Fights to make after UFC 150

With UFC 150 in the books, UFC match maker Joe Silva will go to work on booking fights for the fighters that took part in this past Saturday night’s fight card in Denver.

Benson Henderson:

We already know that Henderson’s next title defense will be against Nate Diaz and the fight could happen before the end of the year.

After the post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White said that he was texting with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta about some ideas.

Based on the remaining schedule for 2012, there seems to be only one fight card that would make sense for the next title defense for Henderson. With the UFC working to have Rory MacDonald vs. B.J. Penn as the co-main event of UFC on FOX 5, it would seems that the main event would be Henderson vs. Diaz for the title. Of course, that could all change if one of the fighters will not be ready to go by that time.

Prediction: Henderson vs. Diaz

Frankie Edgar:

When it comes to the former lightweight champion, the question is whether he wants to stay in the lightweight division or move down to featherweight. White has made it clear in the past that he would like to see Edgar move down.

“He has always prove that he can stay at 155,” White said. “There has never been a case where Frankie is not good enough to be at 155, he’s not tough enough to be at 55, he’s not talented enough to be at 55 or that he is not big enough to be at 55. I just think at 145, he is a monster, but he likes 55 and he wanted this fight bad.”

The decision on what weight class Edgar wants to fight in will be made by him and not the UFC. If he does decided to move down in weight, White said he would not get an immediate shot at the title. If Edgar tells the UFC he wants to move down, potential matchups could be Chad Mendes or Chan Sung Jung.

If he decides he wants to stay at lightweight, look for a bout with Jim Miller. Both fighters are coming off losses and Edgar defeated Miller in 2006, when they were fighting in the MMA promotion, Reality Fighting.

Prediction: Edgar stays at lightweight and faces Jim Miller.

Donald Cerrone:

Cerrone has won eight of his last nine fights and had an impressive victory on Saturday night against Melvin Guillard. After nearly getting knocked out, Cerrone came back to finish his former training partner.

Prior to UFC 150, Cerrone made it clear that he wanted a fight with former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and said that Pettis has been ducking him. White said after the fights that he likes the fight and they will meet each other in a number one contenders fight.

Prediction: Cerrone vs. Pettis

Melvin Guillard:

“The Young Assassin” took the fight with Cerrone on one month’s notice, but missed weight for the fight. The UFC did not seem upset with the fighter, which they gave him the fight of the night bonus. Typically, the UFC will not give a fighter a fight night bonus if he misses weight.

He has now lost three of his last four fights, with two of the losses coming by submission. Guillard likes to stay active and look for him to fight by the end of the year.

Predicition: Guillard vs. Edson Barboza

Jake Shields:

After entering the UFC as a welterweight, Shields move back to the middleweight division and defeated Ed Herman. The fight with Herman was a typical Jake Shields fight and surprisingly, Herman decided to fight Shields in a grappling fight.

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion admitted that he needs to put more weight on to compete in the middleweight division.

Prediction: Shields vs. Yushin Okami