UFC 101: What If...? A Look after the Dust Has Settled

It's one of the most poignant questions heading into any MMA card.

What if such-and-such happens?

It takes just moments to set in and pending something unexpected actually does go down, the spur-of-the-moment, emotionally-charged reaction is usually the stuff of online message board legends.

UFC 101 is no different, as the evening's top two contests are filled with high-end ramifications for the fighters involved. One could present a changing of the guard in the lightweight division, while the other could see one of MMA's most lovable underdogs do the unthinkable yet again.

For me, it's an event where, while my heart will be with the underdogs, my brain is with the favorites. Taking that into mind, let's try and look ahead to Sunday, Aug. 9 when UFC 101 is just another fight card that has come and gone.

What will the MMA scene look like? What fights should we prognosticate months in advance of them even coming close to being signed? What about UFC 101's ramifications on divisional rankings?

I'm just as curious as you are.

What If B.J. Penn Defeats Kenny Florian?

It's been tough for the B.J Penn fanbase over the past few months.

Needless to say, a cage fighter having his mother testify on his behalf in court is hardly going to win you too many popularity contests, and the fact that Penn is yet to compete at lightweight since the Obama administration got underway, is also a bit unsettling for an otherwise deep division.

While I admit that for months now I have given Shinya Aoki’s activity and resume within the lightweight division the nod, when deciding between he and Penn as to who’s the top lightweight in the world, but a win over Florian would make Penn’s claim to the throne virtually indisputable.

If Penn is victorious on Saturday, he inches closer to that Georges St. Pierre-Anderson Silva territory, where you begin to wonder just who has the tools to upend him. As deep as the lightweight division may be, perhaps Diego Sanchez is the only other fighter with a snowball's chance at the moment.

For fight fans, you have to hope that a prospective Penn-Sanchez bout pieces together in a much smoother fashion than Penn-Florian, which has been on the docket for just under a year now.

But will Penn's heart ever stay committal to the lightweight crown? As much as we'd like to believe he's finally made peace with the St. Pierre thumping from January, some people just never learn.

While Penn admits to having no proof, he's taken a page out of the Complete Idiot's Guide to Public Relations and tagged St. Pierre—one of the sport's most beloved and popular figures—as a steroid user.

As much as Penn wants it, convincing St. Pierre that a third fight is even necessary is one thing. Plus, it's unlikely Penn would just be granted a title shot on name value alone and would likely need a major win over a 170-pound contender to get there.

In the end, the build to a third bout with St. Pierre is too taxing on a division that already has its next title contender lined up. Sitting through Penn's glorified stiff arm to the lightweights was taxing enough on the fight fan one time around.

If Penn wins on Saturday, expect the buzz to begin for a Sanchez clash.

What If Kenny Florian Defeats B.J. Penn?

The reins on the lightweight division could loosen quite a bit if Florian is able to pull off the upset.

I'm not a fan of keeping a division in neutral, which is essentially where the top caste of UFC lightweights have been this past year. Florian and Penn couldn't be more different from each other with their out-of-cage persona, and I'd assume that for the long haul, Kenny's heart is set on ruling the lightweight division for a while, should he win on Saturday.

In very much the same situation as Penn, a Florian title victory should ultimately lead to a long-awaited rematch with Sanchez. The two have the back story to make the fight an easy sell, and pending Florian doesn't walk out of Philadelphia with any sort of serious injury, this is a fight that shouldn't take too terribly long to put together.

Florian is a fighter who is pretty good with his activity, having fought three times a year each of the past two years, and Sanchez has already said that he's primed and ready to go for a title shot.

As for Penn, I don't think anyone sees Florian dominating him from bell-to-bell. Most prognosticators think if Florian wins, it will be in razor-thin fashion and as such, the appeal for a rematch between the two could certainly rise.

Obviously, it's not as fine and dandy as that, and Penn would likely need another win or two to secure a rematch with Florian (or a bout with Sanchez).

It's fairly clear that Penn is heads and shoulders above the Joe Stevensons and the Sean Sherks of the lightweight division, so fights with other fringe contenders like Gray Maynard or Frank Edgar could be possible.

The real loser in this whole debacle is Shinya Aoki, who regardless of Saturday's outcome, will still be considered the near-consensus No. 2 lightweight in the world.

What If Anderson Silva Defeats Forrest Griffin?

With Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva standing at a literal 1a, 1b, and 1c ranking in pound-for-pound discussions, a win for Silva this Saturday could be as strong of a claim as any to the Brazilian re-inserting himself as the clear-cut pound-for-pound king.

