UFC 180 Results: Burning Questions Entering UFC Fight Night 57

UFC 180 is in the books. The results are as follows:

UFC 180 Main Card

• Fabricio Werdum def. Mark Hunt, TKO (Round 2, 2:27)
• Kelvin Gastelum def. Jake Ellenberger, submission (Round 1, 4:46)
• Ricardo Lamas def. Dennis Bermudez, submission (Round 1, 3:38)
• Augusto Dodger Montano def. Chris Heatherly, TKO (Round 1, 4:50)
• Hector Urbina def. Edgar Garcia, submission (Round 1, 3:38)

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

• Yair Rodriguez def. Leonardo Morales, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Alejandro Perez def. Jose Quinonez, unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 28-27)
• Jessica Eye def. Leslie Smith, TKO (Round 2, 1:30)
• Gabriel Benitez def. Humberto Brown, submission (Round 3, 0:30)

Fight Pass Prelims

• Henry Briones def. Guido Cannetti, submission (Round 2, 1:44)
• Marco Beltran def. Marlon Vera, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Next up? UFC Fight Night 57 on Saturday, November 22. 

Fans rarely know what to expect from Fight Nights anymore. Sometimes, they get a great card that is chock full of recognizable names and true contenders such as Fight Night 50. Sometimes...not so much, like at Fight Night 56.

With the top of Fight Night 57 sporting Cub Swanson vs. Frankie Edgar and numerous other bouts spread across the card, however, there is a lot to look forward to. Fight Night 57, in fact, should be the best free card in a long time.

So what topics are worth discussing over the next week? Find out here!

How Will Paige VanZant Do in Her Long-Awaited Debut?

The Fight: Paige VanZant vs. Kailin Curran
The Real Fight: Paige VanZant vs. Long Layoff

The Stakes

After a lengthy delay, Paige VanZant is set to make her UFC debut. She was part of the UFC's buyout of Invicta's strawweight division in December last year but was too young to participate in The Ultimate Fighter. Her official debut has been pushed back due to injuries, but she will have the opportunity to make a strong first impression opposite Kailin Curran.

The Question

How will Paige VanZant do in her long-awaited debut?

Analysis

VanZant's looks and ability to attract weird stories have elevated her to relative prominence in the women's MMA scene. Despite her decent following, she owns a humble 3-1 professional record and lost her only fight in Invicta FC opposite Tecia Torres. She's in the big leagues now, though, and will have to start justifying her popularity with her performance in order to continue rising up the MMA ladder.

Will Doo-Ho Choi Make Good on His Top Prospect Status?

The Fight: Juan Puig vs. Doo-Ho Choi
The Real Fight: Doo-Ho Choi vs. Too Much Precedence

The Stakes

Doo-Ho Choi is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in MMA and for darn good reason. He owns an impressive 11-1 record and has actually beaten some of Asia's best. Many UFC washouts own the same backstory, however, and it will be interesting to see if he is more Conor McGregor or more Siyar Bahadurzada.

The Question

Will Doo-Ho Choi make good on his top prospect status?

Analysis

Point strikers are in vogue right now. The UFC is fast-tracking McGregor to the featherweight belt (more on that later), and Bellator is doing something similar with Michael Page. The big thing with Choi, however, is that he has actually fought wrestlers. Can you believe it!?

Set to face Juan Manuel Puig in his UFC debut, this bout will likely be an opportunity for the knockout artist to expand his highlight reel en route to replacing Chan-Sung Jung as the UFC's resident superexciting Korean.

Does Dustin Ortiz Have Anything for Joseph Benavidez?

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The Fight: Joseph Benavidez vs. Dustin Ortiz
The Real Fight: Sean Shelby vs. Winning Streaks

The Stakes

After posting back-to-back wins over interesting prospects in Ray Borg and Justin Scoggins, Dustin Ortiz found himself with one of the better streaks in the flyweight division. Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets Sean Shelby madder than a young, talented fighter on a winning streak. Now Ortiz finds himself in the toughest spot one can be in at 125 pounds—facing Joseph Benavidez with pretty much nothing on the line.

The Question

Does Dustin Ortiz have anything for Joseph Benavidez?

Analysis

In the WWE, when a wrestler makes The Authority (the angry bosses, more or less) mad, he is punished by being forced into a match with Kane, the 7'0" tall, 350-pound monster of a person. In the UFC, when an interesting young fighter makes the UFC's matchmakers angry (usually by winning too many fights in a row), he is forced to fight one of the contenders-for-life from Team Alpha Male.

It's frustrating, really. Look at how carefully the UFC is grooming McGregor compared to how it has handled contenders like Alex Caceres, Tim Elliott and Iuri Alcantara. Maybe if the UFC put half that effort into grooming opponents for Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw or Renan Barao, you might be able to count on them to actually draw pay-per-view buys.

Who Is the Next Big Guy in the Heavyweight Division?

