"Suga" Rashad Evans and Paul "Semtex" Daley both move within a fight of receiving a title shot.  Wisconsin Combat Sports takes a look at the results of the most recent UFC pay-per-view and tries to decipher were some of the fighters stack up within their respective divisions.

Rashad Evans to get a crack at Quentin "Rampage" Jackson?

This last Saturday night Evans went back to his wrestling roots in order to achieve a unanimous decision victory over Thiago Silva.  The former Michigan State wrestler mixed his takedowns with his striking beautifully to keep his opponent off guard and constantly guessing what's coming next.  Although some may feel his return to his wrestling roots made for a "boring" fight, the strategy still provided the light-heavyweight fighter with a victory.

Dana White stated in the post fight press conference that he is eyeing a potential matchup between Evans and Jackson for as soon as May, which would be UFC 113.  Evans does not seem at all bothered by the idea of having another fight before getting another title shot.  Evans said, "It's always great to fight for a belt, but I think I need one more fight to integrate everything I've been working on so that when I do get a title shot, no one will beat me."

It appears that Jackson will be Evans' next opponent, yet it remains to be seen what will happen to Thiago Silva who suffered only his second loss in his professional career.  Silva is now 14-2 overall and 5-2 in the UFC, with his two losses coming to current light-heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida, and former light-heavyweight champ Evans.

Three potential opponents for Silva could be Rich Franklin, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, or Forrest Griffin.

Franklin is coming off a loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 in September and needs a win against a respected fighter to bounce back into the upper tier of the division.

Nogueira's last fight was a dominant win against Luiz Cane, but the brazilian only has had one fight in the UFC so far, and a matchup against Silva could allow either fighter to put a big name in their win column.

Lastly, Griffin doesn't appear to be in line for an immediate rematch with Tito Ortiz, so he is actively looking for another fight.

Paul Daley's devastating knockout of Dustin Hazelett has propelled him near the top of the welterweight division.

Dana White said in the post fight press conference that he is thinking about matching Daley up against either Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck.  White implied that he would like Fitch and Koscheck to fight each other, but the two fighters fight out of the same gym, so, why not stick Daley "in the middle of them".

Fitch is rumored to be fighting Thiago Alves later this year, but nothing has been officially released; and Koscheck is coming off of a dominant victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 106 last November.  Because of the rumored fight between Fitch and Alves, Koscheck seems like the next likely opponent for Daley.

Dustin Hazelett drops to 14-4 overall, and 5-3 in the UFC after his loss to Daley.  Two potential opponents for Hazelett could be Matt "The Immortal" Brown, or Martin "Hitman" Kampmann.

Kampmann, also won at UFC 108 with an impressive victory over Jacob Volkmann. However, with a loss to Daley earlier this year, Kampmann is trying to move back up the ladder in the division.  A matchup between the two would make for a must win fight; otherwise the loser takes a serious step back in the division.

Brown is currently riding a three fight win streak in the UFC with his last victory being an impressive TKO win over James Wilks.  A fight with Hazelett would give Brown an opportunity to take on his toughest opponent to date, and would give Hazelett an opportunity to get a win against a solid fighter.

Dos Santo beats Gilbert Yvel, but still the fifth man out.

With the victory over Yvel, Dos Santos logs arguably his most impressive win to date.  Yvel is a guy that brings tons of experience to the Octagon, and the dismantling that “Cigano” gave to his heavyweight opponent is sure to move Dos Santos near the top of the division.

Frank Mir and Shane Carwin are set to fight for the Heavyweight Interim Championship at UFC 111, while Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez are slated to battle it out at UFC 110, probably for the title of “number one contender”.  Depending on what Joe Silva (the UFC matchmaker) wants to do he could have Dos Santos fight the loser of either of these fights.

Two other fighters still available for a fight would be Cheick Kongo or Gabriel Gonzaga.  If “Cigano” gets matched up against either of these fighters it would signify a plan to keep taking it slow with Dos Santos, as he would still be several fights out of title contention.

Yvel who made his octagon debut on Saturday had the un-enviable job of taking on the rising star that is Dos Santos.  Yvel has worlds of experience, and has posted wins against: Pedro Rizzo, Cheick Kongo, and Gary Goodridge; with losses to the likes of: Josh Barnett, Jeremy Horn, Don Frye, Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson.

With the amount of experience  Yvel has he would be a good opponent for Roufusport fighter Pat Barry.  Both fighters are strikers, and Yvel trains out of Vos Gym in Holland where Barry himself has trained in the past.  Also, Barry’s last win was against Antoni Hardonk - another fighter out of Vos Gym - earlier this year.  The fight would provide a great storyline, and the style matchup would make for an exciting strike fest.

Otherwise, Roy Nelson or Stefan Struve may be good opponents for Yvel.  It would give Yvel a chance to get a win against a respected heavyweight, or it would allow a respected heavyweight to get a win over an experienced veteran of MMA.

Comments (2)

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Dom Velando said:

	... funny that paul daley still has to get past koscheck, fitch or alves but dan hardy gets a title shot after beating gono, markham, marcus davis and swick??
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 03, 2010
Votes: +0

Maxwell Destree said:

	... Yeah, Hardy didn't seem too impressive against Davis, but I was impressed with his win over Swick.
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 03, 2010
Votes: +0

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