UFC 128 will, despite stalwart performances from many other men, be remembered as the coronation of Jon Jones as the future kingpin of 205 pounds. While I think it's worth noting that there was much more going on in New Jersey Saturday night, I also think this idea that the event will be cemented in time as "The Jon Jones Arrival" is fair. The things "Bones" accomplished in the Octagon and who he accomplished them against are without question, astounding.  

Fans following MMA discourse closely after UFC 128's main event probably saw two things happen. First we bared witness to the claims of Jon Jones being unbeatable and the wide-eyed calls for him to immediately face the best fighters on the planet with no regards for weight classes or even organizational boundaries. Next, we saw the reactionary and contrarian calls for people to realize that Jones is being vastly overrated and that his reign will be short-lived. Like all things, I think their can be a middle ground.  At 23 years old, Jon Jones could theoretically do nothing but improve and become the greatest martial artist on the planet. But let's remember that that's theoretically. Long time fans have seen enough dreams derailed and bright prospects snuffed out to know that perhaps we won't be holding our breath. Will this ultimately play out to be another hiccup in a long line of light-heavyweight hot potato, as "The Machida Era" played out? Or will this fight be likened to Anderson Silva's crushing defeat of Rich Franklin to begin his death-grip over the middleweight division? As with all things, unfortunately, only time will tell.

 

As for Jon Jone's peers, there was still plenty of story to tell coming off of UFC 128. For starters, Urijah Faber finally made his long anticipated UFC debut. How many men can say that they have been called a future UFC star for years without even fighting in the organization? Not many beyond the "California Kid". The move that WEC fans have been talking about for about as long as Faber's charismatic smile has been plastered across WEC adds, the arrival of Urijah Faber to the UFC finally took place at UFC 128. Though the finish wasn't quite there, Faber has still most likely secured his place on TUF and set himself firmly on the path to potential super-star status. Many fans feel that Cruz has simply been holding on to the belt for Faber since his drop to bantamweight and we will finally see if they were right later this year.

 

On a less triumphant but no less historically significant note, we probably saw the last high-level Mirko Cro Cop fight at UFC 128. The die-hard fans of the Croation can at least take solace in the fact that he went down giving an up-and coming prospect nearly all he could handle, turning in one of the best performances of his recent career. Unfortunately Cro Cop also learned what fellow MMA superstar Chuck Liddell already has, Father Time will master us all. I doubt Cro Cop will be afforded the concessions that Liddell was with the UFC but the man is already a politician, sports legend, and national hero in his home country so I doubt he would be interested anyway. I think we can all be sure that "The Croation Sensation" will lead a comfortable retirement. 

 

With the historical highlights out of the way it's time to get into the real meat of UFC 128 and discuss what we can see from these fighters going deeper into 2011:

 

Erik Koch def. Raphael Assuncao via KO round 1

Despite the fact that he was once a 15-1 hot prospect in the WEC, Assuncao has now confirmed his mediocrity at the high levels of MMA. I think he will be shown the door here. The UFC has space to spare like mid-town in Hong Kong and it just doesn't permit them to keep a guy like Assuncao. 

Erik Koch on the other hand, has really announced his arrival at 145 pounds as a potential contender with this win. He's clearly well rounded and will be a great addition to a weight class always in need of contenders. Considering the timing, the most appropriate step forward would likely be a fight against the winner of Rani Yahya vs Dustin Poirer. A bout like this could give fans the next up and comer at 145 pounds. Whether it's a surging Poirer and Koch or Yahya on the comeback.

 

 

Joseph Benavidez def. Ian Loveland via Unanimous Decision

Benevidez continues his winning ways, though it wasn't quite as impressive as his supporters would have hoped. The number two bantamweight in the world certainly didn't do anything to hurt his status but he didn't emphatically make a statement that he was "back in the mix" as Dana would say, either.  The UFC love's to pair former title challengers against one another to limit rematches for the belt, so I think the best route would be a Benevidez vs Jorgenson clash. Should Jorgenson defeat Stone this would be a good way to filter former Cruz victims in contention down to one. Not to mention, if you've seen either man fight, you will understand why fans could get very excited for this bout.

For Loveland, there's no shame in losing to the second best fighter in your weight class, especially not when you made such a fight out of it. I think a match with the winner of Charlie Valencia vs Ivan Menjivar would be a good step toward sorting out the middle of 135 lb division. 

