Fights we should see in 2009...

Happy New Years everyone. Many people have posted their wishlist or projections for 2009 and since I am bored at work, I have decided to give a quick run down of the fights I am exited about or think we should see in the new year...

1. Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir II - Rematch for the unification of the heavyweight title that should do huge pay per view numbers. We get to see how much Lesnar has been working on his submission defense since the first fight and whether Mir is really as improved as he looked against Nogueira.

2. Georges St Pierre vs BJ Penn II - Another rematch that should do huge numbers with the welterweight title on the line. Both fighters are clearly in there primes and are no doubt number one in their weight classes. The only problem is that if Penn wins he will hold two title belts (or does this leave the lightweight title vacant?) which could cause problems for contenders in those divisions. They should have just done this as a non title fight at catch weight.

3. Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes - A grudge match between the former coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 that never got to fight because of injuries. It may be Hughes last fight and could be held in New York if mixed martial arts is legalized there some time this year.

4. Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson - I only wonder if they won't give Rampage a title shot until his legal problems are solved (although from what I read today this may not be a problem). If this can't happen right away, a Forrest Griffin rematch would be cool too, although with a broken hand he may be out for a while.

5. Randy Couture vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - Apparently Couture originally asked to fight Nogueira (rather than Lesnar) when he was contemplating his come back. They are both legends in the sport and probably don't have a lot of fights left so this match would make a lot of sense.

6. Anderson Silva vs Georges St Pierre - I think this would be even better than the St Pierre/Penn fight. I am guessing this would be a non title fight but who knows. Silva needs to start having some big fights before he retires.

7. Nate Marquardt vs Yushin Okami - They are the top contenders for the middleweight title, not Thales Leites (who in my opinion was beat by Marquardt). The winner could be next in line for Anderson Silva. If Okami wins, Silva could avenge his earlier disqualification loss, if not we get an interesting rematch.

8. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Cheick Kongo - This is the heavyweight fight that should have happened with the winner getting a title shot and Carwin or Cane facing the loser.

9. Georges St Pierre vs Thiago Alves - Alves is on a seven fight win streak and deserves the next title shot after beating Parisyan, Hughes, and Koscheck. With St Pierre fighting Penn in January and then possibly Anderson Silva after that, this fight may not happen for a while. I don't really know who he could fight while he waits, maybe Diego Sanchez (although he ismoving down to lightweight).

10. BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian - Florian just beat Joe Stevenson in the first round to win his sixth fight in a row and should be Penn's next opponent. In the meantime a Sean Sherk rematch for the next title shot could be good.

11. Jon Fitch vs Josh Koscheck - This would be a great fight. Fitch was on a fifteen fight win streak before his decision loss to St Pierre. He has already beat Sanchez and Alves. Koscheck has looked good recently with the only losses in his last ten fights coming against St Pierre and Alves.

Other Fights That Could Happen:

Anderson Silva vs BJ Penn - I wouldn't mind seeing this but I doubt Penn could move up two weight classes and still be in good enough shape to keep this competitive. Plus, Dana probably wont let this happen.

Anderson Silva vs Chuck Liddell - I think this would be a bad idea for Chuck because he needs some wins to get back on track and probably wouldn't have a great chance in this fight.

Anderson Silva vs Randy Couture - This would be great fight if they could meet at light heavyweight. Unlike Liddell, I dont think Couture is looking to rebuild his career, just catch a few big paydays, so it wouldn't matter as much if he lost.

Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin - This would also be an interesting option for Silva, much better than seeing him end his career with more fights like Irvin, Cote, and Leites.

Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture IV - I am not that interested in this fight. They have already met three times (with Liddell winning the last two) and both are past their prime.

Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva II - Again, I am not that interested in this fight right now. Although the first one was great, they met only about a year ago and neither fighter has done very well since then. Maybe in the future. I would like to see Silva move down to middleweight and coach opposite Bisping on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the possible bonus of an eventual fight against Anderson Silva (although I doubt this will happen). I think Liddell should take either a Jardine rematch or Griffin to start. Both are fights he could win. Shogun is also a possibility.

Brock Lesnar vs Fedor Emelianenko - I would be more interested in this than a Fedor vs Couture match but either would be a good fight. The only problems are I don't think Lesnar is ready for this yet, Couture is probably too old, and Fedor will never sign with the UFC anyway.

Lyoto Machida vs ??? - If he defeats Thiago Silva (and he probably will), he deserves to be next in line for the heavyweight title. The problem is, he would not draw a lot of pay per view buys against Rashad Evans (or as the champion), his fights can be boring, and no one else wants to fight him right now. Maybe Wanderlei Silva (if he stays at light heavyweight), Griffin, or Shogun before getting a title shot?

Frank Shamrock vs Tito Ortiz - A rematch that would draw interest from a lot of casual fans and would be fun to watch. It would also do decent pay per view numbers for a non UFC event.

Please share your opinions...