USA TODAY Sports

The Fight: Jared Rosholt vs. Oleksiy Oliynyk
The Real Fight: America vs. Russia

The Stakes

The heavyweight division is desperate for new talent right now, and two of the most intriguing up-and-comers of today are slated to face off. Oleksiy Oliynyk, a 59-fight veteran who is riding a 10-fight winning streak, faces three-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler Jared Rosholt. The winner will almost certainly receive a big jump up in competition.

The Question

Who is the next big guy in the heavyweight division?

Analysis

Oliynyk and Rosholt are two of the most decorated grapplers in the heavyweight division, and that success has translated over to MMA. Oliynyk's strong blend of jiu-jitsu and sambo have helped him rack a whopping 40 submission wins over his lengthy MMA career. Rosholt, meanwhile, has already halted three fellow rising contenders' ascent in the UFC thus far with his strong wrestling.

The entire heavyweight division is a pileup outside the top five, so this is a big opportunity to jump the line for whoever wins.

Can Brad Pickett Get a Big Win?

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

The Fight: Brad Pickett vs. Chico Camus
The Real Fight: Brad Pickett vs. Diminishing Returns

The Stakes

After planting the seeds of a Cinderella run in the flyweight division, Brad Pickett's hopes of a late-in-career title shot were chopped down by Ian McCall. Now, he struggles to remain somewhat relevant after being unable to score a convincing win in more than two years. If he doesn't blow Chico Camus out of the water Saturday, it's hard to deny that his career has wound down.

The Question

Can Brad Pickett get a big win?

Analysis

Pop quiz!

When was the last time Pickett got an emphatic win? That would be all the way back in 2012 opposite Yves Jabouin. When was the last time he fought a guy who is actually on the UFC's rankings today? That would be all the way back in 2010, when he beat a green Demetrious Johnson at WEC 48.

Pickett's exciting style has always been something of a mask for his inability to hang with high-level talent, and as the competition has gotten stronger year after year, he just hasn't kept up. Both the bantamweight and flyweight divisions are bad enough that he can still get wins. His days as a true contender in any division, however, seem to be done.

Will Bobby Green Maintain His Sudden Relevance?

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

The Fight: Bobby Green vs. Edson Barboza
The Real Fight: Bobby Green vs. Bad Luck

The Stakes

A controversial split-decision win on short notice was enough to get Bobby Green ranked among a division's Top 10 for the first time in his MMA career. However, after interesting grudge matches with Donald Cerrone and Jorge Masvidal fell through, he finds himself in a no-win fight with Edson Barboza. An emphatic win would do little more than justify his current place in the division, while anything less would give his doubters more ammunition to use against him.

The Question

Will Bobby Green maintain his sudden relevance?

Analysis

You have to feel bad for MMA's pound-for-pound champion of illegal strikes. Kind of, at least.

An opportunity to vault into title contention at the expense of Cerrone fell through when Cowboy was pulled to face Eddie Alvarez at UFC 178. Not only that, but a fight with Masvidal, a fellow veteran on a major upswing, was made and fell apart. Now Green takes on the always-dangerous Barboza with little hope of any kind of return.

Who Will Win in the Main Event?

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The Fight: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson
The Real Fight: UFC vs. Boredom

The Stakes

In a largely unnecessary fight, Frankie Edgar faces Cub Swanson. Both men are already deserving of a title shot—Edgar by way of his strong effort against Aldo in 2013 and Swanson due to his lengthy winning streak—but find themselves fighting each other to get their due...maybe. While that is an ugly situation, this match between two of the hottest 145-pound commodities is sure to please.

The Question

Who will win in the main event?

Analysis

This is an incredibly interesting matchup, regardless of the stakes. Edgar's slippery boxing and slick wrestling are a stark contrast to Swanson's otherworldly striking and active guard. This fight could go either way and is a potential Fight of the Year candidate.

This is one of those fights that UFC fans need every once in a while to remind them why they keep tuning in.

Will This Fight Even Matter?

Buda Mendes/Getty Images

The Fight: Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson
The Real Fight: Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson vs. Conor McGregor

The Stakes

Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson may already deserve a title shot. A win next week would make it impossible to deny them...unless you are a UFC executive. That is because the UFC's entire boardroom has basically spent the last month palling around with their new cash cow.

The UFC has shown little regard for things like "rankings" and "winning" when it comes to title shots of late, and it would be surprising beyond surprising if it didn't shoo Edgar and Swanson away from the belt in favor of the loud, brash, incredibly exciting Conor McGregor.

If the UFC has the chance to cash in on the Irishman, it will. To hell with everybody else. 

The Question

Will this fight even matter?

Analysis

Tell me if you've heard this before: UFC President Dana White is saying that a fight is a top contender's bout after previously indicating that wasn't the case. You're totally shocked, right? Oh, you're not? Ok.

But really, it is possible the winner of this fight ends up facing Jose Aldo at some point in 2015. It's also possible the UFC says "yeah, whatever" and puts McGregor in there. We don't know, and we'll just have to wait and see what happens.