Once again Brazil played host to a night of action packed fights with UFC Fight Night 32.
Four of the six fights on the night’s main card were finished within the very first round and the preliminary portion of the card did not see one fight go to the judges scorecards.
According to Michael Carroll from FightMetric.com the most finishes at a UFC event in the modern era was 10 and UFC Fight Night 32 produced 9. Not too shabby for a card critiqued as “not exciting” by many.
UFC Fight Night 32: What’s next for the main card winners?
In the main event we saw Brazilian Vitor Belfort obliterate Dan Henderson in just over a minute. “The Phenom” landed a left hook the dropped “Hendo” and followed up with some ground and pound. Upon returning to his feet, Henderson was met with a high-kick that forced referee Dan Miragliotta to step in and call a stop to the fight.
It’s time for MMASucka.com to sit in the armchair of the “Matchmaker”, where we speculate on match-ups that could materialize for the winners of the UFC Fight Night 32 event.
Vitor Belfort
Who he should fight next: Winner of Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva II
Since returning to the UFC in 2009, Belfort has only lost twice and those two losses were in title fights against Anderson Silva (UFC 126) and Jon Jones (UFC 152). He is ranked at #2 in the middleweight division and is currently riding a three-fight winning streak. Those three victories all came via head-kick knockout, which is a first in UFC history (thanks again to Fight Metric). By the time a Belfort-Silva/Weidman fight happens it will have been three years since he had last fought for the middleweight championship and he has grown exponentially since then. On a side-note many critics will hope that the bout goes down somewhere other than Brazil.
Cezar Ferreira
Who he should fight next: Josh Samman
The winner of the TUF 1 middleweight tournament has been on a tear since that crowning. He is on a three-fight winning streak including his victory at UFC Fight Night 32 against Daniel Sarafian. Giving Ferreira another TUF contestant like Samman could be what the Brazilian needs to climb the rankings ladder. Samman hasn’t seen action since his TUF 17 Finale win against Kevin Casey in April and a test against Ferreira would be what he needs.
Rafael Cavalcante
Who he should fight next: Ovince St. Preux
“Feijão” had a tough test in his first outing with the UFC, when he was knocked out by fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva. He followed up with a brutal TKO finish of his own at Fight Night 32 against Igor Pokrajac. Cavalcante showed that he could battle in the clinch of Pokrajac and finished him with nasty knees. Giving him someone like Ovince St. Preux will let him stand and bang and ultimately prove he has what it takes to trade with a striker in the light heavyweight division. St. Preux is riding a three-fight streak with two of his three victories coming by way of knockout. A tough test for both men is needed and this could be right up their alley.
Brandon Thatch
Who he should fight next: Adlan Amagov
Thatch is 11-1 in his MMA career and has gone on a ten-fight streak since losing his second outing. He came in to the UFC highly touted by welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and there was definitely truth to the hype. He beat up Justin Edwards in his debut and followed up with a submission due to strikes victory against Paulo Thiago. After his victory Twitter erupted with “Who’s next for Brandon Thatch” and the name that I saw popping up was Adlan Amagov. I couldn’t agree more from a fans perspective, as this fight has fireworks written all over it.
Ryan LaFlare
Who he should fight next: Stephen Thompson
Undefeated in his MMA career, Ryan LaFlare is also 2-0 inside the Octagon with his most recent victory coming via unanimous decision against Santiago Ponzinibbio. He had Ponzinibbio in a ton of danger throughout the fight, but couldn’t come up with the finish. LaFlare is dangerous in all aspects of the game and a duel against “Wonderboy” Thompson would be something that could not only be fun for the fans, but fun for the two inside the cage as well.
Jeremy Stephens
Who he should fight next: Darren Elkins
After nearly being cut by the UFC after losing three in a row, Jeremy Stephens has since gone on a two-fight streak. “Lil’ Heathen” kicked off the Fight Night 32 main card and was able to get in and out of the Octagon in just 40-seconds. The head-kick knockout could have very easily won him “Knockout of the Night” honors, but the main event stole the show. Darren Elkins was itching ever so close to the featherweight title picture, but Chad Mendes stopped that train. He has since won a fight and a bout with Stephens would put either man in a good position in the 145-pound division.
That’s enough for me, these are the fights that I would like to see moving forward inside the UFC, check back for my armchair matchmaking after every UFC event.