It's not too far out of the question either, as the visions of Forrest Griffin channeling Dan Henderson's one-round smothering of Silva are perhaps a bit far fetched for someone of Griffin's wrestling acumen. As the old adage goes, Griffin is the jack of all trades and the master of none.

For Griffin, a loss to Silva clears up the light heavyweight title picture a bit more and despite then having two consecutive losses to his record, it's unlikely that the loss will really affect Griffin's status in the division one way or another.

Honestly, this is a fight where he really has nothing to lose and everything to gain. His stock as one of the promotion's top draws will not take a hit. Believe him if you will, but Griffin has already said that he wants no part of Lyoto Machida right now.

Silva probably doesn't either, as the two are good friends and training partners, and we all know how those scenarios fizzle out in the UFC. But before talks of contending for Machida's belt, which become a very real possibility with a win over Griffin, Silva's obligations to his middleweight should and presumably will take precedence.

With Dana White trying to cash in on the momentum of Dan Henderson's thunderous knockout of Michael Bisping, the MMA vet is now poised for a rematch with the champion.

With the likes of Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt about to narrow the title picture even more, and ah hell, let's throw Wanderlei Silva's name out there, there are plenty of options on Silva's plate at 185. Not to mention a certain super fight with a certain welterweight.

What If Forrest Griffin Defeats Anderson Silva?

If by chance Griffin does have the urge to try and bolster his resume as a possible two-time UFC light-heavyweight champion, a win over the perceived top pound-for-pound fighter in the world is a pretty easy way to get there.

While the eventual bout between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans would most likely give the winner the inside track on a title shot, Griffin's drawing power and stock would be awfully hard to pass up if he were to boast a victory over someone such as Silva. At the very least, Griffin would be a strong candidate for a title eliminator fight.

The bigger bust of the two ends to this fight is that while Griffin's stock shouldn't take much of a hit in defeat, Silva will become the first of the pound-for-pound triumvirate to buckle.

Silva hasn't made many new fans with his performances against Thales Leites and Patrick Cote, but you can bet the "best fighter in the world" label that Dana White is so quick to tag to Silva, would make a Griffin win all the bigger.

Regardless of the outcome, Silva will need to tend to Henderson in his next fight, but a loss to Griffin will kill a sizable portion of the luster surrounding the middleweight champion.

My view is that from the day it was signed, this fight was made to put Silva back on the map. The UFC has put tons of promotional efforts into trying to pique the casual fan's interest in Silva and it will be all for naught if Griffin's in-your-face style doesn't end with him tacked alongside Rich Franklin, James Irvin, and Chris Leben in Silva's highlight reel.

Not that the rub of a Griffin win would be a bad thing.

What If Johny Hendricks Defeats Amir Sadollah?

Outside of a few one-minute vignettes during "TUF 9" commercial breaks, the casual fan has had next to no connection with Amir Sadollah, since winning "TUF 7."

Marred by injuries for the past year, Sadollah is set to remind UFC fans that he is still in fact on the roster, when he makes his post-reality show debut against the undefeated Johny Hendricks, in perhaps the most intriguing bout not on the promo poster.

What has Sadollah picked up in the past year and also, why is Hendricks emerging as perhaps the sexiest underdog pick of the entire card?

Hendricks' bread and butter is in Oklahoma State-bred wrestling game; a style that C.B. Dollaway showed can give Sadollah more than his fair share of fits. What we don't know though is if Hendricks' submission game is as horrendous as Dollaway's.

That alone is a sign of caution, because I think it's very possible that Sadollah will be spending a good portion of Saturday night fighting on his back and barring one of those Hail Mary armbars, it's not out of the question that Hendricks could play spoiler.

I think the UFC and fans, in general, want Sadollah to be successful.

A loss to Hendricks definitely hurts his stock, largely because he's been so anonymous since winning "TUF." He didn't enter the show with the hype that Dollaway or even a product like Phillipe Nover did, and a loss could slowly fade Amir into obscurity.

At the very least, he should get an opportunity for redemption on a future Fight Night card against a relative softball opponent to help repair any damage.

For Hendricks, a victory would definitely be a statement maker and just another instance in moving up the ranks. A strong wrestling base is definitely a plentiful craft to have at 170 pounds, and a bout with a middle-rung welterweight with some name value like a Chris Lytle or a Marcus Davis would be a possibility.