Everyone cannot emerge as winners in mixed martial arts contests, as we have seen time and time again. UFC 157 gave us more fighters who failed in getting their hands raised once their bouts were over. While the UFC moves to trim its roster, if these fighters remain on the payroll, these are bouts they should look forward to in the future.
Liz Carmouche vs. the loser of Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
Liz Carmouche had the entire sports world holding its collective breath when she clasped herself onto Ronda Rousey’s back. Although her grip slipped off, as did her opportunity to hold the UFC women’s bantamweight title, Carmouche has become a name in the organization, and a fighter that can be built into a mid-tier draw. Her next contest should come against either Miesha Tate or Cat Zingano, depending on who wins their fight on April 13th at the TUF 17 Finale.
The winner of this fight will likely be the next challenger for Rousey’s title. While Cat has not been as active as Tate over the last few years, she is still a staunch test for the former women’s champion, and a Tate victory would go a long way towards solidifying her claim to a rematch against the woman who took her title in 2012. A Tate defeat would derail those hopes, but would still put a little steam behind the Zingano hype train. Regardless of the outcome, Carmouche will need a viable opponent in the women’s division, and putting either Tate or Zingano into her next fight would answer that need.
To help capitalize on Carmouche’s newfound popularity, she should fight on the main card of a Fox event this year.
Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans
Henderson looked very slow against Lyoto Machida in their co-main event bout. He was swinging as hard as possible but was unable to connect with the elusive Machida as he moved around the Octagon. However, Henderson is still the viable contender at 205 pounds that everyone wants him to be, and being matched against Rashad Evans would help him keep that spot.
Rashad Evans looked very lethargic as well en route to losing to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira last month at UFC 156. The former champion looked hesitant to pull off any type of attack and that led to the decision defeat. If Evans is staying at light heavyweight, he should be the man Henderson has to face next. A key win for either fighter would help build his case as a title challenger in the future.
Evans-Henderson would be a great co-main event for a Fox event that features a title bout as the headliner.
While not as well known as some of the biggest names in MMA, Menjivar has been a prominent name in hardcore MMA fan circles for an extended period of time. At UFC 157 he fell to a trailblazer of the lighter weights in Urijah Faber, but that doesn’t mean he has lost his value to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Instead of looking for employment he should be matched against Chico Camus on an upcoming card.
Chico Camus was in control for much of his bout against Dustin Kimura at UFC 156 until a fatal error in the third round cost him the bout. Now “King” is in desperate need of a win to show that he belongs in the UFC’s bantamweight division, and finding a way to defeat Menjivar would help solidify his place on the roster.
Menjivar and Camus should face off on an upcoming free card or on the undercard of a Pay-Per-View later this year.
Josh Koscheck vs. the loser of Nate Marquardt vs. Jake Ellenberger
Whether he wants to continue protesting the stoppage or not, the fact of the matter is that Josh Koscheck has taken back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. This is a bad time for the former welterweight title contender to be in such a position, as the UFC is looking for reasons to cut high-paid fighters that may not be draws any longer. While it would be drastic for the UFC to remove him from their roster, he is in need of a key victory, and Nate Marquardt or Jake Ellenberger would be a prime candidate at this point.
Marquardt and Ellenberger are two individuals who were surging at one point during their careers, but have both fallen onto the losing side of the equation. They meet at UFC 158 in less than a month, and once the dust in this fight settles, the loser should be placed in a fight against Koscheck to see which fighter should remain a part of the UFC roster. This fight should be placed on a free Fox platform for fans to see.
Losing a bout in the Octagon has never meant more, as the organization is looking to cut 100 fighters in 2013. After UFC 157, these athletes are in a precarious position with additional losses on their ledgers, but these fights could give them opportunities to correct the problem later this year, and end up on firmer ground.
UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche took place on February 23, 2013 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
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