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UFC 145 is now in the books, with Jon Jones retaining the light heavyweight title with a dominant decision win over his former teammate Rashad Evans.
It was a solid night of fights all around, with young talents like Rory MacDonald, Michael McDonald, and Travis Browne stepping up and proving they’re ready to contend in their respective divisions.
With Atlanta in the rear view mirror, it’s time to look ahead to what’s next for Saturday’s UFC 145 winners.
Jon Jones
Next Opponent: Dan Henderson
UFC President Dana White confirmed Saturday night that the 41-year-old veteran would be the next man to step into the cage with Jones, giving Henderson the title fight he promised him.
It’s an interesting match-up from a generational standpoint, as Henderson remains one of the most underrated all-time greats in the history of the sport in my books, but on paper, I’m not liking Henderson’s chances right about now.
With the explosive power he has in his hands, and a chin made of adamantium, there’s always a chance.
That being said, having seen the way Jones has handled four straight former champions, Henderson will enter the fight as a serious underdog, and need to find a home for his overhand right if he hopes to add UFC gold to his vast collection of titles.
Rory MacDonald
Next Opponent: Diego Sanchez
The young Canadian scored an impressive victory over British striker Che Mills over the weekend, controlling him on the ground with his superior grappling and pounding out a second round stoppage.
It’s the third consecutive win for MacDonald, who has proven himself ready for a step up in competition and exposure moving forward.
Personally, I think the best course of action is to put him on a welterweight version of ‘The Jon Jones Plan’ from a couple years ago: a steady diet of recognizable names at the top of televised cards, showcasing him to as many people as possible.
MacDonald has all the skills to become a champion in the future, and the future isn’t that far off. The time has come to start introducing the next generation of stars to a larger audience, and the 22-year-old standout is at the top of that list.
Ben Rothwell
Next Opponent: Matt Mitrione
There’s been a push in the last couple days to have Rothwell fill the opening opposite Roy Nelson at UFC 146, but I think that’s jumping the gun a little. Yes they have a history – Rothwell beat Nelson in 2007 – but one win shouldn’t move Rothwell in to a meeting with the division’s top end gatekeeper.
While he came into Saturday’s fight in tremendous shape, he got rocked by Brendan Schaub early, and is only one fight removed from looking awful against Mark Hunt at UFC 135 in Denver.
He didn’t look all that good beating Gilbert Yvel in Vancouver in June 2010 either.
For me, Mitrione makes sense right now. The charismatic former NFLer is coming off his first career loss to Cheick Kongo, and while the UFC doesn’t usually like to pair winner and losers together, this would make sense to me.
A win for Rothwell puts him into that second cut of competitors in the heavyweight division, while Mitrione gets a chance to bounce back against a guy coming off a solid, much talked about win.
Michael McDonald
Next Opponent: Brian Bowles
Yes, Bowles is coming off a loss, while McDonald is coming off the biggest win of his career, a first-round knockout of Miguel Torres on Saturday night, but a pairing with another former champion is the right direction to take with the 21-year-old talent.
McDonald followed Bowles’ blueprint for beating Torres at UFC 145, and setting up the two together could produce fireworks, and potentially the next man to challenge for the bantamweight title.
Eddie Yagin
Next Opponent: Ricardo Lamas
Saturday’s biggest surprise winner put together a solid showing in upsetting former title challenger Mark Hominick in the Fight of the Night. After dropping his debut to Junior Assuncao, Yagin looked more comfortable in the cage in Atlanta, planting his feet, and throwing heat from start to finish.
The victory certainly opened some eyes, but it’s still just a single victory, so instead of pushing him up the rankings too quickly, how about a meeting with another solid, but relatively unknown featherweight, Ricardo Lamas?
‘The Bully’ has won back-to-back contests since moving down to the 145-pound ranks, and needs a recognizable opponent next if he wants to climb the rankings.
For Yagin, beating another solid member of the featherweight middle class proves Saturday wasn’t a fluke, and would bring an even bigger opportunity in the future.
Mark Bocek
Next Opponent: Matt Wiman
This match-up made sense to me when it was first announced for UFC 145, and it still makes sense to me now that Bocek has added a second consecutive win to his resume.
Wiman is a solid grappler with good hands, the kind of guy Bocek needs to be able to beat if he wants to move into contention in the lightweight division.
While he’s always going to be a tough out for whomever he faces, Bocek hasn’t collected any real quality wins in the UFC yet.
He’s lost to some solid competition, and keeps beating the guys in the middle of the pack that he’s matched up against, but if he wants to make a run at the Top 10, he needs to start by beating a durable vet like Wiman first.
Travis Browne
Next Opponent: Roy Nelson
While lots of people want Ben Rothwell to fill the opening created as a result of the Alistair Overeem fallout, my vote goes to Browne, who looked outstanding collecting Submission of the Night for his arm triangle choke win over Chad Griggs.
Unlike Rothwell, Browne has already had a couple quality showings in the UFC prior to Saturday’s card in Atlanta, earning Knockout of the Night honors last May in a win over Stefan Struve, and battling perennial gatekeeper Cheick Kongo to a draw at UFC 120.
‘Hapa’ moves exceptionally well for a man of his stature, and is a dark horse contender in the division. A pairing with the hard-to-put-away “Big Country” seems like the next logical step in the unbeaten heavyweight’s progression.
E. Spencer Kyte is a freelance mixed martial arts writer from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He is a regular contributor to ufc.com, UFC Magazine, and Fight Magazine, as well as being the author of Keyboard Kimura, the MMA blog of Vancouver’s leading newspaper, The Province.
You can follow him on Twitter (@spencerkyte) and Facebook (facebook.com/Keyboard Kimura).
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