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.
Cain Velasquez/Junior dos Santos
Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos both picked up knockout wins on the UFC 160 main card over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Mark Hunt, respectively, and now they are expected to meet later this year in a trilogy match for all the marbles in the main event of what should be one of the biggest UFC pay-per-view events of 2013.
Their first fight saw dos Santos knock Velasquez out in the first round to win the title, and their second fight saw Velasquez dominate dos Santos for five rounds, so it’s really up in the air as to how the third fight will go. But either way, their trilogy match promises to be exciting, because anytime you have Velasquez and dos Santos competing, fireworks happen, and I don’t expect anything less in their third fight.
Fight to make: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos III
Glover Teixeira
Glover Teixeira improved to 4-0 in the UFC with an impressive first-round submission victory over James Te Huna, and now many people want him to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones next. Personally, though, I want to see Jones fight Alexander Gustafsson first, and I believe that’s the UFC’s plan as well, so Teixeira will have to take another fight in the meantime.
Many will suggest he takes on Lyoto Machida next, but Machida and Teixeira are good friends and have said they would only fight each other for the title. So unless Daniel Cormier moves down to 205, there aren’t many top-level opponents left for Teixeira, except for Ryan Bader, who Teixeira was supposed to fight originally at UFC 160 until Bader pulled out with an injury. A fight with Bader is interesting because Teixeira’s wrestling hasn’t been tested against a top wrestler yet, so this is the fight I would like for the UFC to book, unless they give Teixeira the title shot.
Fight to make: Glover Teixeira vs. Ryan Bader
TJ Grant
TJ Grant picked up a devastating KO win over Gray Maynard at UFC 160, and the victory earned him a title shot against UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson sometime this summer in what should be an extremely good fight between arguably the two best lightweights in the world.
Although Henderson has managed to squeak out close decisions in his last few fights, Grant is a different fighter than the last few guys Henderson has fought in that Grant is a finisher. If Henderson’s game plan is to just kick Grant in the legs and look for takedowns to score points, he’ll likely be in for a long night, because Grant is a very well-rounded fighter, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we’re calling the Canadian the UFC lightweight champion just a few months from now.
Fight to make: TJ Grant vs. Benson Henderson
Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone bounced back from a devastating KO loss to Anthony Pettis by taking a well-deserved decision win over KJ Noons in the opening fight of the UFC 160 PPV. The win is big for Cerrone as it gets him back in the win column, and I expect him to fight a Top 10 opponent his next time out.
For his next fight I’d like for Cerrone to take on Josh Thomson, who recently picked up a KO win over Nate Diaz. These are two of the most entertaining lightweight fighters in the world, and a match between them is all but guaranteed to win “Fight of the Night” of whatever card they are put on, so I say the UFC should book it.
Fight to make: Donald Cerrone vs. Josh Thomson
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov improved to 20-0 in his MMA career and 4-0 in the UFC with a dominating decision victory over Abel Trujilo on the UFC 160 undercard. The victory will likely earn Nurmagomedov a date with a Top 10 opponent and a main card slot after having fought on the prelims in three of his four Octagon bouts.
However, for his next fight I’d like to see Nurmagomedov take on Rafael dos Anjos, who also has four straight wins in the lightweight division. I feel as though both guys are solid mixed martial artists, but I think both guys are a little overrated, and I’m not completely sold on either one yet. Therefore, it makes sense to book them against each other to determine which fighter is going to be making a run for the title, and which one is going to be a gatekeeper.
Fight to make: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
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UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot II took place on May 25, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 160 was.