 

 

Gleison Tibau def. Kurt Peligrino via Unanimous Decision

Most people expected Tibau's size to be a bit too much for Peligrino and that proved to be something of the deciding factor in this bout. A few Tibau takedowns proved to ultimately be the difference in an exceptionally close fight. While both of these men are talented lightweights who can likely stick around in the UFC, I think what we saw was a fight between two closely matched journeyman Saturday night. For Tibau, I like a bout with Kamal Shalarous going forward. As for Peligrino, at two losses in a row, he will likely be shown a soft hand with matchmaking if he's asked back at all.  A fight with Spencer Fisher to determine which longtime UFC veteran sticks around in 2011 could be fun.

 

 

Mike Pyle def. Ricardo Almeida via Unanimous Decision

Another extremely close fight between UFC journeymen that could have tipped either way. Some of the shine from upsetting John Hathaway has likely faded at this point for Mike Pyle. Going life and death with "Big Dog" in 2011 is not exactly a sign of great things to come for you. Fans  saving up now for tickets to Pyle vs St Pierre should probably hold off. A good move for Pyle and a good opportunity to avenge his teammate could be a bout with Diego Sanchez. The two fighters are so similar in style that I don't see a way we don't get a closely contested and exciting bout. Neither man is a KO artist but both bring a tremendous scrambling and grappling game to the cage that will likely enthrall fans.

For the Brazillian it's back to the drawing boards. As with the Hughes fight, I think we saw a definite ceiling to what Ricardo Almeida can accomplish in his fight against Mike Pyle. The story of Almeida's late career will likely be written in winning a few and losing a few on UFC prelims. Taking on the Aussie standout Brian Ebersole would be an intriguing fight and a good way to see if Almeida can re-establish himself as a staple of 170 lbs. Many fans would be extremely interested to see what kind of antics Ebersole may pull to take advantage of Almeida's poor standup. While others will be watching to see if Almeida can implement his wrestling and elite BJJ skills against such a tricky veteran.

 

 

Edson Barboza def. Anthony Njokuani via Unanimous Decision

A rightful winner of "Fight of the Night" took place on Spike Sat due in no small part to Njokuani being a lot more game than most fans expected.  Barboza's deadly Muay Thai was expected to be too much for Njokuani, who fans saw go down against the unheralded Jewtuszko just a few fights ago. Although there were a few scares early in the fight, Anthony not only acquitted himself nicely, but nearly won the fight. Had it not been for a spinning hook kick to the jaw landing for Barboza, we could be talking about a hype train derailed at UFC 128. Even though Edson Barboza pulled out the win, I do still think a slightly more tempered look needs to be taken at him as a prospect. The fight with Njokuani could have been a bad night for an otherwise sterling prospect or it could have been a demonstration of Barboza's limits as a fighter, we'll ultimately have to wait until Edson Barboza's next fight to truly know. As for the next fight, I like Barboza taking on another WEC veteran in Danny Castillo. Castillo present's an interesting combination of high-level wrestling and heavy hands that will be a great test for the Brazilian at this point in his career. Plus, with Castillo coming off of an upset win over Joe Stevenson, both men are coming up quickly at 155 pounds.

Njokuania will likely be fighting for his job in his next bout so in classic UFC fashion, I wouldn't mind seeing him facing a man in a similar situation. A fight with Joe Stevenson presents an interesting style clash with an added twist of "loser leaves town" for the fans.

 

 

Luiz Cane def. Elliot Marshall via TKO round 

This fight was a reminder to fans of why Luiz Cane was regarded as a potential star at 205 lbs back in 2009. When you put Cane in the cage with sub-par light heavyweights,  your going to be watching a beating. Now with that said, this guy's face seems to have never met a straight left it didn't like so one must temper their excitement just a bit.  A fight with the winner of Brilz vs Matyushenko could be a nice step for the UFC to determine the next guy creeping up on the top 10 of 205.

For Marshall you have to admire the relentless way he pursued a second shot in the UFC but Cane was just not the opponent to do it against. The UFC barely has room for fighters who can actually finish fights so I doubt that there is an abundance of room for "The Fire".

