Then Rogan interviewed Georges, and he dropped the huge retirement bomb on everyone. At that moment I felt a whirlwind of emotions tearing through my body. On the one hand I was watching one of the most dominant fighters in the history of MMA saying it was his time to step away for awhile. On the other hand I was outraged that I would not get to see an immediate rematch, which I feel Hendricks more than earned. Then I started thinking about all the possibilities that could arise from the champ vacating his title and stepping away for some time to sort his personal issues out and heal up.

The first thought that popped into my head was a tournament to determine the new champion. With fighters like Hendricks, Condit, MacDonald, Lawler, Story, Brown, Ellenberger, Maia, Shields, Lombard and Woodley all chasing the welterweight gold a tournament seems the only logical way to go. If you put any two of those fighters against each other, except maybe Shields, you have the makings for fight of the night every time. I think that if GSP does decide to retire, or step away for any length of time, this tournament could be the best way to settle who the new king of the division is. I really think that right now Tyron Woodley is currently the dark horse of this division, and his mauling of Josh Koscheck did not surprise me in the least. I really think Woodley is about to hit his stride and make some pretty big waves in the upcoming months.

Although if the UFC decides not to go the route of the tournament, I would at least hope that Hendricks would be offered a spot in the title match. A five round rematch with Carlos Condit would be very interesting, especially considering more than a few people feel Condit won their match. That is assuming Condit can get past Matt Brown in their upcoming match. Even Brown and Hendricks would make for fireworks. A brawl pitting Hendricks against Lawler would definitely ensure that an entire crowd would be on its feet.

However, this is all pure speculation on my part, and we won’t have any definitive answers for a few months at least. Georges needs to take this time off, clear his head and figure out what he wants to do next. GSP has numerous possibilities waiting for him, fighting is not the only thing the world has to offer him, and if he truly feels his time is up, I would rather see him go out on his own terms, on a big win, even if it was a bit controversial and I scored it for the other fighter.

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Johnny Hendricks will be walking into this title fight with extreme confidence in his powerful left hand. He truly believes that his wrestling pedigree is enough to negate the champion’s attempts to drag this fight to the ground. The only problem is, Hendricks is not the first elite level wrestler GSP has gone up against, and he took them down at will. Hendricks has been compared to Chuck Liddell in that he uses his wrestling to keep the fight standing and has the kind of KO power that will put anyone he touches to sleep. Again, Hendricks faces a man who is notorious for being elusive and extremely frustrating for strikers. GSP is a master at sticking to the outside and utilizing his jab and kicks to dance around his opposition and wear them down to nothing. No matter the outcome, this fight promises to be explosive.

In his last few outings Rashad Evans has not looked like his former self. He has been lackluster in his three previous fights, one of them a loss to Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. It is no secret that Rashad has gone fought through some personal demons of late, and it’s like you can almost see the toll it’s taken on him; although it really is hard to criticize the former champion when he walks around with an 18-3-1 record. Despite his recent performances in the octagon, Rashad better hope his head is on straight because he will be facing off against Chael Sonnen. Sonnen is no joke, and aside from his lopsided loss to Jon Jones earlier this year Sonnen is a solid competitor who is always game. Chael will look to use his superior wrestling to keep Rashad down and wear him out. Both fighters are looking to build a streak of wins, but I have to say that Sonnen seems to be the hotter, more focused fighter right now.

Many in the MMA world are calling Rory MacDonald the next big thing in the welterweight division. The only problem I see with that is MacDonald is a regular training partner of GSP, and both fighters have previously said they would not fight each other. If GSP can stop Hendricks and MacDonald can stop Lawler that could complicate the title picture a bit. However, Lawler will not go down without a fight, and fight he will. Lawler burst back onto the UFC scene after Strikeforce and its roster were bought out by the UFC. His aggression and fearless style could pose some serious problems for MacDonald. Lawler has raw power in both hands, and if he can get past MacDonald’s reach it could be a quick night for both fighters.


 

Then there is the debut of UFC’s lightweight champion’s younger brother, Sergio Pettis. Sergio has torn through all of his competition thus far and feels he is ready to step up to the big leagues. I am extremely excited to watch this young fighter’s debut. He has talent and potential galore. With the bantamweight division at a sort of crossroads with Champion Dominick Cruz and interim champion Renan Barao set to face off on Superbowl weekend he is poised to make some waves. The bantamweight division is full of elite fighters all jostling for position. It may be too early to through him to the wolves, but I cannot wait for him to step up against the likes of Urijah Faber, Eddie Wineland and Yuri Alcantara. At just twenty years old, the sky really is the limit for this young man.

This past Saturday Vitor Belfort did the impossible, the unthinkable. He finished Dan Henderson with strikes in the first round. It was a thing of beauty, truly, as have the past three stunning finishes he has scored since losing to Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. The only thing stopping Vitor’s recent resurgence has been his role regarding TRT. After his crushing first round loss to Anderson Silva Vitor has been fighting like a man possessed. The only question is, is his aggression and highlight reel knockouts linked directly to TRT? In a recent interview Belfort stated that he feels he deserves a title shot, and if he had to fight in the US, where he is not allowed the benefit of TRT due to previous steroid issues, he would be willing to fight without the TRT. Which begs the question, if you feel you can fight without the TRT, then why are you using it at all? In general TRT seems like a controversial loophole at best. At worst it’s a legal way to cheat the system and gain an unfair advantage in a combative sport. In my opinion all of Belfort’s recent wins should come with a permanent asterisk. It seems, however, that Belfort will face the winner of Weidman Silva II.

Aside from my distrust of all things TRT, this Saturday’s card was incredible. Not only did it boast amazing fights with fantastic finishes, it showcased a new class of viable contenders for the middleweight and welterweight divisions. The two welterweights to keep an eye on are Brandon Thatch and Ryan LaFlare. They both won in impressive fashion, and look to be like a real handful for any of the elite in that division. In the middleweight division Omari Akhmedov, Cezar Ferreira and Daniel Sarafian all looked impressive. I believe it’s a safe assumption that these three young fighters could very well play a huge role in shaping the new direction of the middleweight division. Akhmedov, in particular, was impressive in his win. He seems to be just the latest of this new batch of dominant fighters from Russia. Could we be seeing a shift in the MMA landscape? Only time will tell.


 

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