Christmas in July: A UFC Fan's Wish List for the Rest of 2011

We're a little more than halfway through 2011 and the UFC has already spoiled us this year.

There's been a ton of incredible fights, some excellent new additions to the roster, and two new weight classes have been added to the promotion.

Indeed, it's been a great year so far, but there's no reason it couldn't get even better still.

If there's one thing the UFC should know by now it's that we, the fans, can never be satisfied.

As much as we are appreciative of what the UFC does for us, there's always going to be more that could be done to make us happy. Some of these things are within the promotion's control, some are not.

Here is a wish list for what the fans might like to see go down during the rest of 2011...

Get Jon Fitch Back in the Octagon

Believe it or not, there are those of us who genuinely enjoy watching Jon Fitch fight.

There's something special about a guy who can fight any opponent, with any martial arts background, and beat them all the same way.

Fitch fought BJ Penn earlier this year and the two went to a draw. A rematch was expected, but both fighters were forced to pull out of the fight due to injury.

Since then it has seemed as if the UFC is going out of their way to avoid giving Jon his next fight.

This could be due to company's bias against Jon, or the fact that the UFC generally doesn't like booking fighters who are still on the injured list.

Either way, it's been too long since Fitch fans have seen our man in action and we want him back in the Octagon ASAP.

A fight with Martin Kampmann at UFC 139 in San Jose would be ideal.

Sign Hector Lombard and Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard are Bellator's lightweight and middleweight champions and they are both very exciting fighters.

Lombard is currently riding a 15 fight win streak and has not lost a fight since 2006. The problem is Hector has not faced a relevant fighter since 2006. His win streak, while impressive to an extent, is comprised entirely of mediocre fighters.

Fans have been calling for Lombard to be brought into the UFC for some time now and goodness knows that the UFC's middleweight could use him to liven things up a bit.

Alvarez is also riding a lengthy win streak and actually has some bigger names on his resume. In October of last year Eddie defeated Roger Huerta by second-round TKO (doctor stoppage). Roger was a former UFC fighter and only lost to top competition while in the UFC.

These guys would make great additions to the UFC, plus losing them would cripple Bellator, which is a good business move for the UFC.

Let's See Roy Nelson Lose Some Weight

Roy Nelson has all the right tools to be a big star in the UFC.

He's got well-rounded skills, is an amicable guy and he always fights hard and puts on a good show for the fans.

That said, we haven't seen Roy reach his full potential yet and the main reason why is probably his physique.

Nelson's cardio has looked pretty awful in his last two fights and you have to think that if the lost some weight, ditched the gut and got in better shape, that he would perform much better inside the Octagon.

An in shape, ripped Roy Nelson probably wouldn't even have to fight at heavyweight. There's no doubt in my mind that he has the frame to make light heavyweight or maybe even middleweight.

Add the Flyweight Division

For those who may be unaware, flyweight is the 125lbs weight class.

The UFC added two weight classes earlier this year, featherweight and bantamweight, and so far the additions have been a huge success.

Smaller fighters generally tend to put on faster paced, more exciting fights than guys fighting in higher weight classes.

Given that fact, and the success of the two divisions the UFC has already added, I don't see any reason not to add flyweight as soon as possible.

Another division will just add more depth to the promotion and allow the company to put together better fight cards.

UFC President Dana White has already gone on record saying that the UFC will add the flyweight division, it's just a matter of when.

Make the Ultimate Fighter 14 the Best Season Ever

The last few seasons of The Ultimate Fighter have been lackluster to say the least.

However, the fourteenth season of the show has loads of potential to be one of the most exciting seasons in years and hopefully it can rekindle people's interest in the program.

Jason Miller, known best as the host of MTV's Bully Beatdown, is more character than he is man. It's always entertaining to hear this guy talk about anything and he has a great sense of humor.

Michael Bisping is more of a no-nonsense kind of guy and doesn't respond well to being mocked—see Bisping's feud with Jorge Rivera.

The two coaches have clashing personalities and so this season has tons of potential for oodles of trash talk and heated arguments.

Hopefully the cast of fighters are also entertaining people and put on some good fights, as well as provide some good in-house drama.

Let's See GSP Loosen Up and Maybe Finish Nick Diaz

Let's be real. Nick Diaz' chances of beating Georges St-Pierre are remarkably slim. People are over-hyping because he has looked good against some cans in Strikeforce, but he's really not as good as people think.

He also has a terrible track record against good wrestlers and he is fighting arguably the greatest wrestler in mixed martial arts history.

