Even if the UFC 149 main card was a letdown, the card did bring about some interesting options for the future in a few different UFC divisions. It seemed like Dana White actually had a plan set for the top of the middleweight division before the terrible Lombard vs. Boetsch fight went down, but he threw those plans in the garbage after the fight and is going back to the drawing board. More interesting to me is how the top of the bantamweight division will play out in the near future. I'm going to bust my crystal ball out and see if I can figure out where the UFC 149 main card fighters are going to go from here.
Renan Barao: The talk of him waiting for Dominick Cruz seems a little hard to believe at this point considering how long Cruz is going to be out for. The obvious fight for Barao if he chooses to defend the interim belt is against Michael McDonald, and that would be an awesome fight.
Urijah Faber: He said no to a drop to flyweight. He's stuck out of the title picture now, and deservedly so. I think it's about time the UFC booked the long-forgotten WEC dream fight - Urijah Faber vs. Miguel Torres. Both are coming off high-profile losses, and their career paths are both at a crossroads. This is the time to make that fight.
Tim Boetsch: He won't be fighting Anderson Silva, that's for sure. If the winner of the Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann matchup doesn't get a title shot, Boetsch seems like a logical next opponent there. Some people are calling for Alan Belcher to take on Boetsch, but I maintain that Belcher doesn't deserve a fight like that yet.
Hector Lombard: The easy answer is a bout with Mark Munoz since he asked for it beforehand, but Lombard didn't do much last night to earn a bout with Munoz. Yes, Munoz got destroyed by Weidman so he's not exactly highly-valued right now either, but still. I think you should have to pick up a win in the UFC before you get a top-five opponent. Let him fight Constantinos Philippou next. That's something I'd like to see.
SBN coverage of UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao
Cheick Kongo: I don't care who he's facing, I hope it's on Fuel. He did win though, so I'd say you match him up with the winner of the proposed Brendan Schaub vs. Lavar Johnson bout that will probably go down in the fall. Or go back to the original matchup with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Shawn Jordan: He was a late replacement against a ranked fighter, so the loss isn't going to hurt his stock that much. He'll go back down to the undercard and scrap with a capable, mid-tier heavyweight like Dave Herman or Christian Morecraft.
Brian Ebersole: Hello lightweight division.
Matt Riddle: He asked for Dan Hardy, so give him Dan Hardy.