Joe Ferraro

Frankie Edgar dominated former champ B.J. Penn yet again in Boston.

It was an exceptional, seven-day trip to the city of Boston to cover UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II, and now that the event has come and gone, it's time to take a look at what's next for some of the competing athletes, as well as for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

With Frankie Edgar's five-round domination of B.J. Penn in the main event, it's safe to say that "The Answer" has "The Prodigy's" number. It's no different than many other matchups in the history of prize fighting. For a variety of reasons, there is always a great fighter who has that one opponent who defeats him nearly every single time.

Penn, while dejected, is now left to reevaluate his career. I believe he will be fine, and hope his next matchup with be against "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi. Their first bout in 2003 was epic, and with so much on the line between these two, we can just imagine what will happen inside the Octagon should UFC matchmaker Joe Silva actually put this bout together.

As for Edgar, his next title defence will be against the only man who has ever defeated him, "The Bully" Gray Maynard.

It's going to be a great fight to see, and as it stands right now, a difficult one to analyze. For those who find Maynard's style boring, skip the next two paragraphs. I for one, am an MMA purist, one who appreciates all aspects and techniques of the sport, which includes the intricacies of grappling; whether the variety of takedowns and trips to the positioning on the ground. Maynard has the skills to halt the unstoppable Edgar in his tracks, take the champ down, and grind out a five-round decision.

But the opposite is true as well. Edgar has come a long way since their first bout, and now has the speed and striking to stifle Maynard to the point of frustration. It's a great style vs. style matchup that I sincerely hope will receive the admiration it deserves -- not the boos we are accustomed to now seeing at MMA events from a segment of the fan base that cannot tell the difference between a triangle choke or an arm triangle submission.

Maynard defeated hometown hero Kenny Florian, who is taking a lot of heat from UFC president Dana White, who stated that KenFlo chokes in big fights. I'm not sure I agree with White, but his point comes from the fact that Florian's four losses in the UFC have all come during high-profile situations. The first was to Diego Sanchez on the finale of TUF 1. The second to Sean Sherk in a title fight. The same came vs. Penn, in KenFlo's second attempt at trying to win the lightweight belt, while this one here, to Maynard, was for No. 1 contender status.

But let's not forget that Florian has stepped up and won on various main and co-main events vs. the likes of Sam Stout, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson and the aforementioned Gomi.

Kenny is in a tough situation right now, so I wonder what his next steps may be. There is talk of him moving down to 145 pounds, but that may likely put a huge dent in his earnings.

The UFC 118 co-main event between Randy Couture and James Toney went just as the majority of the MMA world had predicted; mind you, I was one of many who was still worried that "Lights Out" could pull off the victory. But, alas, when you deal with one of the sport's greatest strategists, it's only "Natural" that Couture can make it look so easy.

Captain America used a very rare takedown, the low single leg attack, which was obviously the perfect move to avoid any sort of attack from a boxer, perhaps even a knee throwing Muay Thai stylist. The arm triangle choke was a great finish, although a rear naked would have been classic for Randy as well. We can just imagine the imagery of that photo finish.

While we may never see Toney in the Octagon again, perhaps the same can be said of Randy Couture, who hinted he may just fade away into the MMA sunset. If you missed it, check out the video here to see what I'm talking about.

As for the rest of the card, the results are going to be set up some interesting matchups in the future.

Middleweight Demian Maia stayed relevant in the 185-pound class, and will likely face the winner of UFC Fight Night 22 main event between Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares, which you can catch on Rogers Sportsnet on Sept. 15. As for his opponent, Mario Miranda, he will likely (unfortunately) be relegated to the undercard, as he's now 1-2 in his UFC bouts.

Nate Diaz, who I'd like to see square off against Matt Hughes next, defeated Marcus Davis, who has now lost three of his last four fights, and is on the verge of fighting for his career.

Another option for Diaz (should he decide to return to lightweight), is Joe Lauzon, who put on a masterful performance vs. Gabe Ruedigar. But J-Lau, as seen in this video here, would love the opportunity to avenge his loss to Canadian Sam Stout.

I was also impressed with Greg Soto's come-from-behind victory over Nick Osipczak but not as impressed as I was with Dan Miller's ninja choke of John Salter; we've seen Miller use it before, and it just looks and feels down right nasty.

Misc. news and notes:

-- As predicted nearly six weeks ago in an article here, and on MMA Connected here, UFC 124: GSP vs Koscheck II will take place on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

-- Also, after Jon Bones defeated Vlady Matyushenko on Aug. 1, 24 hours later, on Sportsnet Connected, I stated that I'd like to see him face the winner of UFC 119's co-main event between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ryan Bader. According to "Bones," it looks like it's actually going to happen.

-- White will address the Oxford University's famed Oxford Union Society on Oct. 13, a place that has been graced by the likes of U.S. Presidents, British Prime Ministers and heavyweights from the political, scientific and sporting arenas.

-- At the UFC 118 post-fight press conference, the organization announced the hiring of former Senior Vice President and Managing Director of NBA Asia, Mark Fischer, as their new Executive Vice-President and Managing Director of UFC Asia. I agree with MMA Payout's perspective, that this is a great move, similar to the recent hiring of Tom Wright, as their Director of Operations in Canada.

-- It is expected that top middleweight contenders Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami will headline UFC 122, which takes place on Nov. 13 at Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany, for the right to face off against the winner of the Anderson Silva / Chael Sonnen rematch (expected to take place in early 2011).

-- In this video, Canadian welterweight T.J. Grant talks about his upcoming bout at UFC 119 vs Julio Paulino.

-- While I have long clamoured for the day that Zuffa will amalgamate all seven of its divisions into the UFC, another sign that it may occur is with future seasons of The Ultimate Fighter likely containing a cast of 125-pounders.