UFC in 2007

[Lord of The Curry 0]

We have five title fights scheduled to go down before NYE so on January 1st 2007 where do you see the UFC at? Who will be around? Who should they get rid of? Who should be built up? I'll post a roster of each division with about 10 or so guys beneath the champ so people can rank a top five as I'd be interested to see where certain fighters stand. I'm also wondering on who people see the then-champs defending their title against.

 

LW Division: Current Champ- Unknown, to be decided by winner of Sherk/Florian at UFC 64. Roster includes: Jens Pulver, Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson, Spencer Fisher, Mark Hominick, Melvin Guillard, Hermes Franca, Sam Stout, Tyson Griffin.

 

WW Division: Current Champ- Matt Hughes. Roster includes: Georges St. Pierre, Diego Sanchez, Karo Parysian, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Joe Riggs, BJ Penn (?), Josh Burkman, Nick Diaz, Josh Neer.

 

MW Division: Current Champ- Rich Franklin. Roster includes: Anderson Silva, Nathan Marquadt, Mike Swick, David Loiseau, Dave Terrell, Chris Leben, Kendall Grove, Ed Herman, Dean Lister.

 

LHW Division: Current Champ- Chuck Liddell. Roster includes: Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Jason Lambert, Keith Jardine, Matt Hamill, Renato Sobral, Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping.

 

HW Division: Current Champ- Tim Sylvia. Roster includes: Jeff Monson, Andrei Arlovski, Brandon Vera, Frank Mir, Chieck Kongo, Assureio Silva, Dan Christonson, Marcio Cruz, Gabriel Gonzaga.

 

Upcoming Title Fights

 

UFC 64: Rich Franklin vs Anderson Silva, MW Title. Kenny Florian vs Sean Sherk, Vacant LW Title.

 

UFC 65: Tim Sylvia vs Jeff Monson, HW Title.

 

UFC 66: Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz, LHW Title.

 

St. Pierre vs Hughes will be happening before the year is out but it's unclear right now as to where/when. Most rumours are putting it as the co-main on the NYE show behind Tito/Chuck but I could see them bumping it to UFC 65 in November as Sylvia/Monson will not sell PPV's or tickets on its own.

 

Discuss!~

[Lei Tong 0]

LW Division: Current Champ- Unknown, to be decided by winner of Sherk/Florian at UFC 64. Roster includes: Jens Pulver, Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson, Spencer Fisher, Mark Hominick, Melvin Guillard, Hermes Franca, Sam Stout, Tyson Griffin.

 

Sean Sherk: Likely to be their next LW champion, though not for long. He'll probably bore against a higher level of competition, and since I don't believe he'll stay champion for long, I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone sometime next year.

 

 

Kenny Florian: Has name recognition (both positive and negative), and enough skills all around to hang near the top of the division. The lack of any discernable stand-out skills (he has a very good BJJ top game, but not quite the wrestling to back it up) will make it tough for him to stake a claim as "The Man" in the division.

 

 

Spencer Fisher: Capable of being a solid, popular champion with a vvery crowd pleasing style, but will have to tighten his game up lest he shoots himself in the foot again.

 

Next match-up should be: Jorge Gurgel

 

 

Joe Stevenson: A somewhat limited game (he simply cannot win from the bottom or standing at this level) will relegate him to "contender" status, yet his heart and wrestling should keep him in the division.

 

Next match-up should be: Mark Hominick

 

 

Melvin Guillard: A lot of potential, which is almost likely to go untapped. With as many fights under his belt as he has, it'll be very hard for him to iron out weaknesses seemingly set in stone (wide punches standing, submission succeptability and weakness from the bottom).

 

Next match-up should be: Roger Huerta

 

 

Sam Stout: Unlikely to stay around long. While he has the ability to beat most guys dumb enough to stand with him (Fisher), guys like Stevenson, Guillard, Sherk & of course Florian all have the wrestling ability and mindset to take him down and make him look very bad.

 

Next match-up should be: Hermes Franca

 

 

 

Mark Hominick: Despite being smaller than Stout, he's more likely to stick around. Has shown better takedown defense and ground game than his teammate, and though he has slight spoiler potential, he'd really benfit from the creation of a UFC featherweight division.

 

Next match-up should be: Joe Stevenson

 

 

Hermes Franca: Spoiler material, he's more likely to be something of a gatekeeper, dropping unanimous JD's to the true players in the division.

 

Next match-up should be: Sam Stout

 

 

Tyson Griffin: Darkhorse contender of the division. While his top level competition has been mostly at featherweight, he's shown the skills to hang with true lightweights and has the skillset and work ethic to make his way to the title.

 

Next match-up should be: Jason Dent

 

 

Notes: Roger Huerta is another hot prospect to look out for; Thomas, Clementi, & Serra will all likely drop after TUF; if Penn decides to drop, it'll likely dump the division on its head; with UFC's increasing international relationships, more Japanese & Brazilians are a distinct possiblity.

 

 

 

I'll do the rest later.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Yeah, I put a question mark next to BJ under the WW division because nobody (including BJ, probably) knows what he's going to do next. Everything from moving up to MW to cutting down to LW to coaching on TUF V has come up in the Penn rumour mill.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Cheick Kongo will be the UFC Heavyweight Champio in 2007, mark my words.

[Lei Tong 0]

Not with his wrestling and ground game.

[razazteca 0]

Cheick Kongo will be the UFC Heavyweight Champio in 2007, mark my words.

It all depends on all of the rematches Tim Slyvia has. I'm sure UFC wants to have Tim Sylvia/Assuerio Silva 2 and 3, and Tim Sylvia/McGee 2, and Sylvia/Mir sometime in the future.