 

 

Brendan Schaub def. Mirko "Crocop" via KO round 1

This was something of a win-win for fans if you look at things correctly. For those who believe in Shcaub as a potential heavyweight contender we got to see the man truly tested. Nose blasted and bleeding, possibly down a round, maybe even losing the fight, he still rallied and came big in the third round with a brutal KO over his former idol. Pat Barry, eat your heart out. For the die-hards behind "Cro Cop" we got to see him take his last meaningful opponent to the brink and as he has said "Shut the mouth's of people who say that I am old." Tired old men don't leave behemoths like Brendan Schaub battered over a ten minute war. Unfortunately though, time has a funny way of catching you on the second pass if it misses you on the first and we saw a depreciated Mirko Flipovich throw a sloppy leg kick that the Mirko who dominated in 2005 would have laughed at. Everyone knows the end result and now Brendan Schaub has truly arrived as a heavyweight contender and Mirko is likely going to finally get around to that fishing trip he's been meaning to take. As for the future for Schaub, I think a fight with Nogueira is perfect. Despite their respective deterioration, taking back to back wins of "Minotauro" and "Cro Cop" is an impressive feat and will solidify Schaub as a potential title challenger. That being said, a win over Schaub would be a perfect way for Nogueira to show that he still has enough of that legendary heart left to make one more run for the title.

 

 

Nate Marquardt def. Dan Miller via Unanimous Decision

One of the few fights tonight where fans essentially got exactly what they expected. We saw a very game Dan Miller just not bring enough skill into the cage to get it done against a technically superior and much stronger Nate Marquardt. For Marquardt this is just a reaffirmation of what perhaps a few fans were starting to question after he went 1-2 in the UFC last year. Nate Marquardt is one of the best middleweights in the game. The most obvious and intriguing matchup for "The Great" would have to be taking on the winner of Jorge Santiago vs Brian Stann. Santiago has been quietly establishing himself as a top middleweight since leaving the UFC and Brian Stann may have the potential to be a contender under the tutelage of his new coaches at Jacksons. Either man would be do well to prove their cases against a former title challenger in Nate Marquardt. As for his potential move to 170 lbs, I've heard enough reports of fighters "thinking about" a weight class change to know to treat them with skepticism, were looking at you, Frank Mir.

While it always sucks to lose, Dan Miller had to know somewhere in his mind that stepping in to fight a guy like Nate Marquardt on one weeks notice might not be the best idea in the world. If we didn't already realize it in the Sonnen, Bisping, and Maia fights, fans can probably rest assured now, that Dan isn't a guy to upset the applecart against the Middleweight division's very best. And you know what, that's ok. There's something to be said for a family man like Miller who has seen such terrible tragedy in his life just stepping up and getting paid to take big fights over and over. At this point, I see no reason we couldn't just re-schedule the Nick Catone fight. Catone is coming off of a win against a guy everyone expected him to beat and Miller is coming off of a loss to guy everyone expected to be too much for him so I doubt either man's standing in the division has shifted drastically.

 

 

Jim Miller def. Kamal Shalarous via TKO round 3

The log-jam in the UFC's lightweight division certainly does no favors to Jim Miller right now. When you consider he's 20-2 overall, 9-1 in the UFC, on a seven fight win streak, and has only lost to the two men about to fight for the second time for the title, you would think the man would be waiting for his own shot at the title. Unfortunately for Jim, that's not exactly the case. One of two things happens for Jim Miller next; either one, Anthony Pettis defeats Clay Guida as expected and takes his number for the next title shot, which would force Miller into taking another fight to prove his lightweight worth and stay active. Or two, Pettis is upset by Guida and Miller is likely ushered directly into a title shot. I'll move forward on the assumption that Miller will need a fight in the interim. The fight that I think would be best for fans as well as the UFC would be Miller fighting a returning Sean Sherk. It was a fight the UFC wanted to see happen at one point for a reason. It has fight of the year potential and would position either man for a title shot in the UFC.  As atrocious as it was, Sherk is still coming off of a "win" over Evan Dunham, is a former champ, and has only lost to current or former champs at 155 himself. These two men represent the cream of the crop at lightweight and the styles match-up for a pick 'em scrap.

 

No one has ever confused Kamal Shalarous for an elite lightweight and he certainly showed why tonight. A simple but interesting piece of match making for the Iranian would be a bout with Glieson Tibau. Fans would be intrigued to see two big, brutish, hard hitters just bang heads in the Octagon.. We could also establish the winner as a good mid-level lightweight and the loser as man MMA fans would probably have to "like" the UFC on Facebook to see much of.

