Forrest Griffin's first title defend ??

Question

Who will be the most likely candidate ?

What about the future fight of the following fighter ?

RAMPAGE ?

WANDERLEI ?

JARDINE ?

CHUCK ?

SHOGUN?

This is my favorite weight class btw .. :-P

Answer 1

Jardine won't be a big draw, and Shogun didn't put on a good show aganist Griffin last time. The obvious pick is Chuck Liddell, to give him a chance to get his belt back. If they don't go that route, I would be very surprised if Rashad Evans doesn't get a title shot.

Answer 2

Let me go through your list.

Rampage - There is already talk of doing a rematch and I would rather see Rampage beat someone in order to get that rematch. It is how the UFC has done it for the most part in the past and I think it is fair. If they did a rematch right away though I wouldn't be upset because it was such a close fight.

Wanderlei - Not gonna happen. Wanderlei has 1 win in his last 4 fights. And it was a quick knockout to a very inconsistant Keith Jardine. Wanderlei needs at least 2 more wins in a row to get a title shot.

Jardine - No way. Yes he beat Griffin before, but Jardine just can't consistantly win. Like Wanderlei, he needs at least 2 wins to even be in contention.

Chuck - He's got Rashad Evans next at UFC 88 (I don't understand the logic behind this fight). Some people are saying that if he wins this fight then he should get a title shot. I am not one of them. After losing two straight fights, he beat Wanderlei in his first cage fight in over 7 years, and then he beats an a fighter who is not even in the top 10? If Liddell beats a top 5 fighter after Evans, then he's deserving.

Shogun - How I wish he could stay healthy. Shogun just lost to Griffin but is still considered one of the top 5 Light Heavyweights in the world. I think if Shogun puts together two straight wins, he's on his way to a title shot.

Really, this division is so odd right now. The most popular fighters are not deserving of a title shot. If you ask me, the top two most deserving fighters are Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. I think the best way to do it is to pit the two of them against each other or do Lyoto Machida vs. Rampage Jackson and the winner gets Griffin.

Answer 3

Anderson Silva has moved up in weight, If he gets a shot at Forest before the Rampage re-match then Rampage is not gonna get the belt back, Ever, Silva is a monster, when he gets his hand on that belt it will be his for a while......

As far as futures are concerned,

Rampage will probably have a fight or two before he gets his next shot, probably one of these will be against Jardine....

I would love to see a Silva -vs- Silva fight, Anderson taking Wanderlei.....

Jardine should be a contender since he already beat Forest, would be cool to have a setup match agains Rampage, make those two go through eachother to get to the belt.

Chuck is DONE!

Shogun is OVER RATED!!!

Answer 4

I would guess either an immediate rematch w/ Rampage (due to the controversey of the scoring) or the winner of  Liddell V. Evans. My guess is the latter as it the UFC would have more to gain by having Forrest defend the belt 1st prior to a rematch with Rampage. Generally you don't see an outright rematch for a former champ coming off a loss. Liddell had to fight Jardine & Silva, GSP fought Koscheck & Hughes, Franklin fought Okami & McDonald... etc.

I think Chuck beats Evans and there's just a ton of money to be made in a Forrest V Liddell match and the winner taking on Rampage sets up a rematch for both guys in a  big money fight.

Chuck is a marquee talent and at 37 he's got a limit to his time as a top fighter. So I think the UFC wants to get Chuck back into a title match atleast 1 more time.

Answer 5

Lyoto Machida will almost certainly get the first shot if they don't grant Rampage an immediate rematch.

Answer 6

The only one who sounds closest is a rematch with Shogun. Most likely he wont fight anyone on that list. Dana White will milk this one because with Forrest having the belt he will set up better matches. Forrest will fight someone marginal that he has a good chance of beating then in late winter he will fight a contender. He needs to have one easy fight then two tough opponents. So he will fight someone mediocre then he will fight either Wanderlei or Anderson Silva. If Rampage wins a few he will get his shot at the title again. Dont forget about Anderson Silva now at 205 and Brandon Vera soon to drop down.

Answer 7

It has to be the winner of Liddell versus Evans. Both guys have something impressive to bring. Evans will be undefeated if he wins, and Chuck has an awesome battle with Wanderlei. And you know that with a fight between Chuck and Griffin that a slugfest would be guaranteed.

Answer 8

doesn't matter!he won't retain the title for long.i think it'll be either  a rematch w/jackson or wanderlei.one fighter i think has a chance is lyoto machida.he looked pretty dominating over ortiz.

Answer 9

Well lets look at it like this... after losing a title the ex-champion has to win one more fight to get a title fight. Liddell would have gotten it had he beat Jardine. So Rampage will have to fight someone else before he gets a rematch. Liddell vs Evans is scheduled in two months. The winner of that match I see getting a title shot. Shogun already lost to Forrest so he has to win at least two (maybe three) fights before he gets a title shot. Wanderlei is up for a title shot but not before Liddell so I see a Rampage vs Wanderlei match-up coming soon. Jardine is not a big pull and he has lost to Wanderlei.

Basically I think we will see Griffin vs Liddell (if he wins against Evans) former coach fights for his title against his former student hype.

Rampage vs Wanderlei 3!!! That will be awesome.

Shogun will be taking on either Machida or Jardine, more than likely Jardine since Shogun will be completed healed soon.

Machida vs Thiago Silva is the match they should be setting up, both are undefeated and that would be a great match-up.

After the Anderson Silva vs Irvin fight I think the winner should take on Evans. Both would have there hands full with him.

Whatever happens it is going to be a good two years of fights in the LHW division. Lucky us!!

Answer 10

Probably Chuck or Rampage