Nate Diaz and Johny Hendricks entered their respective fights with the opportunity to challenge for UFC gold within their reach.
Middleweight Alan Belcher felt like he had something to prove against Rousimar Palhares, and Lavar Johnson was keen to show the world that his debut knockout of Joey Beltran was just a taste of what’s to come.
Saturday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey, all four men came away with their hands raised – Diaz, Belcher, and Johnson earning impressive stoppage victories, while Hendricks edged out veteran Josh Koscheck in an entertaining welterweight contest that went the distance.
Now that the dust has settled from the latest exciting night of action inside the Octagon, it’s time to figure out what comes next for the four main card winners.
Nate Diaz
Next Opponent: Anthony Pettis
While the early talk coming out of this event was that Diaz would wait to face the winner of the upcoming lightweight title rematch between Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar, I can’t see it happening.
That fight isn’t officially on the schedule as yet, and a lot could happen in the interim that would make Diaz rethink his decision to wait out the winner. Though I do see Diaz taking a longer break than normal, I think we’re more likely to see him paired with Anthony Pettis is a “#1 Contender Bout” sometime this fall than we are seeing him resting on the sidelines for the next eight or nine months.
Pettis is coming off a highlight-reel win over Joe Lauzon in February, but is only two fights removed from a one-sided loss to Clay Guida. Still, a win over Diaz would cement him as the top contender in the division. For Diaz, Pettis is the only option that makes sense other than waiting; he’s not going to risk his place in line against someone too far down the lightweight ladder, if he risks it at all.
As much as I think Diaz should wait, I just can’t envision him sitting out the rest of the year.
Johny Hendricks
Next Opponent: Winner of Carlos Condit/Georges St-Pierre
Hendricks is in a curious position following his decision win against Josh Koscheck over the weekend – interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit is intent to wait on injured champ Georges St-Pierre, and there aren’t many other options at the top of the 170-pound division for “Bigg Rigg” to face.
Personally, I think Hendricks is the first in line to challenge for the welterweight title, and believe he should patiently wait to see who emerges from the anticipated November title unification bout in Montreal, Quebec. Additionally, if something were to happen to either Condit or St-Pierre, Hendricks should be the first choice to step in for either man.
Only one other person has beaten both Koscheck and his longtime teammate Jon Fitch, and that’s St-Pierre. As strong as Jake Ellenberger has looked of late, Hendricks has now beaten back-to-back top five opponents, and won four straight overall, enough to earn #1 contender status in my books.
Alan Belcher
Next Opponent: Winner of Vitor Belfort/Wanderlei Silva
Having earned his fourth consecutive victory over the weekend – and sixth in his last seven outings – Belcher has worked his way into the upper tier of the middleweight division. All that’s missing thus far is a marquee match-up with a big name opponent in the 185-pound ranks.
That’s why the winner of the upcoming battle between TUF: Brazil coaches Belfort and Silva makes perfect sense: both are established stars capable of filling a main card slot on any pay-per-view, potentially even serving as the co-main event on the right card. Like Belcher, neither is quite ready to challenge for the middleweight title just yet, so a pairing with the surging Mississippi native would be a very good fit.
Belcher has always been viewed as a fighter with loads of potential; consistency had been the issue early in his career. He’s seemingly put it all together, as he showed against Palhares, and could find himself in the thick of the title chase with one more solid victory.
Lavar Johnson
Next Opponent: Gabriel Gonzaga
After earning back-to-back first-round knockout wins to start his UFC career, Johnson is in line for a step up in competition.
Enter former title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga. Forced from his UFC 146 pairing with Roy Nelson due to an injury, “Napao” is a solid veteran with good all-around skills; the exact type of opponent Johnson needs to beat if he wants to make any kind of serious run in the heavyweight ranks.
Gonzaga has been willing to play with fire in the past, coming out on the business end of stand-up encounters with Junior dos Santos, Shane Carwin, and Brendan Schaub, but he has solid power of his own to go along with one of the best ground games in the heavyweight division.
Johnson has earned a bigger name opponent for his next fight, and Gonzaga fits the bill nicely.
E. Spencer Kyte is a mixed martial arts writer from British Columbia, Canada. He is a regular contributor to ufc.com, UFC Magazine, and Fight Magazine, as well as the author of Keyboard Kimura, the MMA blog of Vancouver’s leading newspaper, The Province. Follow him on Twitter (@spencerkyte) and Facebook (facebook.com/KeyboardKimura)
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