‘History’. That is the word that probably best describes this past Saturday’s UFC 162 card, which went down at the MGM Grand Garden Arena situated in the fight capital of the world – Las Vegas, Nevada.
Anderson Silva, the consensus no.1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet was finally dethroned by an undefeated Long Island, New York native in Chris Weidman, as the American made Silva pay for his taunting antics with a vicious left hook in the night’s featured championship bout of the evening.
After 16 consecutive wins and 10 title defenses, Silva, 38, finally suffered the first defeat of his UFC reign as a new champion emerged in the form of Chris Weidman.
But the main card had more than just the main event to chat about. Cub Swanson ignited his claim for a future title shot against Featherweight kingpin Jose Also, by defeating Dennis Siver in the PPV’s opening bout. Meanwhile at Middleweight, both Mark Munoz and Tim Kennedy took a huge step up the 185-lbs ladder by garnering Unanimous Decision victories over Tim Boetsch and Roger Gracie respectively.
And in the co-main event, former Lightweight title-holder Frankie Edgar finally broke his 3-fight losing skid in a 3-round war and win over Charles Oliveira.
So what’s next for the winners? Well, MMASucka.com plays ‘matchmaker’ once again by picking a few match-ups that we think could take place on a future UFC card.
1. Cub Swanson vs. Frankie Edgar
Well for starters, the Featherweight division is so stacked that it’s difficult to come up with match-ups, especially if the 145lbs-ers are scheduled to compete over the course of the next few months or so. I was initially thinking about Swanson possibly facing Ricardo Lamas (a rematch) or Anthony Pettis, but I felt that a match-up with Edgar would make more sense. After all, a bout between Lamas and Pettis plus the aforementioned Edgar-Swanson match-up could possibly shape up the upper echelon of the 145-lbs division, and a future contender could very well emerge to the winner of the championship match-up that’s been scheduled between Jose Also and Chan Sung Jung at UFC 163.
2. Tim Kennedy vs. Brad Tavares
Tim Kennedy had a pretty good resume coming into his UFC debut fight with Roger Gracie. Having faced the likes of Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, Luke Rockhold and Melvin Manhoef among others, Kennedy is indeed an experienced fighter in the UFC’s 185-lbs division. I do, however, believe that Kennedy will given time by his promoters to express himself in the promotion and as such, a match-up with Brad Tavares would suffice. And mind you, Tavares is no slouch by any standards, with an impressive 5-1 record inside the world’s famous octagon. This could be a match-up that determines who is ready for a top ten opponent.
3. Mark Munoz vs. Costa Philippou
‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ went back to his wrestling roots, as always, in his bid to garner a victory over fellow wrestler, Tim Boetsch. Munoz displayed some vicious ground-and-pound that might come in useful should a fight with Costa Philippou materialize in the near future. Both fighters are veterans in the UFC, and have already established themselves as future no.1 contenders. This fight may not have title implications, yet, but the winner will definitely take one step closer towards a title shot. Stylistically, this will be a classic striker vs. wrestler match-up.
4. Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 2
Well, even though Anderson Silva does not want to take a title fight anymore, I believe a rematch should be in the works. Silva deserves it. After all, he is still one of the ‘poster-boys’ for the UFC and after setting a myriad of incredible records for the organization, I don’t see why he shouldn’t get it. Chris Weidman, in the meantime, will know that his name has been embedded in the history books, but his hard work has just began because a host of contenders are waiting to get their hands on him. Silva may not be open to a rematch for now, but if it does happen, I can guarantee there won’t be kisses of any kind from both fighters this time around. Anyway, come to think about it, a championship match-up with Vitor Belfort wouldn’t hurt either, right? That could actually work too.
So, fight fans, what do you think of the match-ups? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
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