It was only about a week ago that fans were looking at UFC on FOX 4 with a bit of disappointment as a seemingly unimportant main event between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon Vera was set to headline the network television fight card. We…
It was only about a week ago that fans were looking at UFC on FOX 4 with a bit of disappointment as a seemingly unimportant main event between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon Vera was set to headline the network television fight card.
We later learned that the winner of the Rua-Vera fight would be the No. 1 contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
While that added some interest to the fight card, many fans were very frustrated with Vera—who had only won one of his previous four fights—being a potential challenger for Jon Jones. Those against the decision flooded Twitter, imploring UFC President Dana White to reconsider.
On Tuesday afternoon, the fans’ wishes were granted as White announced that the most impressive winner of the two fights between Brandon Vera and Shogun Rua, and between Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader, would be the one who gets the next UFC title fight.
With all four fighters now in play for a shot at Jon Jones, the conversation can now begin—who is the most likely fighter to leave UFC on Fox 4 as the No. 1 contender for Jon Jones’ UFC title?
To answer that question, here is a power ranking of each of the four contenders and their likelihood to be Jon Jones’ next opponent.
Yesterday on the UFC on Fox 4 media call, UFC president Dana White declared that the winner of this Saturday’s headliner between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon “The Truth” Vera would get the next immediate shot at the winner of UFC 151’s light-heavy…
Yesterday on the UFC on Fox 4 media call, UFC president Dana White declared that the winner of this Saturday’s headliner between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon “The Truth” Vera would get the next immediate shot at the winner of UFC 151’s light-heavyweight title tilt between champion Jon “Bones” Jones and challenger Dan Henderson.
Needless to say, MMA fans took to Twitter in expressing their disagreement with the news. Some fans argued that Vera was not the man Rua should have to beat in order to justify a rematch with either Jones—who thoroughly dethroned Rua at UFC 128 last year—or Henderson—who put on the proverbial “Fight of The Millennium” with Rua at UFC 139 last fall. Others stayed vocal in saying that Vera’s less-than-stellar record as of late did not justify a title shot against either Jones or Henderson, the former of whom defeated Vera at the UFC’s debut on Versus (now NBC Sports Network).
In any event, the UFC president changed the station, so to speak, as the UFC brass opted to change the tune in light of the fans’ outcries. To put it in simpler terms, the next contender to the king’s throne will depend on who looks more impressive in victory. If the winner of Shogun vs. Vera is more impressive than the victor in the events co-headliner of Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader, then the winner of Shogun vs. Vera will indeed get the next crack at the gold.
Likewise, if the winner of Machida vs. Bader prevails in more impressive fashion than that of the main event’s victor, then either Machida or Bader will either have their dream fight with Henderson or their rematch with Jones.
However, the fact that it has come to this—that it has come to the point where four victims of the current champion are going to earn a shot at the gold with one win—begs a question that nobody’s had the gall to ask yet:
What about Alexander Gustafsson?
Gustafsson has been on a five-fight win streak, looking no less impressive in his past outings than Rua, Vera, Bader or Machida did in their respective last few outings. Gustafsson has faced no shortage of tough, durable fighters in his path towards his golden dreams, either. Not only that, but Gustafsson also has not delivered any sort of lackluster performance that might deny his argument towards a big fight or a title eliminator—something which many feel Vera has, and something which some may feel Bader did in his unanimous-decision win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 144.
No word has been given on who will face Gustafsson in that “big fight” that the UFC talked about, but is there any doubt that Gustafsson would make sense as the only real “challenge” left for the champion? Regardless of whether it’s Jones or Henderson that supports all twelve pounds of the gold after UFC 151 next month, if Gustafsson wins that next fight and extends his current streak to 6-0?
We should say not, even though we don’t know who’s next for Gustafsson. After all, the man has earned his moment to dance with the fiercest wolves in the pack at 205 pounds. He deserves the chance to prove as such by facing someone as dangerous as Rua or Machida if at all possible, because in such few words, it’s all that makes sense for him at this point.
Besides that, by lining up an opportunity to challenge for the gold and handing it to the man who looks the most impressive this weekend—whether it’s the winner of the main event or of the co-main event—instead of allowing Gustafsson to earn it through his next fight, the UFC, ingenious as their marketing and PR strategies often are, proves what fans of the sport already know and are already scared to admit:
If or when Henderson loses at UFC 151, anyone other than Gustafsson is either just another mandatory challenger or a mandatory rematch for arguably the most creative and most unstoppable UFC light-heavyweight champion of this generation. Like it or not, the light-heavyweight division has finally been cleared of just about every sensible challenger.
On yesterday’s UFC on Fox 4 media call, Dana White stirred up some controversy when he announced that the winner of the bout between Brandon Vera and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua would receive the next shot at the light heavyweight title. It shocked ever…
On yesterday’s UFC on Fox 4 media call, Dana White stirred up some controversy when he announced that the winner of the bout between Brandon Vera and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua would receive the next shot at the light heavyweight title.
It shocked everyone as both Shogun and Vera were man-handled by the current UFC champion Jon Jones when they fought him. What made it even more surprising was when people started to really look at each fighter’s overall records since losing to Jones.
After losing to Jones on Versus, Vera was given another shot in the Octagon. He was cut from the UFC following a loss to Thiago Silva at UFC 125. It was only after the post-fight drug tests came back that Vera’s UFC career was saved. He then won an extremely close decision over Elliot Marshall at UFC 137.
Shogun’s road back to Jones is just as bumpy. Shogun was stopped in the third round when he fought the champ at UFC 128. It was Rua’s first and only light heavyweight title defense. Following the loss, he picked up a win over Forrest Griffin and then dropped a decision to Dan Henderson in what was the fight of the year in 2011.
