| 05 January 2010
Despite a weak card on paper (unless you feel that Dustin Hazelett and Paul Daley are worthy names to co-main event a pay-per-view), UFC 108 went off without a hitch and provided an exciting night of fights for the fans. Considering The MMA Manifesto did a live play-by-play of the event, we won't go into a recap of what transpired. Rather, we'll look into our always reliable crystal ball and predict what is next for some of the event's big names.
Rashad Evans
Despite predictably gassing out in the third round, Rashad Evans survived a late onslaught from Thiago Silva and can continue his climb back up the light heavyweight ranks unabated. There's no secret who he will be squaring off against next - TUF 10 nemesis and arch rival Rampage Jackson. Evans in fact called out Jackson after his match on Saturday, calling him "an actor". Looks like these two will finally get it on in May at the stacked UFC 113 card in Montreal. The winner of that match will likely get the winner of the main event from that night - Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua. However, Randy Couture is alluding that the winner of his fight with Mark Coleman is going to get the next title shot (please, if there is a God in the sky and he/she is a MMA fan - DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!).
Thiago Silva
Thiago Silva put in a weak performance at UFC 108, getting dominated for two rounds before coming alive in the third. However, with Evans hurt Silva decided to showboat and clown around, costing himself the match and upward mobility in the packed light heavyweight class. Next up for him could conceivably be numerous people: Jon Jones or Brandon Vera, Rich Franklin, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - the possibilities are endless. But next fight, Silva needs to keep his emotions in check and go for the kill rather than strutting around the cage like a peacock
Paul Daley
Following in fellow Brit and fellow welterweight Dan Hardy's footsteps, Paul Daley is also climbing fast up the UFC's welterweight ranks. The heavy hitter had an impressive KO of Dustin Hazelett on Saturday and appears ready to take on bigger named opponents in the near future. Hopefully the UFC doesn't rush him like they tend to do to young fighters, especially in the 170lb class (see Alves, Thiago; Hardy, Dan) because Daley isn't ready to be sacrificed at the altar of Georges St-Pierre yet. GSP is unbeatable right now, so there is no need in rushing a young fighter up the ranks to only have his buzz snuffed out by the champ. Considering it appears Daley has a thing for blondes, give him Josh Koschek next and see how he handles a wrestler.
Junior dos Santos
Five straight impressive performances has Junior dos Santos' eyes on the heavyweight title. However, his last two victories were over guys who have definitely seen better days in Gilbert Yvel and Mirko Cro Cop. A very interesting fight for the 25-year-old would be against another young heavyweight, Cain Velasquez, who is fighting dos Santos' mentor, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110. Other than that, there aren't a whole lot of other options for dos Santos, unless he is willing to fight the aforementioned Minotauro.
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