UFC 131 Results: What's Next for the Main Card Fighters
I know I am a few days late, but with two young kids my weekends are getting busier and busier. UFC 131 is over and done with. Another successful Canadian show put on by the UFC, you have to love the Canadian fans they really get into each and every fight.
The main event was very surprising as I am not sure there are too many people who felt that Carwin and Dos Santos would make it out of the first round. It almost didn't as Dos Santos has Carwin on the ropes and was punching the holy hell out him, but much like his fight against Lesnar where Josh Rosenthal gave Brock an opportunity to recover, Herb Dean paid Carwin the same respect and was proven right when Carwin battled on.
So we know where Dos Santos is headed and that is a showdown with UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez as soon as the the champ is fully recovered from shoulder surgery. Other than that there are no set matchups for the other nine fighters who fought on the main card.
Let's take a look and see what makes sense for the rest of them.
Donald Cerrone
1 of 10
As I said in my predictions Cerrone continues to improve each and every time out. He has really matured and has improved on his wrestling which only adds to his striking and solid submissions. To be honest Rocha was so overmatched and had no business being in the same cage with Cerrone, but they needed an opponent and Rocha was game.
Cerrone was scheduled to face Mac Danzig before the Ultimate Fighter season six winner was injured. Why not match them up once Danzig is cleared to return. There was no love lost between the two and it would make for an interesting fight. Danzig is coming off a knockout win over Joe Stevenson at UFC 124 and was more than willing to face Cerrone.
As far as Cowboy is concerned he would fight anyone they put in front of him and I don;t think it would take much for him to get up for facing Danzig.
Vagner Rocha
2 of 10
Rocha's legs took one hell of a beating on Saturday night. Cerrone kept going back to the well and why not? He was landing at will and swept on all three judges scorecards, even earning one 10-8 round in the process.
It was apparent that Rocha wasn't ready for the UFC or Cerrone. Maybe he gets another crack, but I doubt it. Let him go fight some more on the smaller shows and see if he can get another shot at the UFC.
Jon Olav Einemo
3 of 10
After not having fought for almost five years, Einemo wasn't all that bad. In fact he and Herman took home the Fight of the Night bonus for their eight minutes of fighting. Maybe if Einemo had remained more active he would have had a better chance, but what can you expect from a guy who last fight was against James Thompson in 2006?
I think the UFC will keep him around simply due to the fact that he came to fight. Dana White loves guys like that and that is why his opponent should be Aaron Rosa. Joey Beltran proved to be too much for Rosa, but that doesn't mean Rosa didn't leave it all inside that cage.
I know I wouldn't mind either fighter getting another opportunity inside the Octagon especially if it's against each other.
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Dave Herman
4 of 10
It took Herman longer than some expected, but he eventually put his opponent to bed and won by second round TKO. Einemo was game and gave Herman all he could handle until age and ring rust finally caught up to him. Now that Herman has gotten his 1st fight in the Octagon out of the way it'll be interesting to see who the UFC puts him up against next.
After watching him and Einemo go back and forth I know I would like to see him and Joey Beltran go at it. Essentially Beltran, Herman, Einemo and Rosa would be switching opponents, but at this point who cares. They are still fighting to see where they are in the pecking order of the UFC heavyweight division.
Herman probably has the most talent out all of them, but if he faces Beltran that all goes out the window. "The Mexicutioner" has a ton of heart, a great chin and has a pretty good gas tank. Beltran vs. Herman would make a great co-main event of a UFC Fight Night or Versus show.
Demian Maia
5 of 10
Was that really Demian Maia out there fighting Mark Munoz on Saturday night? I could have sworn it was someone else because the striking that Maia was showing looked nothing like I had ever seen from him before. He was crisp, precise and even had Munoz hurt.
Unfortunately Maia came up short, but it was a really close fight that could've gone either way. He may have lost the fight, but if he keeps improving at this rate he will be back in title contention very soon. This is what I had always hoped for from Maia, we all knew his BJJ was out of this world, but now that he can set his jiu-jitsu up with a solid striking game, he is even more dangerous.
So where does Maia go from here? He shouldn't fall too far down the ladder because of the close nature of the fight, but where he winds up exactly is anyone's guess. I could see the UFC putting him up against fellow Brazilian Jorge Santiago.