 

 

Urijah Faber def. Eddie Wineland via Unanimous Decision

Finally we've gotten to the arrival of the "California Kid". While Jon Jones stole a great deal of thunder from Faber in terms of coverage for this over-all event, Eddie Wineland snatched up a bit for himself in the actual fight. More people seem to be impressed with Wineland than Urijah coming out of this fight, and rightfully so. Wineland showed much better takedown defense and general ability to handle Urijah Faber's game than anyone expected. That being said, a win is still a win, Faber got the job done, and did what he needed to do to likely secure a spot on TUF. Verbal ballet from Dana White aside, I don't see many more appetizing options for the UFC on next season's miniature version of TUF than to have it headlined by a guy everyone seems to agree is a big time future draw for the UFC. So obviously the next fight for Faber is going to be a showdown with UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and I can't wait. 

For Wineland it's already been said that he impressed in victory and he could prove to be a perennial contender himself. Coming away from this loss, I'd like to see him attempt to right the ship against fellow slugger Damacio Page in a fight tailor-made to open a Spike TV broadcast.

 

Jon Jones def. Mauricio Rua via TKO round 3

What can be said about this fight that hasn't already been said by every blogger, journalist, fan, fighter, and viewer of "The Tonight Show"? Not much really, so I'll just get right down to it. For Jones the next fight is obviously going to be Evans. After that it's going to be interesting to see who get's more favored coming off of beating down an inferior opponent, Rampage or Machida? Things get even more complicated when you stir in the fact that Rampage defeated Machida in November in a fight that many including Rampage himself, thought Machida won. For me, I think Machida presents a more fascinating style clash for Jones while Rampage probably presents the bigger PPV draw (will he ever escape a life of black on black crime?). Add that to the unavoidable fact that Rampage is the one with the "W" on his record from UFC 123 and you likely have him fighting next in line for the belt should he defeat Hamill.

For Shogun it's likely going to be a weird episode of "This is Your Life" for his comeback fight. Will it be a chance to avenge a different embarrassment against the re-surging Griffin? A re-creation of his epic PRIDE run in a re-match with Quinton Jackson? Or will the rubber match be settled between him and "The Dragon"? All three are very appetizing for fans for various reasons but will all answer the same basic question most should have about Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. At 3-3 in the UFC with three embarrassing performances, how does the 2011 incarnation of Rua stack up against the best the UFC has to offer? As with deciding what Jon Jone's true potential is, only time will tell.

 

I know, accusing MMA's possible number one pound for pound fighter of having a quickly stagnating career is a bold statement to make, but hear me out.  First of all, in no way am I making the argument that George St Pierre's celebrity is stagnating. The man just sold 50,000 seats at the Rogers Center probably on solely his name. He's been a TUF coach and has twice been featured on the UFC's "Primetime" hit series. No, my argument is that GSP's career of athletic achieving is stagnating. I think fans have already started to forget how incredible it was to see this quiet Canadian man appear on the MMA scene and fairly quickly over-throw the man regarded as the greatest welterweight ever. Then to see him come back from defeat to dismantle three more of the best welterweights and three of the better fighters in MMA in Alves, Penn, and Fitch was even more sensational. All back to back, all without dropping a single round. How mind-blowingly incredible was that? But now, we see him casually hitting double legs on the likes of Dan Hardy or breaking a bit of a sweat as he smashes Koscheck's eye in for 25 minutes.

Who else was left sitting in front of a tv, wondering why you even had a hint of doubt that St Pierra wouldn't smash his last two opponents? Who else felt that by the second round? The UFC had to bring out a "hail marry play" of promotion for the Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck fights. It took a multi-million dollar TV mini-series for Hardy and an entire season of TUF for Koscheck to make anyone believe GSP's opponents had a chance. Even then most people didn't even think they had snowball's shot in hell, they just wanted to see the champ perform, stretch his legs a little. The fact is, the UFC bag of tricks for selling us on lame-duck challengers is feeling lighter and lighter and patience among MMA fandom is wearing thin. How much longer will it be before GSP humiliating his opponents with his gaping wrestling advantage will impress fans any less than Anderson Silva humiliating Maia and Leites with his striking advantage?

