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 event.
Jon Jones
In the main event of UFC 182, Jon Jones retained the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a five-round unanimous decision win over Daniel Cormier. Jones showed off a great chin in the fight, as he was able to absorb Cormier’s best strikes early on before weathering the storm, out-cardioing Cormier in the latter rounds, and cleanly winning the last few rounds to keep his belt.
For his next fight, it’s a no-brainer that Jones should fight the winner of UFC on FOX 14‘s main event between Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson. The winner of that bout would be the undisputed #1 contender in the division, and it would only make sense for the victor to fight Jones later this year for the title in what would be an exciting fight for the champ, regardless of who emerges victorious on January 24.
Fight to make: Jon Jones vs. the winner of Alexander Gustafsson vs. Anthony Johnson
Donald Cerrone
In the co-main event, Donald Cerrone beat up Myles Jury over the course of three rounds to take home a unanimous decision win. Cerrone didn’t look amazing in this fight, but he did more than enough on the ground and in the standup to earn his sixth-straight win in the UFC, improve to 13-3 overall inside the Octagon, and get one step closer to a lightweight title shot.
For his next fight, Cerrone’s opponent should be Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is also riding a six-fight win streak in the UFC, and who is close to a title shot himself. This is the only fight that makes sense for both men at this point in time, as any other opponent would be a step down for each fighter. Once Nurmagomedov is healthy, I say let him fight Cerrone, and let the best man win and get the next crack at the lightweight strap after Rafael dos Anjos faces Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.
Fight to make: Donald Cerrone vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Brad Tavares
In a middleweight bout, Brad Tavares scored a unanimous decision victory over Nate Marquardt. It wasn’t the best performance of Tavares’ career, but he did more than enough to take home every round in the fight and get a huge scalp on his resume, a resume that desperately needs more finishes, seeing as how Tavares has only one stoppage in his eight UFC wins.
For his next fight, I’d like to see Tavares take on Uriah Hall, who fights Louis Taylor at UFC Fight Night 59. Taylor is a short-notice opponent for Hall, and I expect the TUF alum to wipe the floor with him in this fight, and once that happens, I think Tavares is the perfect gatekeeper-type opponent for Hall to see exactly where he stands in the division going forward.
Fight to make: Brad Tavares vs. the winner of Uriah Hall vs. Louis Taylor
Kyoji Horiguchi
In a flyweight bout, Kyoji Horiguchi showed off some nice striking in taking a unanimous decision win over Louis Gaudinot. Horiguchi looked fast and dynamic on the feet, and while he wasn’t able to get a finish, he still showed that he’s one of the more dangerous strikers at 125 lbs in the UFC by taking out a tough veteran like Gaudinot in lopsided fashion.
Horiguchi is nearing a title shot, but he needs to fight a top contender before we know for sure he is ready for Demetrious Johnson. So I say Horiguchi fights John Moraga, who has won two straight fights and who is looking like he wants another crack at Johnson himself. I think Horiguchi vs. Moraga would be an excellent flyweight fight and it would definitely help determine which of these two men is a top-five flyweight fighter.
Fight to make: Kyoji Horiguchi vs. John Moraga
Hector Lombard
In the opening main card bout, Hector Lombard was able to outpoint Josh Burkman en route to a unanimous decision victory. Lombard showed good boxing in the fight and was never in danger of losing, but he also seemed tentative and wasn’t able to finish Burkman, despite the fact that he wasn’t even defending strikes at times.
It was a still a solid performance by Lombard, but no way does he deserve a title shot. Instead, he’ll have to fight at least once more, and with this week’s announcement of Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler 3, Lombard’s next opponent should be Rory MacDonald. A fight between MacDonald and Lombard would absolutely determine the next rightful contender at 170 lbs, and it makes sense to have it co-headline whatever card Lawler and Hendricks main event.
Fight to make: Hector Lombard vs. Rory MacDonald
**********
UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier took place on January 3, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 182 was.
