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The UFC 158 event has come and past with the welterweight title picture becoming clear as day with GSP successfully defending his belt and Johny Hendricks defeating Carlos Condit.
Jake Ellenberger moved into that upper tier of welterweights with his highlight reel knockout win over Nate Marquardt. Rick Story put himself back on the map with a win against Quinn Mulhern. It was a good event that should produce some great fights moving forward. Let’s put our UFC matchmaker hat on once again:
–GSP: No brainer that he’s fighting Johny Hendricks in his next shot. Hendricks clearly is the number one contender. That was the cause before Saturday night..but whatever.
–Nick Diaz: I doubt he retires. He might goto jail since he said he has never paid taxes in his life. If neither of those happen, a rematch with Carlos Condit must happen.
–Johny Hendricks: See above.
–Carlos Condit: See above.
–Jake Ellenberger: Good win over Nate Marquardt, Marquardt was already coming off a decisive loss and isn’t a top five welterweight. Ellenberger needs to beat a top five welterweight to get in the title picture. Enter Rory MacDonald who was supposed to fight Condit on the card but pulled out with an injury. I wouldn’t put Condit against MacDonald with Condit coming off back-to-back losses.
–Nate Marquardt: He needs a win and badly. He and Josh Koscheck are both coming off first round knockout losses. Match’em up.
–Chris Camozzi: He’s won four in a row now. It’s time to step up the competition. I’d match him with Brian Stann. Stann is coming off the brutal KO loss to Wanderlei Silva, but he’s still ranked higher than Camozzi at the moment.
–Mike Ricci: Solid win for Ricci over Dr. Freakshow. Put him up against any up and coming lightweight you want really.
–Rick Story: I was glad to see Story get back on track with an impressive victory. Him and Robbie Lawler would be fireworks, and keep in mind that Story is the only fighter to have beaten the current number one contender in Johny Hendricks.
–Darren Elkins: He has rattled off five consecutive wins as a featherweight. It’s time to really test him. Nik Lentz has won two straight and would be the perfect matchup.
–TJ Dillashaw: Impressive win for Dillashaw. He has won three straight since his only defeat at the hands of John Dodson. He is still relatively young and simply needs more experience. Any up and comer or aging veteran will do.
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