George St Pierre has simply put, cleaned out his division. A very obvious statement yes, but really think about the picture at Welterweight right now. We are approaching a UFC main event which mark's the highest profile 170 lb fight in the UFC until GSP defends his belt in May. And it's between two men that George St Pierre has completely destroyed a combined three times. Of the 12 total rounds Jon Fitch and BJ Penn spent in the cage with St Pierre they managed to win one round between the two of them. That round was five years ago. These are the men who have been matched up in a number one contenders fight for the 170 title. I think that really speaks to the condition of the welterweight division beneath George. Should GSP stick around, does anyone want to see St Pierre/Fitch II or St Pierre/Penn III? 

At this point any MMA fan who pays any attention to Dana White ordaining a potentially blahs-ay main event fight as a title eliminator will be quick to point me to Okami/Marquardt and remind me that these things don't always pan out, the UFC can always pull up a more interesting challenger. But that's were the case for GSP staying at 170 lbs really crumbles. 

It would be tough to argue that right now, the most interesting guy "in the mix" to challenge for GSP's kingpin status is Carlos Condit coming off of his absolute starching of former title challenger Dan Hardy. Let's say Condit heals up, wins another fight and gets his shot. Does any sane MMA fan really believe that a man who couldn't stay on his feet against Rory Macdonald can keep a fight against GSP standing and score a KO? That's not even mentioning that Condit has never been seen as a lights out puncher and that the Hardy KO surprised everyone maybe including Condit himself. Or that with his grappling acumen, Condit would likely be able to survive on the floor just enough to give us something similar to GSP/Penn II and the kind of five rounders fans have been bemoaning. 

So if not Condit, I'm sure the UFC can drum up someone else right? Not so much. We've got Lytle who is likely going to be coming off a fifth straight win. But there's a reason everyone is so surprised to see so many W's next to Lytle's name. He is seen as a mid-card action fighter for a reason. Remember what an aged Matt Hughes did to him at UFC 68? Or more recently what Koscheck did to him at UFC 88? Yes Lytle has tightened his game up since being outpointed by Marcus Davis, but I think it wouldn't be far fetched to argue that Lytle's recent success has come off the back of facing less than elite welterweights and not from some kind of revolution in his game. No one actually believes Lytle has a chance in hell against St Pierre. 

So what about KO power? Thanks to Matt Serra that seems to be a ready-made way to sell a St Pierre title fight. Well we have Alves vs Story coming up and thats a lose lose for the UFC as well. On the one hand we could have Alves coming off of another win, looking great, but do we really want "Pitbull" in another St Pierre fight when we know he couldn't even stop Jon Fitch's onslaught? 

On the other hand, if Story can pull off a win against a man regarded as the third best welterweight in the world, he will likely have to do it in a less than fan friendly way with a great deal of top control. Couple that with his less than stellar decisions over the unheralded Osipczack and Lennox last year and you have a man fans won't likely be interested in either, and rightly so.

I could continue this rundown but I think the readers are starting to get the point and there's no sense in beating a dead horse. There's just nothing at welterweight for GSP right now and he needs to move up weight classes/ There is something inherently interesting about a fighter facing larger competition in combat sports. There's something strangely noble and awe-inspiring about seeing a man who has set himslef apart from men his own size make a bold statement by challenging much larger foes. Just look to Manny Pacquiao if you have any uncertainties about that fact. 

So unless the UFC can teleport Nick Diaz out of a contract, fast-forward about three years of MMA experience into Ben Askren's game, or convince someone like Damien Maia to make a hellacious cut down to 170, I simply don't care about any of GSP's potential opponents at 170 lbs. Im left salivating at the idea of GSP moving up. Let me just leave you with a little litmus test for whether or not any fighter left at 170 can contend with GSP: Is he more talented than BJ Penn? Could he stop a relentless Jon Fitch onslaught? Is he tougher than Thiago Alves? The answer is likely no, and in the wake of leaving those welterweight titans battered and defeated, it's time for GSP to move up to bigger challenges and true legend.

 

                         

 

With Bisping coming off a dominant victory over an opponent  who is likely the best he's ever defeated,  and the middleweight division tied up, the question looms, who's next? 

First of all, a lot of people are saying that the best answer for the UFC regarding Bisping, is for Sonnen to get his suspension downgraded to 6 months. That way, while Sonnen is not fighting and serving out his suspension, he can film a truly epic season of TUF opposite Bisping and the UFC could make a ton of money off of a Sonnen/Bisping #1 contender's match this Summer. I agree that that would be a great way to handle a pair of bad situations but that's simply not going to happen for several reasons.

