Fights To Make After UFC on Fox 6

By Raphael Garcia

In their second showing on Fox in 2013, the Ultimate Fighting Championship gave the fans another solid showing from top to bottom. There were knockouts, submissions, and intense title fights for everyone to enjoy. By the end of the night, the UFC had made strides towards developing a champion in the Flyweight division, and also created new contenders in other weight classes. Going forward, here are some fight suggestions:

Demetrious Johnson vs. an Outside Contender 

Demetrious Johnson had to dig deep against John Dodson, who had him hurt multiple times throughout the fight. As the two competitors entered the championship rounds “Mighty Mouse” was able to press his foot to the ground and wear out the challenger. The UFC has a challenge in finding his next title challenger.

Within the UFC Johnson has defeated the top three contenders in Joseph Benavidez, Ian McCall, and Dodson. So now the organization should look towards fighters in other organizations to challenge their champion. Darrell Montague is the top flyweight talent outside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship that should be hunted down and placed in front of the holder of the 125-pound title.

While the UFC continues to build up the flyweight division, title fights should either be kept on Fox as the main events of strong cards or used as co-main events on Pay per View shows.

Anthony Pettis vs. the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez 

Not only did Anthony Pettis give the fans what they were looking for in a highlight reel stoppage, but he did it in a way that allowed him to jump to the top of the lightweight contenders list. The two thudding body kicks delivered to Donald Cerrone crumpled the former WEC title contender as Pettis stood over him. Now, he only has to wait until April to see who he will be facing for the 155-pound UFC title.

That is where the problem lies. We have to hope that both Henderson and Melendez make it through training unscathed to have their fight. If an injury comes up Pettis should be inserted for the interim standing. However, if they do compete in April, that means Anthony would have to wait until the July – September time period to get his shot. Either way, he deserves the shot that was promised to him more than two years ago.

Pettis against Henderson or Melendez would be an easy PPV main event draw.

Glover Teixeira vs. Ryan Bader

While the UFC doesn’t really put fighters together from the same card, this would be another fight to determine whether Glover is the prospect that everyone believes he is, or not ready for the top of the 205 ladder.

Ryan Bader poses a wrestling threat that Glover hasn’t faced during his UFC campaign. It will be interesting to see if the Brazilian will be able to get Ryan off of him once the takedown attempts begin to come. Strong defensive wrestling is vital to any light heavyweight contender who hopes to defeat Jon Jones, and this is an opportunity to see if Teixeira has those abilities.

Bader vs. Teixeira would serve well as a main event on the new Fox Sports 2 network, or as a main card bout on Fox.

Ricardo Lamas vs. the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo

Ricardo Lamas is another fighter that has been placed in a very precarious position. “The Bully” is riding a four-fight win streak that has seen him defeat Erik Koch, Hatsu Hioki, and Cub Swanson. Those are three individuals who have been ranked among the best at featherweight for an extended period of time, so now Lamas believes he deserves the next title shot after this weekend’s event.

Lamas would be an interesting matchup for both Edgar and Aldo. He has the ability to effectively strike with most of the division, but his bread and butter is on the mat. We saw the way he ripped Koch’s head open with one elbow, and he was also very effective in holding Hioki’s active guard in check. Against Edgar or Aldo he would have to mix up his game enough to score points towards a unanimous decision victory.

Lamas versus Edgar or Aldo would best be served as a Fox main event in 2013.

TJ Grant vs. Jim Miller 

Since moving down to lightweight TJ Grant has looked impressive in a rejuvenated UFC run. With a fourth straight win at this weight, he should be prepped against the upper tier of the weight class to truly test his place at 155. The first individual he should face is Jim Miller.

The battle of the beards would be a fantastic fight, and give us a chance to see whether Grant belongs among the top ten at lightweight. Miller looked tough in his bloody fight against Joe Lauzon, but that aggression had been missing during the last few years of his career. It would be interesting to see if he could take that same approach against Grant, who has been very methodical in the way he has picked apart opponents since 2011.

Miller vs. Grant would be a good fight for any of the Fox sports platforms.

Being a UFC matchmaker is not an easy job at any point in time, but these fighters were able to get their hands raised at UFC on Fox 6. Their next fights should be great opportunities for them to establish themselves within each of their respective divisions.