Vitor Belfort vs. Anderson Silva
Belfort looked better in this fight then he did in his last which just proves he is good as a name but not as a contender. Weidman completely outclasses him, so he should continue to fight intriguing matches while kept away from contenders. He has lost his last three title shots and nothing is going to change that. If he were to fight Silva though, that has some interesting appeal to fans as both fighters have tarnished their careers as of late.
Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
While Henderson may not be a top contender anymore, he sure can draw people to watch him fight. Let’s just not put him with fighters that can knock him out. Bisping is not really a contender either at this point, so a rematch between the two might be a good way of Henderson to go out on top. Also, Bisping might be able to avenge a loss he so dearly does hate to see on his record.
Glover Teixeira vs. Alexander Gustafsson
With most of the rest of the division locked up in fights and both fighters having a loss to Jon Jones this fight makes sense. Glover is closer to a title shot than Gustafsson, but a win in this bout for either men does a lot for their chances of facing off with whoever has the title.
Patrick Cummins vs. Rashad Evans
There is still a lot of upside to Cummins since he faced off with someone with nearly three times as much of experience as him and came out beaten up, but he will grow from this fight. Evans came back from injury and did not look good. Let these two face off to see who deserves a slot in the top ten more.
Thomas Almedia vs. Urijah Faber
Given that Faber has to come out of his bout with Frankie Saenz unscathed, but if he does, he makes the perfect challenge for Almedia who has disposed of all of his challenges relatively quickly. With the way Almeida fights he should be given a beeline for a title shot and going through Faber is an easy way to get there.
Rashid Magomedov vs. Johnny Case
Both fighters are 4-0 in the Octagon, both won decision victories this weekend, but neither has been super impressive. A matchup between the two would show who is the more deserving contender to face off with someone within the top 15 at 155.
Alex Oliveira vs. James Krause
Oliveira has looked great since his initial hiccup in his debut, and Krause is a battle tested veteran who will not wilt under Oliveira’s pressure. It will be an interesting matchup to see where both are at in terms of their careers and the fans win since it is bound to be a very fun fight to watch.
Corey Anderson vs. Mauricio Rua
Outside of Anderson’s one loss he has continued to grow in all of his fights. He now sits at number ten in the division, so he can only go up from his fight with Maldonado. Rua just picked up a win in his last fight, and it may be time for him to face off with some contenders to show he is still worthy of being in the top ten at 205. Anderson will also get a test for how far he has come since winning TUF.
Gleison Tibau vs. Winner of Jim Miller vs. Michael Chiesa
While the ending of his fight with Trujillo was marred there was a very good chance that Tibau was going to win that fight regardless. Now, it is a time for a step back up in competition. A fight with Miller would be a rematch five years int he making and would show how far each fighter has grown or fallen since 2010 considering that Tabu has gone 10-4 since their first match and Miller has gone 7-4. A fight with Chiesa would have Tibau resuming his duties as the resident gatekeeper of 155 which he has done great for many years.
Thiago Tavares vs. Hacran Dias
Tavares showed a mother flash of brilliance at 145, but unfortunately his two great fights are sandwiched around a knockout loss to Brian Ortega. A fight with Dias, who is ranked above him, is a fight with another fighter that is considered relatively boring. Tavares was very inconsistent when facing these type of fighters at 155, so lets see how he fares when facing them at his new home.