1.) Sonnen is unlikely to get his sentence reduced. 

2.) The UFC would be perceived as rewarding a guy for failing a drug test.

3.) Bisping coached a season of TUF fairly recently

So why does such a  random fight like Fitch vs Bisping make the most sense for Zuffa? Well I'm already in a list kind of mood so here we go:

1.) All top fighters for Zuffa at middleweight are tied up. Belcher is injured, Sonnen is suspended, Bisping already recently fought Leben and Wand, Okami/Marquardt are tied up with the winner slated for a title shot, and Maia/Grove are tied up. Even if you have Bisping wait out the winner of Maia/Grove you still have problems. Either Grove wins and is unfit to fight someone on the level of Bisping, or Maia wins and you have a situation where Bisping could very well lose to a guy no one ever wants to see in the same arena as Anderson Silva, much less the same cage.

2.)Jon Fitch is a big problem for Zuffa at 170 lbs. After defeating Alves almost easily he's shown that he more than likely will handle any WW not named GSP. He's now at a 5 fight win streak since his beat-down at the hands of GSP and fighting anything less than a top contender would be an insult to him. With GSP eating the division Zuffa can't afford to lose any top contenders to Fitch. So what to do?

3.) Fitch has already said he's interested in fighting at 185 lbs. I think Fitch can see the writing on the wall. If Zuffa actually had any interest whatsoever in Fitch/GSP 2, they would have signed it after Fitch was on a 3 fight win streak, or a four fight win streak, or maybe after he defeated the number 3 welterweight in the world, or maybe even after they actually promised it to him: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/5/1607516/photo-by-dave-mandel-of-sherdog. It's Just simply not going to happen and I think Fitch knows that now. After watching the way Silva/Sonnen played out, he probably even thinks he's got a great shot against the 185 lb champ. He might be right.

4.) Zuffa can afford Bisping losing to Fitch. Bisping is no longer the prized British possession that the UFC is trying to coddle into a title shot, that all got blown away in the Dan Henderson fight. Everyone now knows Bisping is a flawed fighter, including UK Fans. More importantly, he's not a prized WW contender like Shields or Kim. If Bisping losses to Fitch, it's just back to the drawing board for him like it was after the Rashad loss, the Hendeson loss, and the Wand loss. He's seen this show before. No shame in losing to the number 5 pound for pound fighter in the world.

5.) Jon Fitch is the number five pound for pound fighter in the world. Considering the fact that Sonnen was the first real title challenger Silva has faced in well over two years, and that even then, Sonnen was a clearly flawed fighter as shown by his high profile and embarrassing defeat at the hands of Demian Maia not too long ago, Silva is in need of a challenger to not only test him but to re-establish himself as a dominant pound for pound champion. Assuming Fitch could get through Bisping (I think he would rightfully be a heavy favorite) Fitch would have to be considered Silva's toughest challenge since Dan Henderson. You may not think of it when you hear "Fitch vs Silva" but that is a fight between the number one and number five pound for pound best fighters in the world.

6.) Fitch is a great way for Zuffa to "sneak" Bisping into a title shot. Bisping vs Silva in the UK for the belt is a dream the UFC has been chasing since "The Count" beat down McCarthy at UFC 83. The problem is, he's just not good enough to win the fights he needs to get there. The top five is filled with guys who are tough fights for Bisping. No one is really going to argue if you picked guys like Sonnen, Marquardt, Okami, Maia, and Belfort over Bisping. Now I did say earlier that I would favor Fitch over Bisping but Fitch does bring two things to the cage that none of the other top middleweights do: A lack of finishing ability and a size disadvantage. Bisping could very well use those two things to outpoint a decision victory over the fifth best fighter in the world. A win over Fitch would finally legitimize Bisping as a title challenger after he was majorly set back at UFC 100 then stumbled yet again against The Axe Murderer. If Bisping can cap off victories over two very solid middleweights with a win over a guy like Fitch then Zuffa would finally have sufficient reason in the fans eyes to put on a massive money-making fight.

So there you go Zuffa, fix two problems at once, set up a main-event worthy matchup, and potentially set up a mega fight or a money fight for a champ your constantly having trouble promoting.

You're welcome...