Hello, folks. Over the past month or so, there seems to have been a UFC or Strikeforce fight every weekend. So many fights have gone down recently that it's almost hard to keep track. Now that we finally have a bit of a break before the next major event to catch our collective breath, I thought it might be a good time to play matchmaker. In this instance, I'm going to pick one fight from each division that I'd like to see booked. Let's get to it.
HEAVYWEIGHT
Shane Carwin vs. Cheick Kongo
Both of these men are long-time veterans of the UFC and it's somewhat surprising that they haven't met before. Now is the perfect time. Carwin won two high fights in a row over Gonzaga and Mir before dropping back-to-back fights to Lesnar and dos Santos. He now finds himself in desperate need of a win in order to maintain his spot in the division. Kongo, on the other hand, is experiencing something like a career resurgence after his come-from-behind win over Pat Barry. He's never had more momentum than he does right now, which means it's do or die. Carwin has to prove he still belongs at the top of the division and Kongo needs to prove he's finally ready to compete at the upper levels of the sport. Let's have them blast each other in the face to prove their respective points.
My pick: Shane Carwin via KO. Kongo's win over Barry was miraculous, but it also showed deep holes in his striking defense. Then taking into account Carwin's power and his ability to survive against dos Santos, and I say he takes it.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Lyoto Machida vs. Stephan Bonnar
This is a bit of a strange choice, I know. But I promise it makes sense. After a dissapointing three-fight losing streak, Bonnar has now posted two wins in a row, one of which was in a FOTN performance against the very tough Krzysztof Soszynski. And at 34 years old with 21 fights to his name, Bonnar doesn't have much more time to make waves at the top levels of the sport. The time is now for him to test himself against the very best his division has to offer. Machida, on the other hand, is coming off of a big victory over Randy Couture that snapped a two-fight losing streak. While that KO was huge, it also came at the expense of a 47 year old man. That means Machida isn't completely out of the water. He needs another win before he's back at the top. In light of the fact that all of the other top 205 pounders are currently booked, Bonnar makes sense for Machida's next fight. Add in the fact that these two have fought before, with Machida winning in controversial fashion after Bonnar was cut, and the time is right for a rematch.
My pick: Machida via decision. Machida has an edge over Bonnar in pretty much every area of the game, but the former TUF finalist is as tough as they come.
More after the jump.
Source: http://www.fightlinker.com/lets-play-matchmaker
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