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What's Next for the UFC 102 Losers? | read this item

What’s Next for the UFC 102 Losers?

September 10, 2009 � UFC Betting Staff � Jump to comments

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There were a lot of notable losers at UFC 102, including MMA legend Randy Couture. Where do the losers at UFC 102 like Couture and others go from here?

For Couture, he has the option of fighting in either the heavyweight division or the light heavyweight division. He has stated that he is looking for “interesting fights” at this stage of his career.

The 46-year-old Couture is no longer in line for a title shot in either division, but there are plenty of fighters that would like to headline a show with him.

It would be very interesting to see how he matches up against young fighters such as Cain Velasquez and Todd Duffee. Duffee, who is coming off a brutal seven-second knockout victory at UFC 102 against Tim Hague, is only 23 years old. He has told UFC President Dana White that he wants to fight top-level fighters, and Couture certainly fits the bill.

Velasquez has a wrestling background like Couture, and fans would be intrigued by this matchup as well. Velasquez is very highly regarded and could be in line for a title shot if he defeats Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 in October.

Couture could also move back to the light heavyweight division and fight old rivals like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, or Vitor Belfort again. A match against younger fighters like Jon Jones or Brandon Vera could be interesting, also. Even UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva could be in the mix to fight Couture next year.

Keith Jardine suffered a knockout loss to Thiago Silva and has lost four of his last six fights in the Octagon. He needs to regain his confidence after two consecutive losses, and a fight with Krzysztof Soszynski or Brian Stann might be interesting. He could also face the winner of Tito Ortiz vs. Mark Coleman.

Soszynski lost by unanimous decision at UFC 102 to Vera and other possible opponents for him in his next fight include Stephan Bonnar and Ryan Bader. Soszynski is not a title contender in the light heavyweight division, and his next fight might be part of the prelims instead of the main card.

Chris Leben lost to Jake Rosholt, and he is also not a title contender. Leben is an entertaining fighter, though, because he loves to stand and bang. A good opponent for him would be Drew McFedries. McFedries prefers the stand-up game as well and this would be a very entertaining bout.

Demian Maia lost for the first time in his MMA career to Nate Marquardt, and now he needs to rebound with a win in his next fight. Maia could possibly take on another ground fighter such as Rousimar Palhares or Japanese star Yushin Okami. Maia defeated Okami in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2007.

Some of the losers at UFC 102 still have a future with the UFC, but for others, they better win their next fight or they could be possibly be cut from the organization.

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