There is an art to matchmaking in combat sports.
While some fights come together with a natural ease, the majority of bouts are formed through a hectic process of evaluation where several aspects need to be evaluated on each side of the table before committing to the matchup.
Whether or not a fight makes sense in the greater scheme of the divisional picture, timing and making sure both fighters stand to gain similar rewards from the bout are the most pressing issues that come to mind. Then, of course, there is the most important aspect of a potential fight—will both competitors be willing to mix it up and put on a show?
The unfortunate part of the process comes when all of the previously mentioned criteria are met and the fight fails to deliver. That being said, there are far more exciting tilts than flat fights these days under the UFC banner, which goes to show just how good Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are at their jobs.
As the most successful promotion in the sport is preparing to kick off a hectic stretch of summer events, there are a few high-profile, action-packed scraps that could be put together and added to any of the cards coming up in July or August.
Therefore, I’m once again donning my Silva/Shelby hat to throw out a handful of fights I would like to see lined up over the next few months. The official start to summer may still be several weeks away, but there is nothing wrong with cranking up the heat a bit early.
Here are a handful of fights that could bring the noise.
Luke Rockhold vs. Alan Belcher
The contender picture in the middleweight division has operated with the sporadic insanity of Amanda Bynes‘ Twitter account over the past year, and the chaos doesn’t appear to be coming to an end any time soon—for either.
Since the summer of 2012, a handful of potential title contenders have been turned back before their championship opportunities could be realized. It is almost as if a revolving door has been installed in the upper tier of the division, and as soon as UFC President Dana White mentions a fighter’s name for a title shot, said fighter makes a prompt exit.
While neither Luke Rockhold nor Alan Belcher was slated for a guaranteed opportunity to compete for the middleweight crown, both were certainly on the radar for contention over this stretch. Belcher saw his contender status revoked as the result of coming out on the losing end of back-to-back performances. The 29-year-old Duke Roufus-trained fighter dropped a lopsided decision in a rematch with Yushin Okami at UFC 155, then lost to Michael Bisping via technical unanimous decision at UFC 159 in April.
His fight with “The Count” ended as the result of an accidental eye poke Belcher suffered in the final round. While the bout was stopped early, Bisping had done enough on the judge’s cards to earn the nod.
Things were a bit more abrupt on Rockhold‘s side of the table. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion’s long-awaited UFC debut was soured as he came out on the business end of a spinning heel-kick from Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 8. The loss to “The Phenom” was the first Rockhold had suffered in over five years and put his hopes for a title shot on ice for the time being.
With both fighters coming off losses and still hanging on to a top-10 ranking, a potential matchup between Rockhold and Belcher makes tremendous sense. With the exception of Costa Philippou—who is riding a five-fight win streak—every other top-tier fighter at 185 pounds is booked for an upcoming bout. This would put Rockhold and Belcher not only in a similar position loss-wise, but also with their respective fights coming just three weeks apart, the timing is right as well.
Both fighters possess versatile striking skills, and the stylistic matchup would make for a guaranteed show. It is also a solid possibility the winner would hop right back onto the title contention radar, which would make the bout worthwhile for both fighters.
Rockhold was extremely disappointed with his showing against Belfort and is eager to prove he is one of the top middleweights in the world.
Belcher is reeling from a recent rough patch and needs a victory to keep his name relevant in the 185-pound division.
Book the match. Close the cage door. Watch the ruckus unfold. Sounds like a plan to me.
Urijah Faber vs. Michael McDonald
The only time I’m a fan of matchups being booked with one fighter coming off a win and the other a loss is when there is a larger divisional play involved.
The UFC bantamweight division is currently in shambles with no set date for repair. Champion Dominick Cruz has been on the sidelines for two years with a nagging knee injury that refuses to heal properly, and interim champion Renan Barao recently went down with torn ligaments in his foot. Without an active titleholder in the mix, any weight class will experience stalling, but the bantamweight division has a few more problems to deal with.
For starters, there is a huge gap in talent levels within the weight class. Outside of a collection of fighters hovering around the top of the division, there aren’t many options available for big fights. This of course goes hand-in-hand with the division’s lack of stars—and without stars, the visibility of the weight class diminishes.
That being said, there is one high-profile fighter still on the active roster, and he has the potential to draw eyes to the 135-pound division. Urijah Faber has been the poster boy for the lighter weight classes since his days of being the WEC featherweight champion. “The California Kid” has won back-to-back tilts since he lost to Renan Barao for the interim title and has once again put himself within striking distance of a title shot.
Nevertheless, with both bantamweight champions out for the foreseeable future, there is no reason for Faber to sit around and wait. The 34-year-old Team Alpha Male leader currently carries the biggest name in the division, and putting him in the cage with a rising star like Michael McDonald would be the highest-profile bout the UFC could make without a title on the line.
The 22-year-old Californian is coming off a loss to Barao at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in February, and a bout with Faber would put him right back into title contention. “Mayday” is widely regarded as the “future” of the bantamweight division, and while a bout with Faber is as dangerous as they come, it would keep McDonald’s position of prominence alive in the weight class.
A potential bout with Faber makes sense on many levels, but the reason I believe it to be necessary goes back to the depth issue in the division. McDonald could certainly come off his loss to Barao and drop down to fight one of the lesser-known fighters in the weight class, but it would prove nothing in the process.
The bantamweight division needs the biggest fights imaginable right now, and Faber vs. McDonald fits that bill.
Daniel Cormier vs. Werdum/Nogueira Winner
The move down to light heavyweight may be in the works for Cormier, but for the current time, he’s decided to stick around the heavyweight division for one more go. The only issue with that decision is there isn’t an opponent readily available who makes a tremendous amount of sense for him to fight.
During Fuel TV’s post-fight coverage for UFC on FX 8, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner shared he’d like to fight later this year on the Boston card. And that time frame may just open up the best possible option where the matter of an opponent is concerned.
Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira square off Saturday, June 8, in the main event at UFC on Fuel TV 10 in Brazil. While Werdum is lingering close to a title shot and a victory over “Big Nog” should probably earn him one, former champion Junior dos Santos claimed the honors when he defeated Mark Hunt at UFC 160.
With “JDS” on deck, a title opportunity is off the table for the time being. That makes the scenario of Cormier vs. the winner of Werdum/Nogueira an attractive option. The former Olympian has extraordinary wrestling skills, and both Werdum and Nogueira have world-class jiu-jitsu credentials. It’s an age old stylistic matchup of “wrestling vs. jiu-jitsu,” and seeing both disciplines played out at their highest forms is always worth watching.
Bonus Dream Matchup: Fabio Maldonado vs. Chris Leben
I’m under no illusion this fight could be brought together in any form or fashion, but the thought of two fighters with concrete skulls trudging toward one another like zombies looking for the kill takes me to my happy place.
Both men have made their careers by walking through punches to deliver punishment, and a dream fight between Maldonado and Leben would take violence to a different level. The mental picture of Leben with a dirty boxing clinch throwing repeated uppercuts to Maldonando’s chin as the Brazilian rips body shot after body shot to “The Crippler’s” midsection is the stuff mixed martial arts dreams are made of.
Catchweight fights happen all the time, and oh what a show that would be.
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