Rafael Assuncao vs. Winner of Michael MacDonald vs. Urijah Faber
If Dominick Cruz is finally healthy and ready to unify the title at bantamweight that will leave a fight to find the next contender for the winner of the title. While MacDonald and Faber have the name value, Assuncao has five straight wins which is something few people at 135 can say they have done in the UFC. Let Assuncao fight the winner of Faber and MacDonald to get the signature win that will propel him to a title shot.
TJ Dillashaw vs. Eddie Wineland
Dilla shaw is an amazing fighter for only being 10 fights into his career, and the decision could have easily gone his way. The loss does not move him back that far, and he should still get a top ten opponent his next time into the cage. Wineland was destroyed by Barao, but he is still a good litmus test for any upcoming fighter.
Rousimar Palhares vs. Demian Maia
While Palhares is only 1-2 in his last three fights he is an absolute monster on the ground. Submitting someone who had never been submitted in a fraction over 30 seconds is a big deal though. Maia was said to have the best BJJ at welterweight, but at the end of the day you have to submit someone to be the best at it. Palhares and Maia would be a truly intriguing matchup because there styles differ so much.
Fabio Maldonado vs. Thiago Silva
Neither of their victories warrant a bigger fight since their fights really were all that intriguing. Silva looked super sluggish and his opponent looked dead tired yet he could not finish him. It is hard to give them anyone higher up in the rankings since there are much more deserving fighters that have put on much more impressive fights. Let these two "brawlers" knock a few more of their brain cells out for fan enjoyment, because it will be a long time before either of them get a top ten fighter if they cannot beat people who barely belong int he Octagon.
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Kim may not have a fan friendly style, but he is still winning fights. Plus, he had the only legitimate knockout of the night. Outside of his injury loss to Maia, he is 9-1 in the Octagon, and his only real loss comes to top contender and former interim champion Carlos Condit. Kim may not even be in the top ten after this fight, but he deserves a fight against someone already in it. So, match him up with the last Strikeforce champion for his introductory fight into the UFC.
Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger
Shields walked away with a victory, but in no way he did anything in proving that he is a real contender to the throne that GSP currently sits atop. Shields needs to do something impressive and matching him up against anyone remotely close to a title shot could kill a real contender with a win. Ellenberger may be coming off a loss, but he also has a huge knockout win over Shields. That fight came right after Shields had lost his father, and it is probably a loss he wants to prove himself in more than any other. This is the match to make since if Shields can beat Ellenberger it will prove he is a changed fighter.