Guelmino to score an upset knockout and prove he was better than how he looked on Saturday night. It’s another fight like Staring vs. Griggs, where the winner sticks around while the loser gets cut – basically, a fight to help weed out who should be in the UFC or not, and the best thing is, it’d likely produce an exciting finish.
Match to make: Nandor Guelmino vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Ed Herman
Ed Herman was the only UFC fighter with the guts to cross over and fight in Strikeforce, but unfortunately for the fiery redhead he suffered a first-round submission loss to the world-renowned Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in the opening main card bout.
Still, the UFC won’t cut Herman for the loss, considering he stepped up when no one else would, and took a short-notice catchweight fight against one of the best middleweight fighters in the world.
For his next bout, Herman will be back in the UFC, and I’d like to see him fight Tom Lawlor. I think Herman deserves an easier opponent in his next outing, because clearly guys like Souza and Jake Shields, who he fought in his last bout at UFC 150, are just too good for him. Both Herman and Lawlor are long-time UFC vets with solid grappling skills and a little power to boot, making this an evenly-matched fight that sees the winner stay somewhat relevant at 185 pounds, while the loser may be forced to reconsider their MMA career.
Match to make: Ed Herman vs. Tom Lawlor
KJ Noons
It was clear to anyone watching that KJ Noons deserved to win a decision over Ryan Couture. However, Couture was awarded the controversial split decision, and thus guaranteed himself a spot in the UFC, while Noons’ future is somewhat up in the air, considering he’s lost four of his last five fights.
However, the fact that Dana White tweeted that he thought Noons got robbed by the judges leads me to believe that Noons will get a shot in the UFC. And I’m happy about that, because he’s an exciting fighter who has excellent boxing skills and solid takedown defence, and who is a threat to most fighters at 155 pounds.
If he gets a shot in the UFC, I’d like to see Noons battle another exciting fighter who was robbed in his last fight, Reza Madadi. Madadi clearly should have gotten a decision win over Cristiano Marcello at UFC 153, yet the judges foolishly gave the decision to the Brazilian. It’d be an opportunity for both Noons and Madadi to erase the wrongdoings of the past, and after tasting the sting of bad judging, I highly doubt this fight goes to the scorecards.
Match to make: KJ Noons vs. Reza Madadi
