UFC in 2011: 11 Fights We Want to See This Year, but Won't
MMA is a unique sport in which sometimes the most entertaining fights happen between two combatants that none of us have ever heard of. Sometimes it’s these fighters who are dead set on making a name for themselves and they lay it all on the line when they step in the cage.
But at the end of the day, like any combative sport, we pay to see the top fighters in the world.
While the UFC is generally considered the top organization, with Zuffa now owning both the UFC and Strikeforce, Dana White has presented the idea of having fighters from each organization fight one another. This would truly settle the question of who the best really is.
Still, as we saw with Shane Carwin’s odd matchup against Jon Olav Einemo, Joe Silva and the decision-makers in the UFC don’t always give us the fights we want to see.
Here are 11 fights we want to see in 2011, but won’t.
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
1 of 11
The first fight on this list is one that many fans, myself included, called for immediately following Jon Jones’ defeat of Shogun Rua at UFC 128.
Jones has completely crushed every opponent he has faced in the UFC, with his only loss coming via technicality when he was disqualified in his fight with Matt Hamill.
Quite honestly, Jones has barely even been challenged and has looked almost bored at times before he unleashed a fury of innovative and devastating strikes on his opponent.
But Lyoto Machida is a different fighter than anyone Jones has ever fought. With his elusive style and difficult-to-re-create karate offense, Machida may actually be one of the few fighters who has a chance against the Light Heavyweight Champion.
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
2 of 11
Anderson Silva easily ran through (or kicked through) Vitor Belfort at UFC 126, leaving Yushin Okami as the only credible contender that the pound-for-pound king hasn’t defeated. Okami also possesses the last “victory” over Silva, which took place years ago when Silva was disqualified due to an illegal upkick.
Sonnen is waiting to get back in the cage after some legal issues, including a suspension due to performance enhancing drugs in the fight with Silva, but he is the only man who has really challenged the champion in years.
With Okami up next on Silva’s hit-list, Chael Sonnen will likely have to wait until at least 2012 to get his rematch at the Middleweight Champion.
Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz
3 of 11
The first champion-versus-champion contest on the list involves the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and the UFC Welterweight Champions, Nick Diaz and Georges St-Pierre.
Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce may have been the best thing that has ever happened to these two fighters as St-Pierre has cleaned the cupboards in the UFC; while Diaz is looking for a big step-up in competition.
Unfortunately, it looks like Diaz is going to be fighting Jeff Lacy in a professional boxing contest before he steps back into an MMA cage, and by then, St-Pierre will likely have another challenger for his belt in the form of Dong Hyun Kim, Carlos Condit, or even Jon Fitch.
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Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar
4 of 11
This is a dream fight, but it’s something that fans have been talking about ever since Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in November 2008.
At the time, Fedor was the unquestioned top heavyweight in the world, but Lesnar had just defeated another living legend [Randy Couture] and looked to be the kind of monster who may be able to challenge for “The Last Emperor’s” throne.
Fast forward two and a half years later and both fighters are coming off of the most punishing losses of their careers, with questions about their futures in the sport immediately surfacing post-fight.
But the fact remains that this is one of the easiest-to-hype fights that the UFC could possibly put on... If only they could get Fedor’s management to agree.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort
5 of 11
Rumors of a potential rematch with Wanderlei Silva surfaced almost immediately following Vitor Belfort’s humiliating loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 126.
The original fight between Wanderlei and Vitor took place at UFC: Ultimate Brazil nearly 13 years ago. It was Silva’s debut in the UFC, which came highly hyped due to the violent ways that he had finished his opponents outside the Octagon.
The fight didn’t last long, though, as Belfort crushed Silva’s face with a fury of punches in one of the most memorable knockout victories in the history of the sport.
A rematch at this point in the Brazilians’ careers would have made a ton of sense at UFC: Brazil later this summer, but Wanderlei is instead scheduled to fight Chris Leben at UFC 132 while Belfort is tentatively set to meet Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard
6 of 11
Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, Gilbert Melendez, has completely mowed through his division and the promotion has been bringing in outside fighters to even give him a challenge. But he ran through both Tatsuya Kawajiri and Shinya Aoki in his last two fights.
Meanwhile, the top of the UFC’s lightweight division remains extremely competitive as Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to an epic, yet controversial draw at UFC 125. Gray Maynard still has not lost a professional fight and is the only person to have defeated Edgar, when he did so back in 2008.
The two top fighters in the division will go at it again later this month, which would lead one to believe that there is a potential showdown between the winner and Melendez.
It makes sense to make that fight, but much to the chagrin of MMA fans, Scott Coker went out of his way to state that Melendez’s next fight would be in Strikeforce and not the UFC.