Neither fighter has been all that impressive as of late, which is why when fans went to twitter to complain, White amended his original plans for the light heavyweight title picture.
“When the fans speak, we listen. So whoever scores the best win, whoever gets the fans excited by going out there on Saturday and looking the most impressive, he will get the winner of Jones vs. Henderson,” said White in a UFC press release.
He added, “it is down to what these four guys do Saturday night in the Octagon. Winning isn’t enough, they’ve got to win impressively. Any one of these four fighters can take things into their own hands and make a title shot happen.”
All four fighters have lost to Jones in the past, and, at one point or another, all four have been really unimpressive in victories in the UFC.
And that’s the nightmare scenario.
What if no one is impressive?
What if Ryan Bader wins a boring lay ‘n pray decision over Lyoto Machida? What if Machida earns a point fighting decision over Bader? It’s very possible that a skilled Muay Thai fighter such as Brandon Vera could win by a fluke cut. And it’s just as possible that Shogun shows up unmotivated and looking like the same guy who beat Mark Coleman at UFC 93 in a lackluster fight.
These are all possible outcomes. Now, obviously White and company expect the fighters to go and fight their butts off for redemption. And I have the same expectation. But until the night is over, there’s a huge question of “what if?”
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon Vera have won a combined two fights since June of 2010, but thanks to a shocking announcement by Dana White, one of them will have a light heavyweight title shot after their fight at UFC on Fox 4.Both fighters were pul…
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon Vera have won a combined two fights since June of 2010, but thanks to a shocking announcement by Dana White, one of them will have a light heavyweight title shot after their fight at UFC on Fox 4.
Both fighters were pulled from previously scheduled fights and put in the main event for Saturday’s fight at the Staples Center.
The co-main event will pit Ryan Bader with the former champion Lyoto Machida.
Matchmaker Joe Silva usually gets it right with his decisions, but he made several big mistakes, not only with the matches, but in making the Rua-Vera winner the No. 1 contender.
Rua may be a big name, but he’s 1-2 in his last three fights. Vera is 4-3 since moving to light heavyweight, his biggest win coming against Krzysztof Soszynski in August of 2009. Neither of those scream out No. 1 contender.
Here’s how this weekend, as well as the light heavyweight title picture should have looked:
1. Make the main event Shogun vs. Machida 3. Machida is a bigger name than Vera, and fans love trilogies.
2. Make the co-main event Bader vs. Vera. Both had high hopes and had flashes of brilliance before suffering setbacks, and both are once again trying to climb the ladder.
3. Pit the Shogun-Machida winner against Alexander Gustafsson. Lost in all of this is the 25-year-old Swede who’s 6-1 in the UFC, including five straight wins, including knockouts of Matt Hamill and Vladimir Matyushenko. He beat Thiago Silva, the same guy who beat Vera before failing a drug test, in April, and yet is somehow behind Vera in terms of getting a title shot? Does that make sense to anybody?
While this Saturday should be a fantastic night of fights, what follows it may not be so fantastic.
Last night, a surprising announcement came from UFC President Dana White: The winner of Saturday night’s main event between Shogun Rua and Brandon Vera would receive a title shot. There was tremendous backlash from the public upon hearing thi…
Last night, a surprising announcement came from UFC President Dana White: The winner of Saturday night’s main event between Shogun Rua and Brandon Vera would receive a title shot.
There was tremendous backlash from the public upon hearing this announcement, as both Vera and Shogun have been dominated by Jon Jones in previous fights, and “The Truth” is nowhere near being ranked these days.
This morning, White has made an amendment to that statement, as first reported by USA Today. The evening’s co-main event, featuring a battle between light-heavyweights Ryan Bader and LyotoMachida, could also determine the next challenger at 205 pounds.
“I put together the fights that fans want to see,” White said. “The fans didn’t like the Rua and Vera choice, so here it is: The guy that wins most impressively on Saturday night out of the co-main event and the main event will get the shot at the winner of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson.”
While this certainly gives the UFC more options in the event that Vera serves up an upset on FOX, we are still looking at a series of fighters who have already fallen to the reigning champion.
Jon Jones will look to defend his championship for the fourth time in September, when he battles Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 151.
If Henderson finds himself successful in dethroning Jonny Bones, most of these matchups would be exciting for fans. Hendo vs Machida or Hendo vs Shogun II could prove to be an excellent matchup.
UFC on Fox 4: Shogun vs. Vera takes place Saturday at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. A four-fight main card airs on Fox. Prelims will air on FUEL TV beginning at 5pm EST.
This Saturday, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is set to take on veteran Brandon Vera at UFC on FOX 4 taking place in Los Angeles, California. For Rua, it’s a chance to re-establish himself in the light heavyweight division after crushing defea…
This Saturday, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is set to take on veteran Brandon Vera at UFC on FOX 4 taking place in Los Angeles, California.
For Rua, it’s a chance to re-establish himself in the light heavyweight division after crushing defeats to Jon Jones and Dan Henderson. For Vera, it’s a return from the wilderness, being on the brink of getting cut from the UFC and now facing a top five opponent who could help him leapfrog in the rankings.
Elsewhere on the card, there are other light heavyweights facing similar predicaments. Lyoto Machida, once the darling of the division, is also looking to comeback from a championship fight loss to Jones last December, and he faces Ryan Bader; formerly riding a 12-fight undefeated streak until he too fell to Jones. But now Bader has the momentum of two victories behind him, and a win over Machida will be the most significant in his career.
With Phil Davis also on the card, the light heavyweight division is in for a complete shakeup come Saturday. However, some young and up-and-coming fighters from the lighter divisions will also be hoping to make their mark in what promises to be a well-rounded and tensely fought contest.
Yesterday on the