Ultimate Fight Night 20 Winners: What's Next?

First, please allow me to vent about the telecast for just a moment.

Possibly the worst UFN I have seen yet, broadcast quality-wise. The first fight did not get under way until about 15 minutes into the telecast. Now, I understand that it is important to run as many commercials as possible to generate the ad revenue, but not at the expense of the broadcast flow.

Between the amount of commercials and Blue Mountain State promos, the live event was almost unwatchable.

Outside of the horrendous production value, the UFC once again provided fans with a  quality card of free fights.

Where do the winners go from here? Let’s find out.

Amir Sadollah

The TUF Seven champion put on an excellent display of his ever-evolving striking game en route to a unanimous decision victory over the tough and talented Brad Blackburn.

Sadollah is an interesting and likable fighter, but with only four professional fights he is still far from being ready to test the upper half of the UFC welterweight division. I think that it is important for the UFC to continue to bring him along slowly because he is a star in the making.

A great next move for Sadollah would be a matchup with Judo black belt Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

While Yoshida is a tough and talented competitor, he has become a stepping stone of sorts for the UFC welterweight division. Yoshida and his Judo would be the perfect test to see how Sadollah’s grappling is coming along.

Aaron Simpson

If there were any questions concerning Aaron Simpson’s toughness or heart, they should have been put to rest following the beating that he took at the hands of Tom Lawlor in the first round. Simpson managed to regain his composure and grind his way to a somewhat controversial split decision victory.

At age 35, Simpson is working with a much smaller window of opportunity than most up and coming talents. Seven fights into his MMA career and Simpson still has yet to taste defeat, so stiffer competition is in order for the former Arizona State wrestling stand out.

The name that really jumps out at me is Kendall Grove, and for two reasons.

First, Grove is an extremely tough and well-rounded fighter that, because of his height, presents a difficult matchup for everyone in the middleweight division.

The second reason has to do with name power. Granted, Grove is not a “big” name, but as a former TUF winner, Grove has quality name value.

Evan Dunham

It’s pretty safe to say that Dunham has officially made his presence felt in the lightweight division.

Currently sitting at 10-0, Dunham is just the type fighter that the division is in need of; someone that the UFC can build and develop into a viable new title contender.

Dunham is not ready to make a big jump just yet, but he is ready for stiffer competition.

Enter, Kurt Pellegrino.

Pellegrino and his BJJ black belt would offer the perfect test to see whether or not Dunham is the next big thing in the lightweight division.

Gray Maynard

Congratulations, Gray Maynard, you were able to maintain your undefeated status by defeating TUF Five winner Nate Diaz by split decision. But, in the process, you managed to kill any immediate title hopes you may have had.

You have to feel for Maynard, because all the guy does is win, but in this business sometimes that just isn’t enough.

Personality and marketability play a huge role in who is afforded the opportunity to fight for a title. It may not be right or fair, but that is the nature of the beast.

In Maynard’s next bout, I would like to see him matched up with Diego Sanchez.

First off, Sanchez simply cannot be in a boring fight and any excitement that can be generated around Maynard will tremendously help develop his fan base.

Also, we all saw what BJ Penn did to Sanchez at UFC 107. If Maynard can get past Sanchez he will have proven to be, at least, a worthy challenger. If not, then a title shot will not have been wasted on yet another fighter that has virtually no chance of beating the champion.

For a look at what’s next for the UFN 20 losers , check out the latest by Sterling Spiars .