It appears to be the calm before the storm. After three straight weeks of fights for the UFC, we finally get a week off before the pay-per-view everyone is waiting for. Next week, MMA Sucka will have full coverage previewing the entire card. It doesn’t get bigger than two title fights and essentially a heavyweight fight that will boost the winner into a number one contender’s fight against Fabricio Werdum.

That will be saved for next week, but for now let’s look even more into the future. The year is almost over and it has been arguably the best year of fights. I’m not sure how 2014 can top this year based on how many jaw-dropping fights have occurred. Still this is the “fight game”, as Dana White likes to say at every post fight scrum. Anything can happen in a fight, so there are still so many potential matchups that can leave you speechless.

Five fights that should be made in 2014

Here are five fights that I’d like to see in 2014 that haven’t been announced yet. I’ll vary these fights from each division, so I’m not focusing on just one division. It’s only fair right?  With Georges St. Pierre taking a hiatus, along with Cain Velasquez and Anthony Pettis injured for a significant period of time. We will see new stars breakout this year in what seems to be a transitional year for the UFC.

Heavyweight: Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem

Has the buzz for this fight been destroyed? You would think so based on Overeem being knocked out in his past two fights, yet fans still like to bring up the possible matchup. With the heavyweight division being so shallow of top-level talent and Dos Santos’ career in limbo following his brutalizing defeat to Cain Velasquez, this fight could still very well happen.

Dos Santos has repeatedly criticized Overeem and doesn’t feel that he’s on his level. It would be the first fight in Dos Santos career, where he has bad blood with his opponent. He’s such a friendly person, yet was heated when Overeem said Dos Santos was afraid to face him. It was at the time, when Dos Santos was champion so how can you blame him for being heated about such a outlandish statement?

Obviously he needs to defeat Frank Mir, before the discussion for that fight can even begin. If he loses to Mir, then we could very well see Overeem fighting for Glory at some point in 2014. This is a must win fight for him and if he were to win, it would be the perfect time to set up the fight that should have happened a year and half ago at UFC 146. It would be one of the most exciting striking battles in heavyweight history. It also helps that there is zero chance that this fight goes to the judges’ decision, based on the history of both fighters.

Middleweight: Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy

It’s only a matter of time, before this fight is going to be officially announced. It still hasn’t, so therefore I’m putting it on the list. Some people like a story behind a certain fight, while others only care for the technical aspect. As a pro wrestling fan, a good story behind any fight has me even more interested. Nik Lentz versus Chad Mendes was a prime example from last week. The trash talk between both fighters has been incredibly entertaining. Even though his fights have been somewhat boring over the years, Kennedy is coming off a first round knockout over Rafael Natal and has created buzz on the Internet from being outspoken.

There isn’t a fight that Bisping has fought in, where there isn’t bad blood. He is very outspoken and doesn’t care about being respectful. This fight could end up being a dud, based on both fighters not being known for their knockout power or submitting their opponents. Then again it could very well be a three round high-paced fight, with non-stop action.

You never want to doubt two fighters that are constantly in excellent shape and usually aggressive when they fight. That is why this fight should live up to expectations, if you want to see action. Other than his title fight against Luke Rockhold in Strikeforce, this will be the biggest fight of Kennedy’s career. Let’s hope he doesn’t freeze like Alan Belcher did last April against Bisping.

Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Nate Diaz

The lightweight division is full of worthy contenders, but Anthony Pettis will be out until at least the summer of 2014. Gilbert Melendez should fight the winner of Benson Henderson versus Josh Thomson. TJ Grant’s health seems to be a concern right now, as we haven’t heard any updates about him recently. So why not match up the other two contenders against each other?

Nurmagomedov’s stock continues to rise following his dominant victory over Pat Healy. His speed and grappling have proven to be unstoppable so far in his career. His stand-up is improving as well, which makes him a serious threat for any of his opponents. What better way to test him than against someone on the level of Diaz?

It would be a dynamic matchup, where it’ll be so fast paced that Diaz won’t have the time to taunt. Many people believed that Gray Maynard’s takedowns would be too much for Diaz to overcome. He silenced those critics and is back in the mix at lightweight. Now can he overcome Nurmagomedov’s speed and relentless pace? This fight would prove if he truly is on top of the division like he said he was during his post fight interview after beating Maynard.

Featherweight: Chad Mendes vs. Cub Swanson

Can this fight happen already? I would have booked the matchup after Mendes knocked out Clay Guida. Swanson has been hurt, but it still didn’t make much sense for Mendes to fight Lentz. There is no need to dwell on it, so I’ll focus on the fireworks that would happen between Mendes and Swanson. There are no featherweights that hit harder than both of these men. If they hit you clean, you are going to be rocked by it.

Both fighters are making their reputation known for their devastating knockouts, which you don’t see very often in the featherweight division. The differences between them are Mendes’ impressive athleticism and his wrestling, while Swanson is a black belt in BJJ. That leads to the classic question of what happens if this fight goes to the ground? We saw Mendes not looking for any ground-and-pound against Lentz, although he later admitted that he was dealing with a sinus infection.

Similar to Bisping-Kennedy, this fight is bound to happen in 2014. There are no featherweights that deserve a chance at fighting for the title than these two. They are both on five fight winning streaks, while fans have been clamoring them to see them fight more. You can make the argument that they are both popular than current number one contender Ricardo Lamas. Regardless of that case, this fight finally needs to come to fruition.

Women’s Bantamweight: Jessica Eye vs. Alexis Davis

Besides Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, the women need more publicity in the UFC. Despite consistently putting on entertaining fights, it still seems like the women are still somewhat of an afterthought. They are still trying to add to their division, as it hasn’t even been a full year of its existence. Why not book the matchup of the two most impressive female fighters that are currently healthy against each other?

Both ladies were impressive by using their striking in their respective victories. Davis’ Muay Thai was on full display against Liz Carmouche by picking her apart for three rounds. She utilized her reach advantage, while constantly landing vicious leg kicks. Eye’s striking in the clinch against a stronger opponent in Sarah Kaufman was a major surprise. She kept landing short elbows, while constantly getting the better of Kaufman besides the last few minutes of the third round.

You rarely see women fighters strike with precision, which leads to them relying more on submissions and ground-and-pound. Both of their last fights actually displayed accurate striking rather than the typical brawling you see from female fights. It would be a fascinating matchup and the winner could very well face Cat Zingano next, when she’s healthy. Hopefully this can be featured on a pay-per-view card, because both women deserve it.

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