As soon as Cain Velasquez had the UFC heavyweight title securely fastened around his waist on Saturday night, people started wondering what comes next for the reigning, undisputed heavyweight champion.
Immediately following the bout, UFC president Dana White suggested that Brazilian veteran Fabricio Werdum was likely next in line, having turned back three successive opponents in impressive fashion since returning to the Octagon at UFC 143.
Looking at the current composition of the division, it’s the right fight to make, without question. There is no one else in the upper echelon that carries a comparable winning streak, and the only other potential opponents for the now 13-1 champion -– Josh Barnett and Travis Browne – are locked in to fight each other on the final fight card of the year, UFC 168 on Dec. 28.
While Werdum is the literal answer to the question “What comes next for Cain Velasquez?” the truth is that the dominant champion is really at a point where he’s facing off with history every time he steps into the cage.
Saturday night’s win over dos Santos was his second consecutive successful title defence, bringing him into a tie for the most in the history of the heavyweight division with Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, and Brock Lesnar.
And the manner in which he disposed of dos Santos – taking some of his best shots, brutalizing him along the cage, suffocating him with his grappling – reiterated that as much as the UFC 166 headliners are clearly the top two heavyweights in the UFC, the gap between first and second is sizable.
That puts Velasquez into the kind of territory previously reserved for long-reigning champions like Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, where it’s not a question of “Who will win?” but rather “Can anyone beat the champ?”
Surveying the American Kickboxing Academy product’s last four victories, it’s hard to see anyone in the division defeating him at this point. Outside of being caught with a thunderous overhand right to the temple, we haven’t seen any real weaknesses from Velasquez, and each subsequent performance gives us something new to fixate on.
As I said Friday heading into his trilogy bout with “Cigano” – he might be the perfect heavyweight, and picking a member of the contender class that is capable of unseating him at this point is impossible.
Werdum will present a new wrinkle we’ve yet to see the champion deal with in the cage – a dangerous, decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who isn’t afraid of being on his back – but my initial thought is that regardless of your acumen on the mat, being on your back with Velasquez raining down punches and elbows from top position isn’t someplace many fighters would want to be for extended periods.
Time will tell whether the heavyweight champion’s reign turns out to be akin to the dominant runs set forth by St-Pierre and Silva or more like “The Machida Era,” which officially lasted 12 months, but looked to have ended just five months after it started.
Personally, I think we’re at the dawn of a run of dominant performances from Velasquez, and I can’t wait to see him back in the cage defending his title.
Here’s a look at the other fights I would make for Saturday’s UFC 166 main card winners.
Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem
Provided “The Reem” gets through Frank Mir in February, the UFC will once again have the opportunity to make the bout that was supposed to headline UFC 145.
While they usually don’t like to match fighters coming off a loss with another coming off a win, this is a bout that (1) has some history to it, (2) would make perfect sense for both parties, and (3) would be capable of headlining a televised event or even a pay-per-view.
Dos Santos is the clear No. 2 in the division, but he needs some time off to get over this loss, and regroup. If Overeem saves his place on the roster with a victory over Mir, chances are the UFC won’t be able to pass up pitting these two rivals against one another this time around.
Daniel Cormier vs. Thiago Silva
I know there was talk of pairing Cormier with Alexander Gustafsson in his light-heavyweight debut, but I think that would be a colossal mistake. There is absolutely no need to eliminate a potential title contender at this point given the dearth of elite talent in the division, which makes a fight with an established name, but considerably less dangerous opponent like Silva the ideal matchup for Cormier’s first foray in the 205-pound ranks.
You have to remember – DC has never made 205 as a mixed martial artist and that first fight could be flat. Why put a huge amount of weight on his shoulders heading into that bout, when you’ve still got Gustafsson and perhaps even Phil Davis waiting in the wings as title challengers?
Let him get down to the light-heavyweight limit, get a win and then set him up with a title eliminator tilt. He’s the No. 1 contender by the end of next year if everything goes according to Hoyle.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Anthony Pettis/Josh Thomson winner
Lost in the hyperbole surrounding Saturday’s lightweight classic between Melendez and Diego Sanchez is the fact that outside of a couple dicey moments early and one nasty uppercut in the third round, “El Nino” dominated this fight.
It was a tremendous bounce-back win for the former Strikeforce champion, and given that he narrowly missed out on winning the lightweight title when he faced Henderson in April, I fully expect the UFC to match Melendez with the winner of the Dec. 7 title bout between Pettis and Thomson.
As much as I would like to see TJ Grant keep his place in line, his injury and subsequent recovery came at a horrible time (not that there is ever a good time to get injured) and the Cole Harbour, N.S., native is bound to get shuffled back into the lightweight deck now.
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Stipe Miocic
We continually talk about Gonzaga as a heavyweight measuring stick, so having just halted Shawn Jordan’s climb up the rankings, why not throw him back into the fray with another up-and-coming talent like Miocic?
The Cleveland native hasn’t fought since handily defeating Roy Nelson at UFC 161 in Winnipeg and needs to show that he can get through a fighter of Gonzaga’s stature before anyone is going to truly see him as a legitimate threat in the heavyweight division. For Gonzaga, it’s a chance to knock off another emerging talent and continue to strengthen his own case for contention, something I didn’t think was a possibility when he returned at UFC 142.
John Dodson vs. Ian McCall/Scott Jorgensen winner
Dodson blistered Darrell Montague on Saturday night, showcasing the devastating power that makes him a serious threat to anyone in the flyweight division.
With Joseph Benavidez set to rematch Demetrious Johnson for the title at the end of November, pairing “The Magician” up with the winner of this UFC on FOX 9 bout would set the table for the winner to challenge for the title.
I just don’t think the UFC would be in a hurry to rush McCall back into a bout with either Johnson (whom he’s fought twice) or Benavidez (whom he lost to back in February), and while besting “Uncle Creepy” would be a great way for Jorgensen to start his flyweight career, a single win following a 1-3 close to his bantamweight career shouldn’t be enough to merit a title shot.
This way, no one is being rushed into a title shot, and a true No. 1 contender is being determined.