By Josh Sanchez
Every mixed martial arts fan wants a chance to play match maker. We all dream up matches in our head that would take the sport to new levels.
After thinking long and hard, I have come up with ten fights that would be both entertaining and possible. While it is hard to just go by paper to match up a fight, every one that I picked would have relevance and excite the sport's community.
I didn't use any gimmick fighters. No Roy Jones Jr. No Kimbo Slice. Only legit mixed martial artists who have a place and this sport and who can take this sport even further into the mainstream.
We all know the names like Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko, whom we would love to see have a real battle. But who could match up against them and create enthusiasm while still impacting the sport's rankings.
Honorable Mentions:
Joachim Hansen vs. Gesias Cavalcante II
Martin Kampmann vs. Nick Diaz
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Joseph Benevidez vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Urijah Faber vs. Clay Guida
A lot of people want to see a fight between Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine. I would love to see a rematch between these two "bad boys" of the sport. Jardine was caught early and was defeated in their first bout by knockout.
Wanderlei is a former Pride and IVC Light-Heavyweight Champion. He's got an aggressive style and will always push forward. Silva loves to make his fights exciting for the fans.
Jardine would love revenge. He's coming off of a big win against Chuck Liddell and he's hoping to climb the rankings. After the loss to Silva he scored a victory over Brandon Vera.
The last time we saw each of these fighters in the cage, Rampage Jackson was having his hand raised in victory. I still believe they can be serious contenders in the division and a grudge match would be very entertaining to say the least.
Sobral is the StrikeForce Light Heavyweight Champion and Demian Maia is an up and comer in the UFC's middleweight division, so the appeal is obvious.
Both of these fighters are exceptional on the ground, but they need improvement on their feet.
Sobral is a powerful wrestler who also has impressive jiu-jitsu skills, which he learned under the tutelage of the Gracie Barra Combat Team.
Maia has some of the best jiu-jitsu skills, and is one of the most decorated submission artists to ever grace the octagon.
These two would put on a show and their technique on display would be incredible to watch.
It would be hard to imagine either of these guys shying away from their strengths. If the fight were to stay standing up, it would be anyone's game, but these are two very confident and world class ground fighters.
Gegard Mousasi is one of the most underrated fighters in all of mixed martial arts while Vitor Belfort, a former UFC LIght Heavyweight Champion, has a huge following.
Mousasi, 23, is still very young. His body is continuing to grow and he is moving up to light heavyweight after fighting at middleweight. He says his goal is eventually to become a contender at heavyweight.
Mousasi is also a very impressive striker. He is a former amateur boxing champ and has tallied 14 KO's out of his 24 wins. He also serves as a striking coach for the well-known Fedor Emelianenko.
Belfort is also a guy who likes to stand up and bang. Twelve of his 18 wins come by way of knockout. Belfort also has a good ground game that he rarely uses. He is a black belt under Carlson Gracie.
If these two were to meet it would be a brawl that would excite the fans and help Mousasi gain some more recognition.
Both of these Brazilians are serious up and comers in the 205 division and to add a little spice to the battle, it is said that they do not like each other.
Silva and Cane each have only one blemish on their record. Cane's loss coming by way of a DQ against James Irvin and Thiago Silva was the latest victim of Lyoto Machida.
Both fighters have backgrounds in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
The hatred and heavy hands that these two would bring to the octagon
would be nothing short of exciting and the pre-fight trash talk would be a great
seller.
Minotauro and Josh Barnett have had two great bouts before. Each fighter has won one and lost one, so a third match would settle the score.
Both times the fight went to the judges. In the first match Barnett scored the victory via split decision and in the second, Minotauro got the unanimous decision.
Each fighter is a former heavyweight champion and one of the top heavyweights in the world. A third match would not only have appeal, but it would help bring more competition to the division.
The top heavyweights are split between organizations and a match pinning top guys like this would be a welcomed treat.
This is a fight that everyone was hoping would come later this month. The trash talk at the end of Jardine vs Rampage was exciting and it got everyone pumped up for a future fight.
This fight will happen and Pay Per View sales will go through the roof. These are two fan favorites who make the fights fun to watch. They are showmen and both have a colorful personality.
