#1 Contenders at LW, WW and MW

In 3 UFC weight classes - LW, WW and MW - the champion is expected to fight outside his division. #1 Contenders in each category must either fight in the meantime or sit out for several months. Most will sensibly opt to fight.

The next decision is whether to pit contenders against cans in order not to jeopardize their title shot, or whether to pit them against other contenders in legitimate #1 Contender fights. It's becoming increasingly clear that there is little upside to fighting a can and risking defeat to an unknown. Werdum's knockout is a case in point. There is an opportunity to set up a round of #1 Contender fights in each division.

At Lightweight, Penn is set to fight GSP in January. The #1 Contender is widely held to be Florian. The 2 other top fighters, Sherk and Stevenson, have already had title shots and lost decisively to Penn. A victorious Florian might choose to wait until Penn was ready to fight him. If he chose to fight, Diaz would be a good option. Unlike Florian, Stevenson and Diaz are more than one win away from a title shot. In other words, they'd each need another victory beyond Florian to qualify for a shot.

At Welterweight, the #1 contender is Alves. He should fight his original opponent, Sanchez, while biding his time for a shot at GSP. If Sanchez won, he would need another victory before a title shot.

At Middleweight, Silva needs a break from the division and should take some fights against Top 10 Light Heavyweights. The best-ranked Middleweights, Henderson and Franklien, are slated to fight, but it is unclear whether they will fight as Middleweights or Light Heavyweights. The injured #! contender is Okami. If he is healed and eager to fight, he could take on Lutter. If Okami is not ready to fight, Bisping could be set against the TUF killer, Macdonald.

At Light Heavyweight, A. Silva should be thrown in against Liddell for an epic match.