November Aftermath: What's next for Velasquez, Rua, Fedor and Bonnar?
Posted on November 24, 2011, 10:23 AM by Anton GurevichCain Velasquez, Mauricio Rua, Fedor Emelianenko and Stephan Bonnar were all in the headlines during November, which was without a doubt one of the most entertaining months in MMA history.
On the losing side; Velasquez lost his UFC Heavyweight title to Junior dos Santos in just 60 seconds, one week before Shogun Rua lost a decision after five rounds of war with Dan Henderson at UFC 139. Our list of winners includes Fedor Emelianenko, who broke Jeff Monson's leg in Moscow, and Stephan Bonnar, who displayed a well-rounded MMA game in a Unanimous Decision victory over Kyle Kingsbury.
All four fighters are currently without a match-up set in stone, so as always, it's our job to speculate about who they should be fighting next. I tried to avoid rematches, simply because a. I believe this sport has too many of them, and b. it's always nice to talk about fights we've never seen before.
Feel free to share your "what's next" predictions in the comments section below.
Cain Velasquez: It’s hard to judge negatively about Cain Velasquez after just 60 seconds inside the Octagon with Junior dos Santos. However, one thing is true – activity will be a key factor for Cain Velasquez during 2012. Velasquez is yet to regain peak form that made him the UFC Heavyweight Champion. With Fedor Emelianenko and Cheick Kongo aside, there’s one match-up that fits like a glove for Cain Velasquez – “The Reem” Alistair Overeem. If the Dutchman loses to Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, this is a fight that has to be made in the UFC Heavyweight division. However, if Overeem beats Lesnar and gets his shot at the title, I would prefer to see Velasquez rematching Cheick Kongo, and Brock Lesnar getting a rubber match with Frank Mir, regardless of his bout with Minotauro Nogueira.
Mauricio Rua: Shogun was unable to put together two back to back victories since the 2009 victories over Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman. Inconsistency is a big problem for the PRIDE legend, and I think no one would disagree with the idea that Shogun has to make some changes if he still wants to wear the UFC Light Heavyweight title around his waist. Rua had three wars in 2011, so at least in my opinion; the Brazilian definitely earned his rest and the opportunity to take a step back for some re-evaluation. Rich Franklin is a very logical and intriguing match-up for Rua, probably sometime in mid-2012.
Fedor Emelianenko: In his next bout, “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko is expected to square off against the judoka Satoshi Ishii, headlining DREAM’s “Genki Desu Ka Omisoka” card in Saitama, Japan. While Ishii is definitely not stroll in the park for Fedor, I feel like the match-up with Sergei Kharitonov is currently the best possible route for Emelianenko. In terms of rankings and the intrigue around such fight, Emelianenko could find himself once again in the Top 10 of Heavyweight rankings. Ishii is a legit Mixed Martial Artist, but a victory over 4-1-1 fighter with virtually no high level MMA experience would have a very little effect on Emelianenko’s status. Fedor stated not once that he’s not interested in fi
Stephan Bonnar: The American Psycho managed to get three consecutive victories inside the Octagon, currently looking to get himself in the mix for a shot at the title. Still, I think many would agree that Bonnar is yet to get that “wow” victory, so necessary in any sort of title shot aspirations. Rampage Jackson is a perfect match-up for Stephan Bonnar, who will be looking to follow the footsteps of his “soulmate” Forrest Griffin by victimizing the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Stephan Bonnar has to fight a high-caliber legend, and Rampage Jackson is more than a perfect match.
Comments
For bonnar i would say Ryan Bader
For Cain i would say Mir regardless of ufc 140 outcome.... or Roy nelson
For Shogun either Rampage or Rich Franklin
And for Fedor why not a recent UFC departee... like a Gylbert Ivel... but Sergie is probably the best option..
