After UFC 129: "St. Pierre vs. Shields," the critics have emerged from the woodwork to get their two cents in about what they thought of the main event between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields.
The fight went the distance -- like most fights these days that feature "Rush" -- and at its conclusion, many fans in attendance, at home and online, made their feelings heard.
Literally.
Whether the boo-bird criticism is pointed toward St. Pierre for not having that "killer instinct" or you’re confused by what exactly Jake Shields’ gameplan was coming into the fight, one fact remains:
Both men will fight another day.
But against who?
Follow me after the jump to see what options are on the table for both fighters, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, and you, the fans, who will cough-up your hard-earned cash to see them return to action ... perhaps sooner rather that later:
I don’t see fans clamoring for a rematch between Shields and GSP anytime soon, and I’m sure the UFC knows that, so it’s likely they’ll put him in with a mid-to-high ranked guy.
The upcoming fight between Nate Marquardt and Anthony Johnson could produce his next challenge.
Marquardt is making his welterweight debut in that fight, plus he’s coming off of a win at middleweight over Dan Miller at UFC 128, so it’s likely "The Great" only needs a couple wins to secure himself in the title picture.
Historically, we’ve seen fighters get rewarded with less work when they drop down in weight class (see Urijah Faber for example). As for Anthony Johnson, he always seems like a guy the UFC is pushing.
His comeback fight against Dan Hardy at Fight Night 24 back in March was the co-main event. And although he may have surprised some with him game plan in that fight, he showed that he’s willing to use all of his skills, even if it means putting on a less-thrilling fight.
"Rumble" showed evolution, which surely increased his stock in the UFC’s eyes. If Shield’s next opponent turns out to be the winner of this fight, he’ll be in for another tough one.
But the welterweight division certainly has more contenders to offer a Jake Shields.
Carlos Condit is without a doubt worth mentioning. He’s riding a three-fight win streak over Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald and Dan Hardy. Condit seems to be one of the three or four names people are saying when talking about GSP’s next opponent.
What’s a better test than the man that just faced the champion?
But who’s to say Condit will make it passed his next opponent, Dong-hyun "Stun Gun" Kim. Kim is officially undefeated in his mixed martial arts career, riding 14 straight wins, with his only near-blemishes coming at the hands of Hidehiko Hasegawa, who "Stun Gun" fought to a draw in Japan back in October of 2007; and the other coming from Karo "The Heat" Parisyan at UFC 94.
But luckily for Kim, after the fight, Karo got himself into some "Heat" with the NSAC after testing positive for a banned substance and thus changing the previously recorded unanimous decision for Karo, to a no contest. Since that fight in Jan. 2009, Kim has looked unstoppable. He’s taken out TJ Grant, Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz in dominant unanimous decision victories.
At UFC 132: Faber vs Cruz, we’ll see whether the "Stun Gun" will be enough to take out "The Natural Born Killer."
During the "Prelims" show on Spike TV for UFC 129, we saw two welterweights put on extremely impressive performances. First, we saw Jake Ellenberger, who has quietly won four in a row in the UFC, turn in a first round knockout over Sean Pierson.
Shortly thereafter, it was Rory MacDonald putting it on Nate Diaz to win a unanimous decision victory.
Ellenberger showed the evolution in his stand-up with the quick knock out, while MacDonald showed his overwhelming strength, his wrestling skills, as well as improved stand up. It will be very interesting seeing where these two go from here, as they got the TV broadcast for UFC 129 off to a great start.
One could assume the fact that they performed on the same show could lend them to fighting each other in the near future, and if that’s the case, certainly the winner of that fictitious contest will be looking at a top ranked guy on their horizon.
When analyzing the modern day UFC welterweight division one can’t ignore the conundrum that became after the main event of UFC 127, when B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch fought to a draw. Fitch underwent surgery today on his injured shoulder, while Penn is rehabbing a shoulder injury as well, with hopes that he won’t have to undergo any surgery.
If Penn can come back sooner rather than later it’s interesting to find his placement in the division. When you fight the number two ranked guy to a draw, what’s to become of your ranking?
For Penn he may be looking to wait for Fitch to return, depending on what happens with his own shoulder injury. But if the Hawaiian is ready to compete sooner rather than later, which seems to be his desire, the UFC will surely find a niche for "The Prodigy."
In fact, he could very well compete with any of the names mentioned here.
And what about Diego Sanchez? Word is he’s up to face Matt Hughes later on this year. One has to wonder where the winner will be in the division. Hughes has gone on record saying he has "one or two" fights left in him. By my watch, that’s not enough time to find himself in a title shot situation.
And if Sanchez fights Hughes the way he did against Martin Kampmann at UFC on Versus in March, the Hall of Famer is going to be for one hell of a fight.
So, where are we now?
I suppose we’re at the same place we were when we started -- just a few names deeper. But the answers will come soon enough, as these 170 match ups start to unfold. One thing is for sure, though, there is no shortage of competition in this division.
But, can any of them defeat the reigning UFC Welterweight Champion?
(Note: no mention of Nick Diaz because it's still unclear what his contract situation is with Strikeforce/Showtime. If the situation becomes more clear, expect comment.)
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