GSP vs. Anderson Silva and 14 Fantasy Bookings for 2012

We all have our fantasy fights that we would love to see. Who wouldn’t love to see GSP vs. Anderson Silva? It’s common for us MMA fans to dream about match-ups between our two favorite fighters or two fighters with exciting styles. Unfortunately for us, silly things like contracts, negotiations, promotions, weight classes and politics stand in the way of making these fantasy fights a reality.

In an attempt to bring some legitimacy to this list, I will only be matching up fighters who are in (or near) the same weight class and fight under the ZUFFA banner (UFC and Strikeforce). I will be picking two fights per weight class for a total of 14  fantasy fights that I would like to see sometime in 2012. Again, these are not fights I actually think will happen, rather fights I would love to see happen and are actually in the realm of possibility. I also will be excluding rematches; only new fights will be listed here. With that, let’s get started.

Bantamweight 1: Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez

This is the fight the UFC should make when determining the first UFC Flyweight champion. Both Johnson and Benavidez could easily make 125, and yet they are wreaking havoc against bigger men at 135. How these two have gone this long under the Zuffa banner and not crossed hairs is a mystery. Johnson vs. Benavidez would feature a battle of two of the fastest fighters in the UFC. Mighty Mouse and Benavidez would put on a blazingly fast pace that would see them bouncing off the octagon faster than pinballs at Tilt.

The two actually have a lot in common. Both of their biggest wins are against Miguel Torres and both have only lost to one opponent. Both are also incredibly well rounded, insanely fast, and undersized for the weight class. If the UFC does add the flyweight division next year as rumored, expect these two to be the first to drop down.

Bantamweight 2: Urijah Faber vs. Miguel Torres

The dream fight that never happened in the WEC could very well happen sometime in 2012. Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres were the biggest stars in the now defunct WEC. Faber was the longtime featherweight champion known for his innovative grappling and Torres was the bantamweight kingpin who was submitting and knocking out anyone who crossed his path. There was a time when both Faber and Torres had all but cleaned out their respective weight classes and the first WEC super-fight seemed imminent.

Unfortunately, Faber was derailed by Mike Brown twice and Torres suffered the first consecutive defeats of his career to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez. Since then, Faber has dropped down to 135, finally putting the two superstars in the same weight class. I think that these two should coach The Ultimate Fighter sometime next year and have them fight at the show’s conclusion. Both have engaging personalities and will go a long way in introducing the lighter weight classes.

Featherweight 1: Tyson Griffin vs. Chad Mendes

Tell me Chad Mendes taking on Tyson Griffin wouldn’t be a fun fight. Griffin and Mendes are both tremendous grapplers with ever improving hands. I’m guessing their wrestling will cancel each other out and the two surging featherweights will trade fisticuffs for three rounds.

Not only would this be a fun fight to see, it actually has a chance to happen next year. Griffin proved with his win over former WEC title challenger Manny Gamburyan that he can hang with the best in the division. Mendes fights Rani Yahya in a few months and if he gets past Yahya, Griffin and Mendes could open 2012 at 145.

Featherweight 2: Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian

In a fight that will most likely happen before 2012, I fully expect Aldo to make his next title defense over former lightweight title challenger Kenny “Kenflo” Florian. The reason this fight makes the list is because there is no confirmed date for Aldo/Florian and both have been susceptible to injuries lately.

Florian would be the toughest challenge of Aldo’s young career and would definitely be the most well rounded fighter. Kenny’s slicing elbows and technical muay thai could give Aldo fits standing. Also, Florian is a BJJ black belt and would also be able to threaten Aldo there as well.

On the other hand, Aldo is by far the fastest fighter Florian has ever fought. Even though Florian fought BJ Penn, I would say that Aldo is the best striker Kenny has ever encountered and could punish Kenflo with his devastating leg kicks.

No matter how you look at it, Aldo/Florian is the biggest marquee fight at 145 the UFC can make.

Lightweight 1: Sean Sherk vs. Clay Guida

Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida is a fight that has almost been made a few times already. Injuries and timing have put a damper on a clash between the tireless wrestlers but is a fight that could happen in the beginning of 2012.

Sherk recently said that he is ready to return to the cage and mentioned Guida as a possible opponent. Guida is a on a four fight win streak and a win over a former champion would strengthen his claim for a title shot.

Both Guida and Sherk are known for their endless gas tanks and smothering wrestling skills. Neither has a definitive advantage in the stand up so I see this as being a pretty evenly matched fight. Sherk has a more traditional style of wrestling and boxing, where Guida has bulrush style of wrestling and an……unorthodox style of striking. Look at Guida’s fight with Gomi earlier this year to see why it is so hard to describe Guida’s style of striking.