With both men coming off of losses and having solid all-around skills, the UFC would put the winner in line towards the top of the division again. They are veterans of the sport and dropping them down too far makes no sense. Santiago lost to Brian Stann at UFC 130 in his return to the Octagon, let's see if it was nerves, being overmatched or a combination of both.
Mark Munoz
6 of 10
Munoz walks away with the biggest win of his career and has won three in a row and six of his last seven. At 33-years-old it's not like he has a whole lot of time left. Munoz showed a lot of heart and survived a scare in the first round after being rocked by Maia and his improved striking skills.
There is a very interesting middleweight bout scheduled for July 2nd in Las Vegas as Chris Leben will battle Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132. I think it would be interesting to see Munoz go up against one of the two and see how he matches up with a premier striker because if he is going to continue to climb the middleweight ladder he is going to have to defeat a lot of good strikers.
We don't need to see him fight another wrestler or jiu-jitsu practitioner at this time. Munoz certainly has the power to face an elite striker, now e need to see how he can handle getting hit by one of them.
Kenny Florian
7 of 10
Florian looked pretty good in his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes. He seemed to have handled the weight cut pretty well and after getting off to a slow start in the first round he picked up the pace. Nunes was certainly no walk in the park and he was a very good test for Florian's first fight at 145lbs.
According to UFC President Dana White Florian should be next in line to face current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. White made these comments on MMA Live right before UFC 131 took place. This is obviously what Florian was looking for and this could be his last shot at UFC gold so he better make the best of it.
Diego Nunes
8 of 10
Losing to Kenny Florian is nothing to be ashamed of. Holding a career record of 16-2 is nothing to be ashamed of. Nunes is 28 years old and full of potential, we will hear from him again soon, real soon. Nunes started the fight off well and had some good moments in the first round, after that Florian's experience took over.
When looking for an opponent for Nunes I wanted to find someone who had a pretty recognizable name, was coming off a loss in which they looked good, but just came up short and was eager to get back into action. Why not Mark Hominick who is coming off a loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 129?
Both men love to stand and trade, but aren't afraid to take the fight down to the mat. These two would be nothing less than 15 minutes of explosive action. If the UFC has other plans for Hominick which is very possible then I would match Nunes up with Josh Grispi.
Grispi has gone from facing Aldo for the title until Aldo had to pull out with an injury to losing to unheralded Dustin Poirier and now George Roop. he desperately needs a win and he matches up very well agaiinst Nunes.
Either way the UFC decides to go the fans will win. Nunes vs. Grispi or Hominick will be an intense fight between a few fighters looking to get back in the win column.
Junior Dos Santos
9 of 10
Solid boxing skills, strong as an ox, great takedown defense and now he shows he has some solid takedowns of his own. We are learning something new about Dos Santos each and every time he fights. He landed his jab at will against Shane Carwin and nearly ended the fight in the first round. Carwin's face was a bloody mess and if that didn't send a message to how strong Dos Santos is then I don't know what will.
There is no doubt that JDS is the best striker in the UFC heavyweight division. Now that he is set to face current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez he can concentrate on formulating a gameplan to take the belt off of the undefeated Mexican fighter. It will not be easy, but there is no doubt that JDS stands a better chance than any other heavyweight in the UFC.
He was never in trouble and showed that he could handle the strength advantage of Carwin. he got tagged a couple of times, but seemed to walk right through them. Fans are counting down the days until Dos Santos and Velasquez mix it up.
Shane Carwin
10 of 10
One thing that Carwin can take from his loss this past Saturday night is that his cardio is much better than people expected and that he did just punch himself out when he fought Brock Lesnar last July at UFC 116. Although he took a beating from Dos Santos, Carwin kept fighting and pressing forward. He also showed a tremendous amount of heart by surviving the first round onslaught that Dos Santos laid upon him.
Without making this a tribute to Carwin's toughness or offering excuses such as ring rust or the fact that he was coming off of surgery, Carwin needs to get back on the horse as soon as possible. He fought and lost to a better man the other night, it's that plain and simple, but there are things he can work on to continue to improve.
I have one opponent in mind for Carwin and that was the man he was scheduled to face at UFC 125, but pulled out to have surgery on his neck. Roy Nelson is coming off of two straight decision losses to JDS and Frank Mir. This matchup with Carwin makes too much sense not to sign it.
Some people want to see Carwin and Lesnar again, but who knows when Brock will be back? Carwin needs to remain active and Nelson is right there waiting for him.
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