We will have to wait until later in the year to see this fight, but it seems very likely.
Some people are still not sold on Rashad Evans. If he loses to Lyoto Machida this fight could be put off even longer, but if he wins there still could be some skeptics. A title defense against Rampage would settle the score.
In terms of gaining mainstream interest, this would be one of the most intriguing and marketable match-ups.
BJ Penn finally realizes he needs to stick at the 155 weight class after being destroyed by Georges St. Pierre. Penn is still a very marketable fighter and in a division with little competition, a guy like Shinya Aoki could be exactly what Penn could use. Both men are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts.
Aoki is one of the top lightweights in the world yet he doesn't get the media attention that a guy of his caliber deserves.
BJ Penn is set to defend his belt at UFC 101 against Kenny Florian. Florian is a respectable contender, but I believe Aoki would present even more of a challenge.
This is a fight that should be done. Aoki needs to be brought into the UFC by Dana White and he could bring even more international attention to the organization.
Die-hard mixed martial arts fans recognize and praise Aoki for his talent and they would be clamoring if such a fight were to take place.
Aoki has even said, "Please do not misunderstand -- I really need this to be clearly expressed in the media: Shinya Aoki will not go to the UFC. I just want to fight B.J. Penn. This is my selfish wish. I know that everyone says they want Penn, but I think I'm the number one Japanese fighter to be saying this"
Miguel Angel Torres is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He has an unbelievable record of 37-1 and he has really never been challenged until his latest fight with Japanese fighter Takeya Mizugaki.
Torres is a well-rounded fighter who doesn't get the respect he deserves due to the lack of competition in his division according to the public eye. There are no real challengers or big named fighters for Torres to fight in the bantamweight class.
This is why Torres needs to move up and fight Mike Brown.
Mike Brown is the No. 1 featherweight in the world and current WEC Featherweight Champion. He is coming off of two impressive wins where he won the belt against Urijah Faber and defended it against Leonard Garcia.
Brown will be defending his belt again against Urijah Faber in June and Torres defends his title in August against Brian Bowles. If both guys come out victorious, there will have to be serious discussions to make this fight happen.
It will not only influence pound for pound rankings around the world, but it will decide who the WEC's best fighter is.
We all want to see Fedor in action again. He hasn't had a fight leave the first round since 2006. He really has had no competition and yet he's widely regarded as either the No. 1 or No. 2 pound for pound fighter in the world.
Frank Mir is taking on Brock Lesnar in the upcoming UFC 100 spectacle. MMA fans around the world would love to see the winner take on Fedor and Mir would be the most intriguing match.
They are two of the best submission artists in the division. Each fighters win tally has resulted in more than half of their wins via submission, which is rare for a heavyweight.
After appearing as a coach on the Ultimate Fighter, Mir really seems to have dedicated himself to fulfilling his unlimited potential. His appearance on the show has catapulted him into one of the most recognizable fighters in the UFC.
He also serves as an announcer for the WEC.
Fedor is known by all serious fight fans and the wide audience this fight would bring would be incredible. It would bring a national spotlight to the sport.
With the UFC becoming the most well-known organization in the United States, everyone knows Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva.
If it isn't Fedor on top of the pound for pound ranking list, Anderson Silva usually occupies the spot with St. Pierre following closely.
Both St. Pierre and Silva have dominated their competition within their respective weight classes and fans have been clamoring for this fight.
St. Pierre will defend his title at UFC 100 against Thiago Alves and Silva will fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in Philadelphia. If both of these fighters win their matches, what is left?
Silva hasn't had a crowd pleasing fight in recent memory and he has toyed with fighting in different weight classes.
Speculation has long been around for this fight, but it took a huge turn towards reality when Silva had no issues cutting down to 179 for his last title defense. Joe Rogan even mentioned that Silva could easily have dropped eight more pounds.
That would put him in the 171 range and right at fighting weight for a St. Pierre match-up. While it's possible Rogan was exaggerating, Dana White is a genius and it wouldn't surprise me to see him set up a catch weight for a Pay Per View bout between the two that would cap off the 2009 year.
Sales would go through the roof, anticipation would be high, and it would have to potential to be the best fight in MMA history all while settling the question of "who is the world's best pound for pound fighter?"
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