UFC Live 2 After Thoughts: What's Next For The Winners and Losers?

UFC on Versus 2 has come and gone like a summer storm, and Jones was the tornado that capped off the storm. While no title shots or jobs were really on the line, there was still plenty of ground to gain and lose for all the competitors last night.

Jones keeps on rolling with a cleanup of the Janitor, where’s the next stop for the “Bones” train?

I don’t think there was any doubt that Jones would win this fight. The important thing about the fight was how dominant he was…. He was as dominant as you can get.

Jones has already said he wants a top five opponent, while his trainer has said he wants to continue to take the slow path. I’m not seeing a top five opponent for his next fight, the reasoning is simple. Everybody in the top five already has a dance partner lined up.

Rampage and Machida are lined up for later this year so they are out of the question. Even if they were available I’m not sure he would have got them anyways. Rampage is still a top contender even though he lost his last fight, and I don’t think the UFC brass would throw Machida a fight like Jones after a tough loss.

Rashad Evans would be a great match up but that isn’t happening since Rashad has claimed to be fine with sitting out until Shogun is ready, so let’s go with Thiago Silva.

Thiago’s only two losses in the UFC have came to two fighters currently sitting in the top five and Jones didn’t take enough damage in his last fight to warrant sitting out until a top five fighter comes available. I think Thiago would be a good match up for Jones and would really put him to the test before he gets his shot at a possible contender fight.

Matyushenko gets steam rolled through, will he be back?

Nobody expected Vlad to win this fight. It would have been huge for him to pull off the upset but he didn’t so where does he go from here?

I’m a little torn here, there’s a chance we’ve seen the last of “The Janitor” in the UFC. He’s 39 years old and hasn’t finished any fights in the UFC and he just got manhandled. I’m leaning more towards his age and being in most stacked division being the reason he gets the pink slip.

The other side of me feels like the UFC may keep him around to fill the slots. If he keeps his job, I would expect to see Vlad on another free event card. Possibly a fight against Seth Petruzelli is in his future.

Okami takes a split decision win over Munoz, was it good enough to step up to another level?

Yushin Okami was another fighter who was fighting to decide if it was time for a step up in competition, I think he answered with a resounding yes. Munoz is a decent wrestler and Okami was able to stuff every takedown attempt except for one.

I think it was good enough to warrant a step up in competition, a small but a step up none the less. The first name that comes to mind for me is Kendall Grove.

He just posted a win at UFC 116 and he has always been on the edge of the main cards so this fight would be a good one to see on a Spike prelim or possibly a opening bout,

Ellenberger impregnates Howard’s cheek to get a doctor stoppage

After making Howard’s cheek grow a tennis ball inside of it, Ellenberger needs another volunteer for his next magic trick. I think the most logical fight for him is Rory Macdonald. They both have losses to Carlos Condit and they both of them put up a pretty good fight against Condit.

Gomi bounces back with a quality win while Griffin posts back to back losses

Gomi’s loss to Florian surprised me as Gomi was considered a top lightweight and Florian made him look like was a rookie. Gomi bounced back with this win though. The only problem is it was too quick to decide if Gomi is still as good as he was touted to be.  Griffin had landed a few blows before he got caught. So you have to question just how good is Gomi’s stand up.

I would like to see him fight Clay Guida next. I know he already has a bout lined up but  after this fight, what better fight could you get between two hard headed guys. Clay took a kick that should have taken his head off and Gomi got beat on for three minutes straight. Combine that with Clay’s desire to push the pace and you got a potential fight of the night,

I think the worst thing about this fight was Griffin’s argument that he wasn’t out. Face the facts buddy, you got woke up by planting your face into the mat.

Quick Hits

I’m ready to see Matthew Riddle fight. This kid is the one of the best kept secrets in the UFC, he keeps posting win after win but you never get to see them. I would like to see Matthew Riddle on the next Spike Prelim at least.

James Irvin, it’s been nice knowing you. You’re 3-4 in the UFC and you have had three straight losses, all by finishes, and have not made it out of the first round. Needless to say I see no reason that James Irvin will be back for another UFC event.