What's Next For UFC on Fuel TV 8 Winners

By Jeremy Green
UFC Belt
Ron Chenoy – US Presswire

UFC on Fuel TV 8 kicked off tonight, showcasing an exciting light heavyweight bout between Brian Stann and Wanderlei Silva.  It was a fight that lived up to the hype, where Wanderlei Silva was able to get the KO in the second round.  Also, Mark Hunt was able to survive until the third, getting a third round TKO over Stefan Struve.  Let’s now take a look and see what’s next for the main card winners of the event.

Dong Hyun Kim: Kim completely smothered Siyar for all three rounds, showcasing his world class grappling skills.  Up next for him should be a bout with  Josh Koscheck.  Koscheck is coming off a loss, and a fight with Kim would be an excellent display of grappling skills and tactics.  The winner would move up the welterweight rankings, and would be a huge win for Kim that cements his status as being an elite welterweight.

Rani Yahya: Yahya is one of the best jiu jitsu practitioners in the featherweight division, but he has never had a stellar gas tank.  Maybe a fight with Dennis Bermudez is the most appropriate fight for him at this point.  Both will  be coming off wins, and the winner would put their name in the hat to challenge for the featherweight title.

Yushin Okami: Okami stifled the dangerous Hector Lombard, earning a split decision.  Okami has shown to still be a force in the middleweight division even if he can’t get past the best of them in Anderson Silva.  A rematch with Tim Boetsch seems like an appropriate move as it would give him the chance to avenge his loss and prove he still has what it takes to be a champion.

Diego Sanchez: Sanchez got lucky in earning a split decision as Takanori Gomi did enough in my opinion to win every round.  To be honest,  Diego just didn’t look good at lightweight, and he even came in two pounds over the weight limit.  He should consider staying at welterweight and fighting marquee fights for the rest of his career.  He will never be a champion, but rematches with Josh Koscheck and Nick Diaz would be fun to watch.

Mark Hunt: Hunt showed he has the power, finishing Struve late in the third round.  For him, a fight with Alistair Overeem would be fun to watch and would warrant a title shot if he can win.  That’s right, a title shot!  Or, a bout with Gabriel Gonzaga would certainly test him in the grappling department, but a knockout win would give him his fifth straight victory in the UFC’s heavyweight division  Either way, fans will be tuning in to see the Pride veteran fight.

Wanderlei Silva: His knockout win over Stann was vintage Silva, and he proved to everyone he still has some fire to compete at a high level.  He should stay in the light heavyweight division and face either Chael Sonnen or Dan Henderson.  Both fighters have been veterans of the sport, and it would be interesting to see a Henderson rematch to see how it will play out a second time.  Either way, Silva needs to be fighting big fights at this point in his career.

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