I feel like ive basically copy and pasted antons article..... what im trying to say here is i agree with you anton..lol :)
For Cain I would love to see a fight with Overeem indeed but Cheick Kongo, Travis Browne or Frank Mir are also potentially good options. Or maybe the UFC will bring some of the Strikeforce fighters, and there match-ups with Bigfoot, Cormier or Werdum make sense.
As for Shogun, I don't really see him against Rich Franklin. Phil Davis, Rampage or even Thiago Silva (when he gets back) are good match-ups. A win over anyone of those would be possible and very good for Shogun's career.
What about Fedor? He has to fight big names. The UFC and Strikeforce are the only places where he can ensure the legitimacy of his legacy. Kharitonov, Barnett, avenging his losses to Bigfoot or Werdum. That's what he needs to do if he goes back to Strikeforce. And in the UFC well he has some many options. Any top 10 UFC heavyweight is a great match-up.
Bonnar needs a good win. Matyushenko, Gustaffson, Soszynski, Ortiz/Nogueira winner, Bader or Franklin all make sense in my opinion.
I'm looking forward to these fighter's next fights ;)
From where do you know that? The UFC and Strikeforce are the only places where he can ensure the legitimacy of his legacy?? are who decide who is good fighter or not?
Kinda is true....just look at Eddie Alvarez, he just lost to a solid fighter in Michael Chandler n Eddie's been basically labeled overrated n went from top 5 LW's in the world to like outside top 15 in most ppl's list
Cain has to fight Carwin next. They have not fought. Both of them lost to JDS, both dominated Brock, both need to stay relevant.
In those kind of situations, you can tell that the UFC HW division is not as deep as it may sound. They need to bring Werdum, Big Foot, Barnett and Cormier. Fight with either of those guys would make a good sense for any of the UFC fighters and not recycling Nelson again and again.
The HW division is not and never was or will be deep. That said, it is the best it has ever been and all of the top ten guys are in Zuffa's house except for Fedor. The fact that Fedor is still arguably top ten after three losses just shows how shallow the division really is.
cain vs mir,
lesnar vs big nog
i like that... ill give the winner of mir vs big nog against cain and the loser of brock vs overeem vs the loser of mir vs big nog.
then give a contender fight between the winner of cain vs bignog/mir against the winner of the strikeforce grandprix
if overeem loses with brock i wont like his fight with cain because that will have to be a contender fight and IMO they will need 1 win before another contender fight
a fight ive always been very interested on watching will be brock against a top bjj guy like werdum or big nog
Velasquez vs winner Nogueira/Mir. When they make Cain vs loser Brock/Alistair they lose a contender. Because it's very hard to come back after 2 loses and get a title shot.
Shogun vs. Thiago Silva, would love to see that battle.
Wanderlei vs Mayhem (if loses to Bisping)
Le vs. Tavares. Winnable fight for Le, because Tavares is a striker and doesn't have the best footwork in the game.
Bowles vs Jorgensen
Kampmann vs Alves (already in the making)
Story vs. Pierce. Pierce really dislikes Story.
Bonnar vs Bader
Kingsbury vs TeHuna
Rampage vs Davis
McDonald vs Torres
Weidman vs Belcher
Baczynski vs Sadollah
Castillo vs M. Johnson
If Dream has the money they should try to make Fedor Emelianenko vs Mirco Cro Cop II. If they offer Cro Cop enough money he would do it
Pointless fight at this point. Fedor would KO Mirko in the first round.
barao vs miguel torres
guida vs maynard
florian vs siver
wanderlei vs bisping (win or lose against mayhem)
stann vs maia
cung le vs leben
travis browne vs roy nelson
i hope they dont give bafer too rampage.. i think bader had a big future but they through him in with jones too quicky.. he needs a few more wins over middle range competition before he gets a top 5 opponent. bonnar vs bader makes pefect sence, winner moves to the top of the division, loser works at a gatekeeper!
Agreed. Rampage will savage that guy.
i ment bader** sorry haha