This is a fight I have wanted to see for a few years and with Sherk’s injuries and age, the timing is nearing now or never status.

Lightweight 2: Frankie Edgar vs. Melvin Guillard

This is a fight that would take place in the later half of 2012 and is conditional on a variety of circumstances. First, Edgar has to beat Maynard sometime this year, get past Jim Miller (pending he beats Ben Henderson), and Guillard has to keep his win streak. However, if Henderson upsets Miller then this sure to be instant classic will happen much sooner.

Edgar and Guillard’s styles are very similar yet have one giant difference. Both Edgar and Guillard are excellent strikers with phenomenal footwork-darting in and out of their opponent’s range. Guillard and Edgar also have great offensive and defensive wrestling skills, allowing them to dictate where the fight takes place. And both “The Answer” and “The Young Assassin” are incredibly quick and explosive which supplements their striking and wrestling.

The main difference between the two is power. Edgar has not proved that he can end a fight with his fists, while Guillard has an entire highlight reel devoted to his knockouts. Edgar did school BJ Penn on the feet in their last fight but used a Dominick Cruz style of point striking that is meant to win fights but not inflict any sort of lasting damage.

I expect this fight to be a fast paced affair, with plenty of striking and grappling throughout the contest. Edgar showed in his rematch with Maynard that he can take a beating and recover well but Guillard is much more accomplished striker than Maynard and would not let Frankie off the leash.

Welterweight 1: Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz

Are there two fighters with more tenacity in the welterweight division than Carlos Condit or Nick Diaz? Maybe Diego Sanchez but that’s about it. Diaz is set to challenge for GSP’s title in October and Condit is first in line to challenge the winner. If both lose to St.Pierre, there is a good possibility the UFC pits these two 170 pound warriors against each other.

No two fighters strive for the finish quite like Condit and Diaz. Condit has only had one victory go to a decision and Diaz has only four decisions in 25 wins. Both can finish the fight standing or on the ground, making them threats no matter where the fight goes.

The preflight stare down might almost be as good as the fight itself. Neither Condit nor Diaz knows how to back up and are extremely difficult to finish. The combination of the finishing prowess of Condit and Diaz and how rarely they ever get stopped, makes it nearly impossible to predict how the fight will unfold. And that fact right there all but guarantees a fight for the ages.

Welterweight 2: Thiago Alves vs. Paul Daley

Thiago “Pitbull” Alves squaring off with Paul “Semtex” Daley would be a war between the top two strikers at 170 pounds. Daley has dynamite in both hands and has some of the best pure boxing skills in all of MMA. He also has great knees and solid kicks to back up his crushing hooks. Thiago Alves leg kicks are as nasty as they come and Matt Hughes and Rick Story can attest to Alves’ brutal knees. Alves also has power in his hands as well, but his best weapons are definitely his kicks.

Forget the ground game in this one folks. Neither Daley nor Alves are known for instigating grappling affairs so look for a stand up war of attrition. Thiago did mix in takedowns against John Howard but I feel that Alves will keep this one standing just to prove he is the top knock out artist in the division. Both Alves and Daley have had problems making weight in the past so they might even agree to a 175 catch-weight just to eliminate the annoying weight-cut.

When you have two world class strikers slinging leather and limbs, anything can happen. Now that Zuffa has bought Strikeforce and the UFC has proved it will make certain fights that fans want to see, this fight is within the realm of possibility. This fight has Knock Out of the Night written all over it and I hope this fight gets made soon.

Middleweight 1: Chris Leben vs. Robbie Lawler

Keeping with the trend of knock out artist vs. knock out artist, my first middleweight dream fight is another UFC/Strikeforce crossover. Chris “The Crippler” and “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler are crowd-pleasing brawlers who own countless knockouts and memorable finishes. Lawler left the UFC right as Leben was coming in so the two have never had a chance to meet in the octagon.

I think this fight comes down to who has the better chin. Both men have been knocked out before, and they would definitely test each other’s chins. Neither fighter is that close to a title shot so they have nothing to lose by tearing each other apart for our amusement. Lawler and Leben are never in a boring fight and win, lose or draw; their stocks would increase by just stepping into the cage. If you like wild, messy brawls, Leben vs. Lawler is the fight for you.

Middleweight 2: Damien Maia vs. Jacare Souza

Going from brawler vs. brawler, we go to grappler vs. grappler. Damien Maia and Jacare Souza are top of the food chain submission artists who have virtually no equals on the ground when they step into the cage. Damien Maia started is UFC career with five straight submission wins and even challenged Anderson Silva for his title. Jacare Souza is the Strikeforce Middleweight champion and is also an absolute nightmare on the ground.

