The UFC heavyweight division was shaken up at just the right moment when Andrei Arlovski was able to fell Antonio Silva in their main event matchup at UFC Fight Night 51 on Saturday night. Now that the big men of the sport have a new contender to look towards, it’s time to figure out what’s next for the individuals who were unable to get their hands raised in victory. These are some fight suggestions for the next time these athletes step into the Octagon:
Antonio Silva vs. the loser of Mark Hunt vs. Roy Nelson
Silva was expected to be able to find a way to walk away with the victory this past weekend. Unfortunately for him, those expectations were far from correct, as he was stopped in vicious fashion. His next contest should come against either Nelson or Hunt, who are due to fight this weekend at UFC Fight Night 52.
This could create a pairing of Hunt and Silva in a rematch of their epic 2013 fight at UFC Fight Night 33. Both men fought in a way that was far from what was expected, and they left the fans excited to see more. And against Nelson, Silva would face another hard-hitter in the heavyweight division that has grappling chops in his back pocket if needed.
Antonio Silva vs. either Roy Nelson or Mark Hunt would be best served as a co-main event for a card on UFC Fight Pass.
Efrain Escudero vs. Danny Castillo
The season 8 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Efrain Escudero, may find himself outside of the UFC once again with his most recent defeat. But if the UFC decides to keep him for one more contest, he should be matched against Danny Castillo.
Castillo has had a strong run in the UFC since coming over from the WEC. He lost via split decision to Tony Ferguson at UFC 177 in what many thought was the best fight on the card. The Team Alpha Male member is often overlooked at lightweight, but has been on the fringes of the top 15 for most of his run within Zuffa. He would be a strong test for Escudero to see if he deserves to keep his UFC roster spot.
Efrain Escudero vs. Danny Castillo would work as a preliminary fight for any UFC event in December or early 2015.
Piotr Hallmann vs. Rustam Khabilov
Piotr Hallmann came into the UFC with a lot of promise. Even though he’s gone 2-2 in the lightweight division, he still has shown some flashes of potential to become a name that can be used to promote MMA in Poland. He took a tough fight against UFC stalwart Gleison Tibau and walked out of the cage with a bonus check for his efforts. The UFC should continue to challenge Hallmann and place him in a matchup with another foreign fighter worth watching, Rustam Khabilov.
Khabilov is coming off of a defeat to Benson Henderson. That fight may have been too much, too soon for the Dagestan native. But at a time when the UFC is trying to expand its brand’s reach in that part of the world, a bout against Hallmann in that region of Europe would go a long way towards establishing him as a fighter to watch..
Hallmann vs. Khabilov would work best as a UFC Fight Night bout the next time the UFC travels to Eastern Europe.
UFC Fight Night 51 had some strong moments. Many fighters made statements with their wins. However, these fight suggestions continue to move the careers forward of the fighters that left the event with losses added to their records.
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UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski took place on September 13, 2014 at the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil.
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