There's a good chance GSP will be retaining his welterweight championship, but that won't be enough to make most fans happy.

St-Pierre has seemed a little too docile in his past few fights. He dominates his opponents, but it seems that he's lacking the killer instinct to finish a fight.

The odds of St-Pierre finishing this fight are pretty slim, given that Diaz is a very durable opponent, but it would do wonders for GSP's reputation if he could put Nick away.

Unclog the Lightweight Division

The UFC's lightweight division is a mess right now.

Frankie Edgar defended his lightweight belt against Gray Maynard earlier this year and the fight went to a draw.

The two were supposed to meet again a few months later to even the score, but both men were injured.

As a result, pretty much the whole division is at a stand still.

This is the worst time for something like this to happen because several new contenders have emerged this year and are currently waiting in limbo, plus the division gained a bunch of new talent via the WEC merger.

I don't know how Matchmaker Joe Silva is going to fix this. But booking Edgar vs Maynard as soon as humanly possible would probably be a good start.

Get Some Better Judges

MMA has never been known for having the best judges, but some of the decisions this year have been so clearly wrong that it's discombobulating.

The three most prominent fights that were scored incorrectly were probably Martin Kampmann vs. Diego Sanchez, Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins and Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia.

In all three of those fights it seemed blatantly obvious who the winner should be, but the judges picked the other guy.

This kind of thing messes with the rankings, messes with the fighter's money, and it leaves a bad taste in the viewer's mouth.

Have Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos Live Up to the Hype

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos is one of the most highly anticipated heavyweight fights in the history of the sport.

Both these guys have been tearing through the heavyweight division and barely breaking a sweat while doing it.

Cain and Junior are undefeated in the UFC and the two best heavyweight on the planet today.

On top of that, neither of them ever seems to be in a boring fight and they are both capable of highlight reel knockouts.

This match has all the ingredients to be the greatest heavyweight fight that the sport has ever seen.

However, we all know that, for whatever reason, a fight can't always live up to the hype surrounding it.

Look at Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva. People were toting that as a fight of the year candidate. It ended up being an entertaining fight to watch, but the whole thing was over in less than 30 seconds.

Not exactly what the fans wanted to see.

Let's hope this fight ends up being as good as we all know it could be.

Anderson Silva Should Finally Move to Light Heavyweight

Anderson Silva has been the king of the middleweight division for five years now and he deserves all the credit in the world for what he's been able to accomplish.

That said, he makes the middleweight division really uninteresting by being as good as he is.

It's hard to get excited about who the next contender might be when we're all almost certain that whoever it is is just going to lose to Silva.

Anderson has made the move to light heavyweight a couple of times before in his career and was wildly successful.

I think the time has come for him to move up permanently so that the middleweight division can be interesting again.

Of course, I'll harbor no harsh feelings towards Silva if he doesn't move up, it just seems like the best thing for his division right now.

Merge Strikeforce with the UFC

I know this merger is likely still a ways away, but imagine how great it would be if the UFC could speed up the process.

There are so many fighters in Strikeforce right now who could help balance out the UFC's weaker divisions.

How much better would the heavyweight division look if we could add Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem, Antonio Silva and Sergei Kharitonov?

How about adding Tim Kennedy, Rolando Souza and Robbie Lawlor to the middleweight division?

I know exactly what you're thinking:

"That sounds damn good."

No More Injuries... Please

Seriously, all of the injuries this year are giving Joe Silva ulcers.

It's unbelievable the number of fights that have been altered or completely scrapped due to injury.

Just the list of high profile fights is tediously long.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 was scrapped due to injury.

Jon Fitch vs. BJ Penn 2, also scrapped.

Junior Dos Santos was originally supposed to fight Brock Lesnar, but Lesnar was forced out of the fight with diverticulitis. Shane Carwin replaced him.

Tito Ortiz is stepping in to replace Phil Davis in the main event of UFC 133. He's fighting Rashad Evans.

Speaking of Rashad Evans, he was supposed to fight Jon Jones earlier this year, but Jones pulled out with a hand injury.

Rich Franklin was pulled from UFC 133 when his opponent, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, was forced off the card with an injury.

Really, it's enough already. MMA is a dangerous sport, but it seems as if fate is conspiring against the UFC. Never before have this many fights been jeopardized due to injury in such a short period of time.

There are a ton of great fights coming up between now and the end of the year, so let's hope that all the fighters stay healthy so that we can actually see them all.