In an effort to be increase their skill set, both men have become pretty decent in the stand up department. Maia looked good on his feet against Mark Munoz and Dan Miller and Souza displayed his new standup skills in wins against Tim Kennedy and briefly Robbie Lawler.

This is one of the more evenly matched fights on my list. Neither fighter has a definitive advantage in standing up or on the ground. Jacare is the bigger fighter but Maia has fought better competition. I hope this fight hits the floor because watching these two roll under MMA rules would be awesome. If Dana White does bring Jacare over, I don’t see him getting an immediate title shot. Instead, have Souza make his UFC debut against Maia and hope for some jiu jitsu wizardry.

Light-Heavyweight 1: Rich Franklin vs. Rashad Evans

I have always loved the student vs. teacher storyline. For those of you who weren’t watching MMA at the time, Rich Franklin was Rashad Evans’ coach on season two of The Ultimate Fighter. Rich Franklin was the UFC Middleweight champion and Rashad was competing as a heavyweight. Fast-forward to today, Franklin has lost his title and moved up to 205, and Evans dropped to 205 and won and lost the Light-Heavyweight title. A lot has changed in the five years since TUF 2.

Franklin has proved through his fights with Dan Henderson, Matt Hamill, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin that he can compete with the best at 205. Rashad is now a top five 205er but he could find himself fighting his former coach next year if he is unable to regain the title he once held.

Evans and Franklin are both well rounded and have fought nothing but former champions and top contenders recently. It would be an interesting battle and one I am very interested in seeing.

Light-Heavyweight 2: Anderson Silva vs. Johnny Bones Jones

This fight probably has the least chance of happening since they are in different weight classes and Anderson plans on staying at 185. But there’s still a small chance it could happen if Jones gets past Rampage and the Evans/Davis winner and Silva gets past Okami. If Dana could somehow make this super fight happen I would be eternally grateful.

Two crazy, unpredictable strikers with long limbs firing off Mortal Kombat combos at each other would reach a level of awesomeness we have not yet seen. Knock out front kick? Check. Spinning back elbows thrown after a caught kick? Check. Just imagine the type of flash and brilliance Silva and Jones would wow us with. And you know Anderson would definitely get motivated for this fight so we won’t have to worry about any Patrick Cote/Thales Leites/Damien Maia performances.

This is Batman vs. Superman (or Spiderman in Anderson’s case). King Kong vs. Godzilla. Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader.

Heavyweight 1: Frank Mir vs. Josh Barnett

Based off previous articles I have written, Frank Mir is not the most popular heavyweight under the Zuffa umbrella. But I matched him up against Josh “I Swear That Test is Wrong” Barnett so it’s either a Mir loss or he beats the three time offender.

Honestly, the main reason I picked this fight is for the pre-fight smack talk these two would surely produce. Josh Barnett has been in pro-wrestling promo mode lately and Mir almost always has some way to trash his opponent. Imagine Mir sounding off about Barnett’s past steroid busts or his lack of competition. Or Barnett spewing how he will finish where fellow pro wrestler Lesnar started in destroying Frank Mir. Neither may get to Sonnen levels of trash-talk but it should still be entertaining

The fight should also be good as both have great submissions and can bang if they need to. Actually, these two are pretty evenly matched and could be a very interesting fight. If Barnett doesn’t win the Grand Prix, he may be able to get a second shot in the octagon. I know Dana is not exactly Barnett’s biggest fan but how many times has Dana gone back on his word?

Heavyweight 2: Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem

What excites me most about this fight as how close it could be from happening. If JDS beats Cain for the belt this fall and Overeem wins the Grand Prix, it is very possible we will get a heavyweight title unification fight. We could be less than six months from Dana tweeting JDS vs. Overeem for sometime next spring/summer.

Besides the title ramification, I am excited to see the top two strikers in the heavyweight division clash. Overeem won the K-1 (kickboxing) Grand Prix last year, and JDS has the best boxing in the division.

JDS is the faster, more agile fighter, but Overeem will undoubtedly be stronger and more powerful. In addition to his quickness, JDS also has shown better boxing than Overeem, using crisp combinations to batter all of his UFC opponents. JDS also did what Overeem couldn’t: knock out Werdum. I think Overeem has better kicks and knees and is probably better in the clinch too.

With two heavyweight monsters standing in the center of the cage and throwing with bad intentions, anything can happen. I think it will come down to whoever lands first, as I do not see this going the distance (whether it be three of five rounds). Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem could answer the age old question of who is the baddest man on the planet.