UFC 184 was a much better card than fans and experts believed beforehand. Ronda Rousey scored a stylish victory in the main event, and a number of other interesting outcomes occurred over the course of the night. But now that the event is over, there are a number of fights that should be planned for the night’s losers, so that they can work their way back into contention within their respective weight classes:
Cat Zingano vs. Sara McMann
Cat Zingano’s strategy played right into the hands of Ronda Rousey. In only fourteen seconds she found herself becoming just another name on Rousey’s list of victims. If Zingano is going to work her way back up to the top of the bantamweight division like she expressed, she should start her journey with Sara McMann.
Sara McMann is another individual who found herself quickly dispatched by the champion. She ran into another speed bump in Miesha Tate at UFC 183. Both McMann and Zingano need to score a clear cut victory over a contender if they are expected to make any type of climb back into contention.
Zingano vs. McMann is best served as a bout placed into the “preliminary main event” slot of prelim card before a Fox or PPV event.
Gleison Tibau vs. Myles Jury
Gleison Tibau is the consummate gatekeeper within the UFC’s lightweight division, and he’s great at his job. Unfortunately for him, Tony Ferguson kicked that gate down in less than one round. Now the Brazilian is looking to rebuild his momentum and put together another winning streak.
Myles Jury is another young competitor who was looking to break through to the top tier of the division, but he ran into Donald Cerrone at UFC 182. However, Jury still has a lot of upside — he has a win over the surging lightweight Michael Johnson after all — and matching him against Tibau will help the UFC figure out whether it truly has a prospect on its hands, or whether Tibau will continue doing Tibau-like things to those who don’t measure up.
Tibau vs. Jury would work as a main card opener for a UFC on Fox event.
Richard Walsh vs. Dhiego Lima
Both Richard Walsh and Dhiego Lima were put on dream street at UFC 184 when they were struck with combinations that started with elbows to the head. The welterweight division is very heavy with talent, and neither man can afford to find himself slipping within this weight class. They are both very aggressive in their striking games, and both know how to pressure their opponents. It would be interesting to see, if these two were booked together, how their fight would play out.
Walsh vs. Lima would best be suited as a preliminary bout for any type of UFC event.
James Krause vs. Bobby Green
James Krause and Bobby Green have unfinished business from back at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 in 2013. Krause took what he thought was a low blow in the first round, but referee John McCarthy ended the fight and called it a TKO. These two competitors went in starkly different routes from that point. However, since they are both struggling with defeats at this point in time, the organization can put them back in the cage together to finish off that rivalry.
Krause vs. Green 2 should be used as a preliminary bout for a UFC event on Fox.
At the end of the night, UFC 184 proved itself to be a strong event from top to bottom. Despite losing three big fights due to injury, illness, and reshuffling, fight fans were still given a good amount of action to digest. But looking forward for the individuals on the losing side of that action equation, these are the best fight suggestions to set their careers on track, and reward them for making UFC 184 as entertaining as it was.
**********
UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano (formerly UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort) took place on February 28, 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 184 was.
