UFC: 1 Fight to Book Now in Every Division
2014 has been a chaotic year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nearly every event the UFC has put on has been in one way or another impacted by injury. The end of the year is shaping up nicely though, as is the first quarter of 2015.
At The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale on December 12, we will see the crowning of the inaugural women's strawweight champion and the unofficial launch of the UFC's newest division. Over the next three months, we'll (hopefully) get to witness eight UFC title fights, as well as the Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz superfight.
As the UFC gears up to unveil its schedule for 2015, now is the perfect time to look at each division and zero in on one fight that would be just fun to watch.
Most of the fighters occupy spots on the UFC.com Top 15 rankings, but for a few matchups, I strayed a bit outside the top of the heap to find intriguing matches.
The only real criteria I used when deciding these fights was that as of this writing, these fighters are not currently matched up with anyone.
Let's take a look at one fight in every division (sans women's strawweight) that the UFC should book right now.
Women's Bantamweight: Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann
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With all the talk in the women's bantamweight division about who will be next for Ronda Rousey, the division has taken a bit of a backseat. The more women that Rousey defeats, the more we find in a sort of post-title shot purgatory, which is currently where both Miesha Tate and Sara McMann are residing.
Tate has gone 2-0 since her UFC 168 loss to Rousey, with unanimous-decision wins over Liz Carmouche and Rin Nakai. She won't be getting a third shot at Rousey anytime soon, but that doesn't mean she isn't at the top of the division.
Sara McMann rebounded from her devastating first-round TKO loss to Rousey with a split-decision win over Lauren Murphy in August, and the two have yet to cross paths. Both women hold spots in the division's Top Five, and this fight would put one of them back on the path toward title contention.
Flyweight: Zach Makovsky vs. Wilson Reis
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This would be an interesting fight because it would pit Makovsky's NCAA Division I wrestling credentials against the black belt-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu possessed by Wilson Reis. Makovsky is coming off a loss, while Reis has posted back-to-back wins, but it would still be an interesting matchup and give either guy a high-level win.
Bantamweight: Joe Soto vs. Iuri Alcantara
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Joe Soto will always be remembered as the man who challenged for the UFC bantamweight title on one day's notice in his Octagon debut. Getting to face off against T.J. Dillashaw in your first UFC fight means there is nowhere to go but down.
Soto put forth a spirited effort, and he shouldn't have to look too far down the rankings for his next matchup. Alcantara has gone on a three-fight win streak since his 2013 loss to Urijah Faber. This would be a fast-paced fight between two of the division's best.
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Featherweight: Dustin Poirier vs. Clay Guida
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Dustin Poirier was defeated by Conor McGregor at UFC 178 in the first round. He said after the fight that he was "heartbroken" over the loss. He also said that you "Live by the sword, die by the sword." Another fighter who lives and dies by the sword is Clay Guida.
He's also coming off a loss, falling to Dennis Bermudez via second-round rear-naked choke back in July. Both guys bring high levels of energy to their fights and need to back to their winning ways.
Lightweight: Joe Lauzon vs. Chad Laprise
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Joe Lauzon was supposed to face Diego Sanchez in Mexico City at UFC 180, before both fighters pulled out with injuries. Sanchez would have been the third Ultimate Fighter winner in a row for Lauzon. If the fight with Sanchez isn't in the cards, perhaps a fight with another hard-hitting TUF winner in Chad Laprise might make sense.
Laprise won TUF: Nations and is undefeated at 9-0 in MMA. Lauzon is a lightweight stalwart and has looked as impressive as ever in his most recent bouts. He would be a great step up in competition for Laprise and could give the Canadian his highest-profile victory to date.
Welterweight: Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown
6 of 9Carlos Condit and Matt Brown were matched up ahead of UFC on Fox 9, and my head almost exploded. Sadly, Brown had to pull out with an injury and went on to lose a No. 1 contender's bout against Robbie Lawler at UFC on Fox 12 in July.
Condit tore his ACL in his loss to Tyron Woodley and is finally looking to get back into training for a 2015 return to action.
The Natural Born Killer vs. The Immortal. If this fight doesn't make you run around your living room like a dog who just saw a car pull up, you should check your pulse, friend.
Middleweight: Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza vs. Yoel Romero
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Despite the controversial nature of his fight with Tim Kennedy at UFC 178, Yoel Romero left the cage victorious. "Jacare" felt that his last performance, a third-round submission win over Gegard Mousasi, was enough to earn a shot at the UFC middleweight title.
With Weidman vs. Belfort not happening until the end of February, Souza would have to sit out nearly a year to get his shot. In the meantime, he could take on another hard-hitting, high-level grappler in Romero. Both men are undefeated inside the Octagon, and this would be a great No. 1 contender's fight for the middleweight division.
Light Heavyweight: Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustafsson
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These two fought in 2010 when Davis submitted Gustafsson in the first round. The Swede went on to challenge Jon Jones and, despite losing, came out looking like a star. Davis has yet to fight for the title but has won four of his last five fights.
The two trained together at Alliance MMA following their UFC 112 encounter, but Gustafsson has since been conducting his training camps in Sweden. With Rashad Evans unable to come back to action in time for a proposed bout with Gustafsson, now is the time for this rematch to happen.
Heavyweight: Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski
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The phrase "Out with the old, in with the new" doesn't apply to the UFC's heavyweight division. The land of the giants is going through a renaissance of early UFC stars. Forty-year-old Mark Hunt is set to challenge for the heavyweight belt, albeit on an interim basis.
Barnett and Arlovski have both held the UFC heavyweight title, and both men were featured in the 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and have yet to face each other. Before we all leave this rock, we should get to see these two storied veterans throw down inside the Octagon.
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