UFC 93: What's Next for the Winners and Losers?

UFC 93 has come and gone and here are the results, along with my suggestions for what should be next for the winners and losers.

Main card

§  Light Heavyweight bout: Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson

Henderson defeated Franklin via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28).

Dan Henderson - The winner of the fight is scheduled to take on Michael Bisping after the conclusion on the the next season of the Ultimate Fighter. A win there and Hendo could find his way back to a title shot against Anderson Silva

Rich Franklin - This may have been a "good loss" for Franklin, as he has stated he did not have any interest in coaching the next season of the Ultimate Fighter.  Franklin should stay at 205 and I feel fights with either James Irvin or Houston Alexander would be a good "pick me up" fight to get back on the 205 ladder.

§  Light Heavyweight bout:  Mark Coleman vs.  Mauricio Rua

Rua defeated Coleman via TKO (punches) at 4:36 of round 3.

Mark Coleman - In what was a lackluster performance by Coleman after coming off a two-year layoff, I can't help but feel he's done. He gassed and struggled against an equally gassed Shogun, if he were fighting someone with better cardio the fight would not have gone to three rounds. It's time for Coleman to "hang em up"

Shogun - In his second fight in the UFC, Shogun once again was quick to gas, which is something we're not used to seeing from the once dominant PRIDE Grand Prix winner. This performance didn't do any favors either.

Like Coleman, if he were facing someone with better cardio, he would of been finished. A return to Chute Boxe would seem in order but seems unlikely as he and his brother Ninja Rua run their own gym.

 It turns out that Shogun will be fighting Chuck Liddell at UFC 97. I feel that this is a bad match up for Shogun, he'll need to improve his cardio if he wants any chance of stopping the IceMan

§  Middleweight bout: Jeremy Horn vs.  Rousimar Palhares

Palhares defeated Horn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Horn- Jeremy Horn otherwise known as Gumby has been in and out of the UFC for years. After his third consecutive loss in the UFC, he may find his way out of the UFC once again.

Although I think it would probably do the UFC some good to keep him around to test "up and coming" fighters.  I feel we'll either seem him out of the UFC or continue to be a UFC gatekeeper possibly against fighters coming off the Ultimate Fighter.

Palhares-  In what had to be a disappointment for Palhares (not being able to finish Horn) he continues to climb the Middleweight ladder after a loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 88.  

Palhares has shown that his BJJ skills are top notch. A fight against proven middle wight Nate Quarry makes sense to me right now or even possibly a bigger test in the form of Nate Marquardt.

§  Middleweight bout:  Alan Belcher vs. Denis Kang

Belcher defeated Kang via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:36 of Round 2.

Kang- It was the biggest shock of the night for me.  Former PRIDE and DREAM veteran Denis Kang looked good in the first but was caught in a submission in what was supposed to be a "tune-up" fight for his UFC Debut.  

If there's one knock on Kang it's that he's been inconsistent in his career.  He'd reel off some impressive wins and then get caught when he's not supposed to. He'll definitely get another shot in the UFC let's hope the "good" Denis Kang shows up.  

I would like to see him get a "tune-up" fight possibly against an Ultimate Fighter alum such as Ed Herman or Kendall Grove just to get more experience in the octagon.

Belcher- In what could be seen as one of the most impressive wins against Denis Kang, along with wins from other middleweights Ed Herman and Kalib Starnes.

 Belcher has proven he might be ready for a step in competition in what is a stacked UFC Middleweight division.  A rematch with top Middleweight Yushin Okami might be a good way to jump a few notches in the middleweight ranks or possibly a rematch against Kendall Grove.

If he were to win either one of this fights he would be avenging previous UFC loses.

§  Welterweight bout: Marcus Davis vs.Chris Lytle

 Davis defeated Lytle via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Davis- In what we knew would be a stand up fight.  Marcus Davis continues to impress wining his 8th fight out of his last 9 in the UFC.

Although I personally didn't think he won the fight he did look good enough to warrant at least a split decision.  Davis has beaten some good middleweight in the UFC, a step up in competition is in order for "The Irish Hand Grenade."

I fight against a top contender like Nate Marquardt or Yushin Okami should be next.

Lytle- Long time UFC veteran Chris Lytle loses his third fight out of his last six, although I felt he won this fight. He did look impressive in this loss.  He's an exciting fighter and always gives it his all.

Expect the UFC to keep this fan favorite around.  He's definitely a good test for up and coming fighters.  Expect to see him fight someone low on the middleweight rankings or possibly an Ultimate Fighter alum.

Final Thoughts

As with most international UFC events, this card lacked a little something I can't put my finger on. It might have to do with watching the replay and knowing in the back of my mind that the fights have already been decided, although I did not look up the results before hand. Overall, it was a decent night: I give it a 6.5/10.