The days and weeks following a major UFC event is often the most exciting time for mixed martial arts fans because it affords them the opportunity to debate and speculate on what UFC matchmaker Joe Silva should do next.
As unfortunate as it is when a fighter suffers an injury and is forced to pull out of a fight, that too becomes an opportunity for a new, exciting matchup.
When news broke that UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz tore his ACL and his UFC 148 rubber match with Urijah Faber would be cancelled, talk began to swirl of what the potential options are for Faber.
Some think he should wait until Cruz is healthy, but Faber won’t sit on the shelf gathering dust for the nine or so months it will take for Cruz to heal.
Others brought up names like Renan Barao, Michael McDonald and Brad Pickett.
If the UFC does decide to pin Faber against someone in a No. 1 contender’s bout, Barao is the clear choice. Pickett needs a few more wins to be considered a top title contender and McDonald, although displaying absolutely phenomenal technical skill, needs one more win against a top-tier bantamweight to earn a title shot.
Barao is currently on an 18-fight win streak and is unbeaten in his last 29 bouts. His only loss came in his professional debut — a split decision to Ze Pipoko in Brazil in April 2005.
The Brazilian has proven he can out-strike and out-grapple the best in the division. He trains with Nova Uniao, one of the most reputable teams in the sport that is also home to UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo, Bellator bantamweight champ Eduardo Dantas, and Marlon Sandro among others.
Even though Barao is scheduled to fight Canadian Ivan Menjivar at UFC 148 on July 7, based on his virtually unblemished record and recent impressive performances, he deserves a shot against Faber. Sorry Ivan.
With that in mind, here are some other matchups featuring fighters that have recently competed inside the Octagon that would make sense.
Rory MacDonald vs. John Hathaway
When MacDonald demolished dangerous striker Che Mills at UFC 145, anyone skeptical of the young Canadian was no longer in doubt.
Following Johny Hendricks’ split-decision win over Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3: Diaz vs. Miller, many were saying MacDonald and Hendricks would pair up. But, expect the Texan to fight the winner of next month’s TUF Live finale main event between Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann.
Since MacDonald (13-1) is in no rush to get a title shot — he has stated repeatedly he will under no circumstances fight champion Georges St-Pierre, who is his friend and training partner — there’s no need for him to be involved in title eliminators just yet.
Putting him against another young, proven up-and-comer like Hathaway, who looked great in a win over Pascal Krauss at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 3, would both be good for his development and could be a more even matchup than his tilt with Mills.
Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett
As mentioned above McDonald needs one more good win over a top-flight fighter, and Pickett would be the toughest test of his career thus far. Although McDonald has a speed advantage in most of his fights, Pickett is one of the liveliest in the division and would be a challenge. A win over the upstart McDonald would bump Pickett a few spots up the 135-pound ladder.
Both men are coming off beautiful wins — Pickett a submission of Damacio Page on April 14, and McDonald a devastating knockout of former WEC champ Miguel Torres at UFC 145 the weekend after.
Lavar Johnson vs. Shane Carwin
Johnson looked like a man possessed as he knocked out Pat Barry in devastating fashion at UFC on FOX 3. It was his second consecutive performance good enough to win Knockout of the Night — he knocked out the notoriously hard to finish Joey Beltran in January, also with a barrage of punches against the cage.
An interesting opponent for Johnson would be Carwin. The former No. 1 heavyweight contender hasn’t fought since UFC 131 in Vancouver and is recovering from neck surgery, but is expected to return sometime in mid-to-late 2012.
A Johnson vs. Carwin matchup would pit possibly the two hardest punchers in the UFC against one another — although Junior dos Santos would argue against that.
Mark Bocek vs. Danny Castillo
Both men are coming off unanimous decision wins over quality opponents (Bocek over John Alessio last month and Castillo over John Cholish on Saturday). Although neither man is in the lightweight title picture right now, both can hang with the division’s best.
Castillo would have the edge in wrestling and striking, but Bocek’s world-class jiu-jitsu and ability to drag fights to the ground would make for an interesting, strategy-testing matchup.
Tim Elliott vs. John Lineker
Okay, both of these flyweights were defeated in their UFC debuts on Saturday, but they put on excellent, fan-friendly performances.
Elliott’s style is somewhat reminiscent of Cruz’s. He switches stances often and uses unconventional footwork to stay elusive — except Cruz doesn’t throw spinning heel kicks and cartwheel kicks like Elliott did against John Dodson.
Linkeker never shies away from a brawl and is willing to put himself in dangerous positions, which makes for exciting fights.
Chris Clements vs. Matt Brown
It’s simple. These guys come to fight. Both men have solid striking skills and aren’t afraid to get bloody. They both are willing to eat some shots in order to hand out their own.
Both are coming off explosive performances at UFC 145, and this matchup would have the potential to be a good old-fashioned slobberknocker.