Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) year-end event proved to be a doozy, including the gruesome ending in the main event.
Chris Weidman defeated Anderson Silva for the second time in one year after "The Spider" broke his leg in the second round. It was a gross sequence of events to watch, but there is no denying Weidman's abilities to dominate the fight until that moment.
Ronda Rousey successfully defended her title against Miesha Tate in the co-main event, which won "Fight of The Night." After a back-and-forth scrap, Rousey submitted her arch enemy in the third round with what is becoming her world-famous arm bar.
Travis Browne knocked out Josh Barnett in exactly one minute after "The Warmaster" was caught with a knee going for the takedown and absorbed a bunch of elbows to the side of the head before he went out and the referee stepped in.
Jim Miller returned to winning ways after submitting a fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in Fabricio Camoes, successfully acquiring the armbar off of his back.
And finally, Dustin Poirier defeated Diego Brandao on the main card's first fight, finishing him with punches in the first round.
Indeed, after every fight card, mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are already thinking about what the future holds for the stars of the show. With another night of action-packed fights, let's peer into our crystal ball and predict possible matchmaking scenarios.
Here are our next matches to make:
Winner: Dustin Poirier
Who He Should Fight Next: Frankie Edgar
Why They Should Fight: Right now, the Featherweight division is sort of set for the foreseeable future, with Jose Aldo facing Ricardo Lamas in February and Chad Mendes potentially next in line to face the winner of that bout, which is taking place at UFC 169 in Newark, New Jersey.
To avoid rematches with another gunning 145-pound upstart in Cub Swanson, which would be then second time they meet in a year (having lost to him in February) and Chan Sung Jung, he should fight the athlete who stands before him in the promotion's official ranking system:
Frankie Edgar.
"The Answer" has only one featherweight fight under his belt in UFC and the former Lightweight champion has been quiet since then with no updates regarding his next fight. This would be war to watch, and potentially, one for the ages. The winner of this fight gets a title shot after Mendes.
Book it.
Winner: Jim Miller
Who He Should Fight Next: Michael Johnson
Why They Should Fight: When rebounding off a loss, Jim Miller looks dangerous as hell. He made quick work of Fabricio Camoes, making it seem as though submitting Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts is becoming all too easy for the gritty lightweight. He has not won two straight fights since 2011, and Miller needs to at least do that before he can become a top 155-pound contender again.
After defeating Joe Lauzon and Gleison Tibau, Johnson is also looking for recognition in the division. Looking nothing like the fighter he was on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 12, he has had some great moments in the Octagon; however, to challenge for a title he needs to be consistent. Both of these combatants fought on last night's card, and it seems like Johnson is in dire need of a step up in competition.
Miller is exactly that remedy.
Winner: Travis Browne
Who He Should Fight Next: Fabricio Werdum
Why They Should Fight: For starters, Browne called out Werdum in his post-fight interview, who was actually the No. 1 contender to Cain Velasquez's title.
After it was announced that Velasquez would be shelved for what seems to be a year because of surgery and that there would not be an interim title, that leaves a lot of time in between for Browne and Werdum to stay inactive.
Instead of twirling their thumbs in attendance at every UFC event in 2014, let these two behemoths step inside the Octagon and settle who is officially the next challenge to Velasquez's title. The winner of Browne and Josh Barnett was rumored to be next; however, with Werdum's accomplishments in the UFC, he cannot be excluded out of the plans either.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
Who She Should Fight Next: Sara McMann
Why They Should Fight: This is the first easy answer (along with the last selection below). This fight was announced at the post-fight press conference and it is a bit strange because Cat Zingano had already been promised a title shot the moment she fully recovers from injury. It was in fact Zingano who was suppose to challenge Rousey on this card, and coach The Ultimate Fighter 18 after beating Miesha Tate in a title eliminator bout. Zingano was even present at ringside last night in Las Vegas.
It is safe to say Zingano is not fully recovered, and McMann now challenges Rousey, who asked to be put back inside the cage just two months after her championship win last night. Is it too soon for Rousey to come back or does McMann have too steep of a mountain to climb?
One thing is for sure: This is an intriguing battle of Olympians with undefeated mixed martial arts (MMA) records at UFC 170.
Winner: Chris Weidman
Who He Should Fight Next: Vitor Belfort
Why They Should Fight: First off, they should fight anywhere but Brazil. If Belfort was serious about ditching TRT, then this whole shady business of him having fight in Brazilian territory over and over again will be put to rest.
Belfort was promised the next shot and he even spoke at the post-fight presser. Does this fight make sense?
Of course it does.
Minus Belfort's controversies, he has done enough for another title shot, while Weidman seems ready to defend his title for a second time. This would hopefully be a great fight to watch, with the possibilities of a striking-meets-grappling war materializing in front of our eyes.
There is no set time for this fight, however, after Weidman's performance on Saturday and Belfort's recent killing spree, it makes the anticipation a whole lot more frustrating to deal with.
For full UFC 168: "Weidman vs. Silva 2" results and fight coverage, click here.