[Angel_Grace_Blue 0]

Not with his wrestling and ground game.

 

I disagree. He can easily be champio at his level. Were he to improve on wrestling and ground skills, he might be able to add the 'n' later on.

[razazteca 0]

The heavyweight division is all about the knockout punch.

[Lei Tong 0]

HW Division: Current Champ- Tim Sylvia. Roster includes: Jeff Monson, Andrei Arlovski, Brandon Vera, Frank Mir, Chieck Kongo, Assureio Silva, Dan Christonson, Marcio Cruz, Gabriel Gonzaga.

 

Tim Sylvia: He's simply not going to make any money as champion, so the UFC has to be praying that someone takes him out soon. Despite this, he still knows how to use his physical advantages to win, and is unlikely to leave the main event scene.

 

 

Jeff Monson: Sylvia's next challenger, and despite what his fans might say, not much of an improvement when thought of as champion. The terrible fight against PDP showed just how limited and boring he could be. Unlike Sylvia, I have doubts about his ability to stick around against tougher competition, and look for him to get hit hard in '07.

 

 

Andrei Arlovski: Despite a pair of losses to Sylvia, still arguably the UFC's most talented heavyweight. His chin will always be liability, but Sylvia remains the only UFC HW capable of exploiting it at this point.

 

Next Match-up should be: Dan Christison

 

 

Brandon Vera: Very talented fighter that might be done in by his lack of size in a key match-up with Sylvia, seeing as how he's one fight away from a title shot (if that). However, his combination of skills & charisma should keep him in the UFC for some time to come, even if it means the UFC bringing out the money to entice him to drop.

 

Next match-up should be: Frank Mir

 

 

Frank Mir: It's pretty much swink or swim time for Frank. He needs to realize that even Ricco became expendable, and he'll need more than his recent piss poor performances to keep him around. Even assuming he can get into proper fighting shape, his cardio & are still highly suspsect, so a title run seems very unlikely.

 

Next match-up should be: Gabriel Gonzaga

 

 

Chieck Kongo: Desite being 2-0 and certainly looknig like an intimidating HW, Kongo's likely on borrowed time with the increasing number of capable ground stylists in the UFC.

 

Next match-up should be: Eddie Sanchez

 

 

Assuerio Silva: Despite being a perfectly servicable HW, Silva's quick loss to Vera and winless record in the UFC makes him nearly imposible to take as a serious contender, yet a dangerous fight for many up-and-comers.

 

Next match-up should be: Jake O'Brien

 

 

Dan Christison: Much like Silva, a servicable HW who simply hasn't looked good in the UFC. He had his big opprotunity when Mir showed up totally out of shape, but still managed to blow it. If brought back at all, it will likely be as feeder material.

 

Next match-up should be: Andrei Arlovski

 

 

Gabriel Gonzaga: While being hot off a Mundials title and win over Neto would've served Gonzaga well, yet another set-back comes in the form of an injury. While actually a very good prospect, he still has to work hard (and needs and impressive win) to erase the stigma of the Jordan fight.

 

Next match-up should be: Brian Olsen

 

 

Other notes: There's a few notable HW's on the American scene who, despite injuries and losses, could still be brough tin eventually; Jake O'Brien is getting a lot of hype as the next big HW prospect;

[Lei Tong 0]

Not with his wrestling and ground game.

 

I disagree. He can easily be champio at his level. Were he to improve on wrestling and ground skills, he might be able to add the 'n' later on.

 

Monson, Gonzaga & O'Brien would all quickly take him down and maul him, not to mention guys who only might choose to do similar and/or hold their own on the feet.

[I like Forums 0]

What about Pe de Pano? He almost beat Monson and had an impressive victory over Mir.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Kongo displayed some nice submission defense against Christian Wellisch, who is known for his grappling.

 

I think Kongo would knock out Monson quite easily, too much height for Monson.

 

Kongo can only get better as time comes along, it's expected that Carmelo Marrero will be his next fight. The same Carmelo Marrero that got ground and pound by an old Larry Holmes earlier this week in a street fight, but of course it's a rumor.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

Is Cabbage still under contract? He seems like a fun undercard heavyweight/guy you feed to up and comers

[Lei Tong 0]

Kongo displayed some nice submission defense against Christian Wellisch, who is known for his grappling.

 

I think Kongo would knock out Monson quite easily, too much height for Monson.

 

The problem is, Wellisch isn't very good, and his wins have been against mainly a "Who's Who" of HW MMA jobbers like White, Howard, etc. Besides, when you're taken down, mounted, and nearly fully armbarred within 30 seconds, that's never a good thing.

 

Also, while Kongo would have a distinct height and reach advantage, he hasn't shown much ability to keep opponents from closing the gap.

[I like Forums 0]

What about Pe de Pano? He almost beat Monson and had an impressive victory over Mir.

[Lei Tong 0]

I have no clue what's up with Pe de Pano right now. Last I heard, he was to fight Yvel in Britain until he pulled out at the last minute and got replaced by Scherner.

[I like Forums 0]

Shitty, I was actually becoming a fan of his.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Recent knees and kicks have bumped this bad boy.

 

New champion at MW and a division full of challengers......

 

I think we'll see either Swick vs Silva or Marquadt vs Silva for Andersons first title defense.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I take back my Kongo comment.

[starvenger 0]

Recent knees and kicks have bumped this bad boy.

 

New champion at MW and a division full of challengers......

 

I think we'll see either Swick vs Silva or Marquadt vs Silva for Andersons first title defense.

Actually I believe that his first defence will be against the TUF4 winner...