Benson Henderson (18-2) Who will he face next and who deserves to fight him? What fight do you think should happen first and why? Who do you think will win ? Anthony Pettis (15-2) He beat Ben back in 2010 with an extremely close decision. The kick sealed the deal no doubt. Donald Cerrone (19-4) Ben has beat him twice, Donald has looked great lately and would deserve the fight if he can beat Pettis. Gilbert Melendez(21-2) His long awaited debut in the UFC is overdue. People would love this match-up, but I personally feel he should fight atleast 1 before a title shot. It seems now this fight will probably happen first though . Jose Aldo (21-1) I think this fight will happen, but not next. They could pull huge numbers as this would be a superfight. With all the unclarity with GSP/Silva and Silva/Jones, we already know that Aldo is moving up to 155, but will he vacate the 145 title and fight once before fighting for the title or will be a champ vs champ card? Eddie Alvarez(24-3) Assuming he is signed to Zuffa, he is a very viable choice. I see this more down the road. Once again, What are your picks?
I keep hearing Melendez has the first fight, then Alvarez. Shit, I'd say at this point.. give him either the winner of Pettis / Cerrone, or have Melendez / Alvarez fight for the #1 contender. I wouldn't put it past Dana to do the same sort of thing he did with Shogun / Vera, Bader / Machida.
Honestly I really think Benson will storm through Gil, I really don't think it will be the fight people are expecting it to be.
Actually, the Title Fight is Ben/Melendez. Gray Maynard requested a Melendez fight and was told by the UFC that "Melendez has the next Title Fight". Anthony, even with a win over Cowboy, will need to wait. Cerrone, with a win over Pettis, would need at least 1 win over a top 5, possibly Maynard. Melendez, like it or not, is Ben's next opponent.
Im really just not interested in the Gil/Ben fight at all, Gil is a solid fighter but I really don't think he is anywhere near Ben's level and really doesn't deserve the shot. I'd say Maynard deserves the shot much more than Gil, but I guess they are just going for the title unification thing.
Melendez makes most sense to be next in line. I don't know why but I think Alvarez will do better though.
So many good fights available for Henderson now..Maynard, Alvarez, Pettis, Cerrone, Gil, Alvarez...I'm sure i'm missing some. Question becomes, would you rather see a rematch or see him against someone new for a change first.
Maynards last fight was one of the worst fights in the history of all mankind. Yes it was mostly Guidas fault but I don't see how anyone can say he deserves a title shot when his one win in 2.5 years is that victory over guida. In that same time Gil has beat Thomson, Masvidal and Kawajiri. All of whom were top 20 and Kawajiri was ranked higher than Guida.