Jon Jones vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
7 of 11
Sure, Jones has dominated everyone he has fought so far in his young career. And sure, Rampage recently lost a recent fight to Rashad Evans at UFC 114...But this is still a fight that fans would absolutely love to see.
Jackson will be facing Matt Hamill, the only man to have a “win” over Jones, at UFC 130 later this month. If he walks out a winner, he will have increased his record to 4-1 in his last five fights, with his only loss coming against Evans; who is the No. 1 contender.
With Jones injured and Evans set to fight Phil Davis at UFC 133 instead of the title shot he was originally going to get, the winner of that fight will likely be the next challenger. This means that it is very unlikely that we’ll see a second fight for the title before the year ends.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture
8 of 11
Honestly, this is the top fight that I would want to see if I could pick any fight.
I know what you’re thinking. Two over the hill, former champions who are shells of themselves from their prime.
But I don’t care, and neither do the other people who get nostalgic about this kind of thing.
Yes, Randy Couture “retired” after the highlight reel knockout he received from Lyoto Machida at UFC 129, but he also left open the possibility that he may return if the UFC really “steps up.” This likely means a huge money fight against a high profile opponent.
Are there really any fights that fit that description outside of one with Fedor?
Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy
9 of 11
As if Michael Bisping wasn’t already the most hated fighter in all of MMA, then we saw his actions against Jorge Rivera at UFC 127.
Sure, some English fans may forgive their country’s top-ranked fighter, but the rest of the world may not be quite as quick to let bygones be bygones. His blatantly intentional knee to the face of Rivera is a shining example of what happens when a fighter loses his composure in the heat of battle.
Enter Rivera’s friend and proud member of the United States, Tim Kennedy.
Kennedy has stated on various social media platforms that he would like to fight Bisping. He is 5-1 in his last six fights, with his only loss coming to former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
This would be a classic “hero vs. villain” story in America. Who wouldn’t want to cheer for a true American hero like Tim Kennedy as he smashed Michael Bisping’s face?
Alistair Overeem vs. Cain Velasquez
10 of 11
Heavyweight champion versus heavyweight champion.
After going on a streak of losing four of five fights, “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem hasn’t tasted defeat since November 2007 when he defeated Paul Buentello to become the inaugural Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion.
Though his wins haven’t been against the best competition, Overeem has been absolutely dominant in every one of them. He has not even gone to the second round since the win over Buentello.
The true competition will happen next month when Overeem faces off against a consensus top-10 heavyweight in Fabricio Werdum. Werdum actually holds a victory over Overeem from 2006 and is coming off the biggest win of his career last June when he gave Fedor Emelianenko the first (real) loss of his career.
On the UFC side, Cain Velasquez defied the size odds when he manhandled former champion Brock Lesnar to win the Heavyweight Title.
Velasquez is a perfect 9-0 in his pro career with eight wins coming by way of knockout. He has only gone to the third round once.
A clash between these two champions would be an amazing superfight that could bring in some huge money, but it simply won’t happen. Overeem’s tournament duties combined with Velasquez’s injury layoff and upcoming bout against the winner of Lesnar-Dos Santos will keep this fight from materializing in 2011.
Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva
11 of 11
The big one. The best one. The one that the world would tune in to see.
... Is not happening.
At least not in 2011.
UFC President, Dana White, has been subtly and even directly hyping the fight for nearly a year now, but it seems that we are no closer to it now than we were then.
When Georges St-Pierre picked apart Josh Koscheck in their rematch at UFC 124, things were looking good for this fight. The UFC was completely out of opponents for their champion and Anderson Silva just needed to beat Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.
Silva won that fight in relatively easy fashion and he, too, had appeared to clear out his own division. So it was time for our superfight, right?
Wrong.
Jake Shields suddenly became a contender despite a questionable-at-best performance against Martin Kampmann. Then Anderson Silva signed on to fight longtime top contender, Yushin Okami, at UFC 134 later this summer.
At this point, one really has to wonder whether these two champions truly want this fight to happen.
Sure, the money would be great, but both guys have a lot to lose. It’s not just a champion-versus-champion. It’s legacy-versus-legacy.
There is an outside possibility that we’ll still see this fight in 2011, but it seems highly unlikely given that Anderson Silva has only fought five times in the past 28 months.
The magnitude of this fight would likely mean that the UFC would like to hype it for months on end, while also giving St-Pierre enough time to bulk up to 185 pounds, or at least somewhere around 178, for a catch-weight fight.
Silva’s fight at the end of August means that there will only be four months remaining in 2011. Simply put, it’s not enough time to announce, hype, and prepare for this type of superfight.
Maybe in 2012.
Or maybe not.
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