| TUF 10 Aftermath: "Big Country" and Kimbo's Journey Just Starting; Jones vs Hamill 2? |
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| Written by Maxwell Destree | |||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 07 December 2009 04:43 | |||||||||||||||||||
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"Big Country" may think he is big stuff now; and despite winning the six-figured contract he is going to be one of the low men on the totem pole in the heavyweight division.
Roy "Big Country" Nelson may have gone undefeated against some inexperienced professionals to win the TUF 10 finale, but now he will have to prove he can hang with the best of them. The UFC's heavyweight division has grown in the last several years from being one of the promotions weakest divisions to one of its best. Nelson has a 14-4 record (sherdog.com), with two of those losses coming from UFC castaways, and a third coming from one of the UFC's most recent signings.
"Big Country" was coming off back-to-back losses to Andrei Arlovski and Jeff Monson before defeating Schaub this last Saturday. The new UFC heavyweight also lost to Ben Rothwell back in 2007 via split decision. Nelsons lack of a win over a big name heavyweight will put the one-time International Fight League (IFL) champ at the bottom of the heavyweight division.
Obviously though, the UFC now has a vested interest in the success of their newest TUF winner. Potential opponents could be the young and lanky Stefan Struve, or possibly the giant Chris Tuchscherer who has just one fight in the UFC. Tim Hague would also be a good opponent for "Big Country" based on the fact that he has a wrestling background and a questionable chin. Nonetheless expect the UFC to bring "Big Country" along slowly and find out exactly where he stacks up in the heavyweight division.
Kimbo shows evolution as an MMA fighter, but has a long way to go before being considered a contender in the UFC.
With the victory over Houston Alexander, the UFC will have to decide how they want to proceed with the thirty-five year old American Top Team (ATT) fighter. Kimbo poses a unique problem for the UFC because he is very marketable, and is one of the most recognized fighters in the sport (even though he only has five professional fights). The problem for the UFC will be trying to keep Kimbo in the promotion. The UFC matchmakers will need to get creative in finding opponents with a similar skill set as the brawling heavyweight.
It would be unreasonable to think that any heavyweight "strikers" would get to fight Kimbo next. Pat Barry and Antoni Hardonk would kick Kimbo's legs into oblivion. If Houston Alexander can have success kicking Kimbo's lead leg, then imagine what these two seasoned kickboxers would do! The other "striker" in the heavyweight division is Cheick Kongo, who will be fighting Frank Mir at UFC 107, and is still probably ranked too high for the likes of Kimbo.
Kimbo could potentially face Tim Hague, but Hague's wrestling background may prevent the UFC from making this matchup. The UFC probably doesn't want to keep Kimbo fighting catch-weight bouts, so they may bring in some old veterans for a matchup. A Seth Petruzelli rematch could be interesting, especially since "The Silverback" has finished 90% of his fights via (T)KO and already has a win over the ATT fighter. However, another quick KO loss would hurt the brawlers career.
Regardless it will be interesting to see who Kimbo's next opponent will be, because one thing is for certain, everyone will be talking about it when it's announced.
Matt Hamill vs Jon Jones 2?
Matt "The Hammer" Hamill defeated Jon "Bones" Jones via disqualification, and people are already talking about a future rematch so Jones can avenge the loss? Although a future rematch is possible, is it really necessary at this point? Jones was clearly winning the fight, but had an unfortunate lapse in judgment, and was penalized accordingly. Would it really be necessary to put Hamill in the ring again just to take another whoopin'? Besides, mmajunkie.com reports that Hamill suffered a dislocated shoulder, and is expected to undergo a medical suspension. So, who does Jones fight next?
One fighter that has yet to be scheduled for an opponent in the division is Rich Franklin. Franklin has a win over Hamill, and is looking for a solid fight at 205 to get back into title contention within the division. Franklin would be a step up from Hamill, and would give Jones the opportunity to keep climbing the ladder. On the opposite end, Franklin would have the opportunity to take out one of the UFC's fastest rising stars, and add his name to the long list of light-heavyweight contenders.
Another fight that could be interesting for "Bones" would be Antonio Rogerio Nogueira who stormed onto the UFC scene with a devastating knockout win over fellow countryman Luiz Cane. Again, Nogueira would be a big name opponent for Jones, and in turn the matchup would give Nogueira a chance to prove that his first fight in the UFC was no fluke.
After "The Hammer" is done healing he could possibly face Brendon Vera or Luiz Cane who are both coming off of losses, or perhaps the winner of the Ryan Bader vs Keith Jardine fight. But, first we need to wait and see the extent of Hamill's injuries.
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Comments (6)
Ryan Williams
said:
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The Ultimate Fighter 10 is officially over, with Roy "Big Country" Nelson winning the storied "six-figured contract" over his opponent Brendan Schaub. Kimbo Slice proved that he has evolved from a "street fighter" into a true MMA fighter with a unanimous decision win over Houston Alexander. And the highly anticipated matchup between Jon "Bones" Jones and Matt Hamill ended in an unfortunate disqualification loss for “Bones”. With everything that happened this last Saturday night WCS looks to see what could be in store for these fighters.
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... I think Roy Nelson is a mid tier heavy. His loss to Arvloski came after being stood up out of side control while trying to secure a Kimura and his loss to Rothwell was a straight robbery. |
Paul Fladten
said:
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... Although Jones technically lost, we all know he didn't. In limited time, he has become my favorite and most fun to watch fighter. I agree that a rematch with Hamill is unnecessary, and would love to see a battle between Bones and Ace. That would be a good headliner for a European show. |
Lukey Dukey
said:
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... i thought kimbo looked pretty good on the takedowns. but his cardio needs to get much better! not everyone is going to gas like alexander did. that was pretty pathetic on houstons part |
Maxwell Destree
said:
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... Yeah, Nelson may be a mid-tier heavyweight, but the UFC doesn't want to start him off with a loss, so that's why they will need to see exactly where he stacks up in the division. Besides, the reality is that Nelson came into the UFC with two consecutive losses, I personally am curious to see how well he matches up in the UFC. |
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