After an enjoyable Ultimate Fighter Live Finale last night we assess what comes next for the evening’s big winners.
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Martin Kampmann:
Kampmann is developing a knack for getting into exciting scraps that leave banged up and bloodied, but ultimately victorious.
He’s now on a three fight winning streak with his two prior losses before that also being closely fought so he’s certainly established himself as one of the welterweight division’s top contenders.
The top of the division’s in limbo at the moment though due to GSP’s injury which is unfortunate. Personally I’d have loved to see Kampmann rematch Carlos Condit next, but the interim champ is holding out for a fight with St.Pierre towards the end of the year so that’s unlikely to happen.
With that in mind my guess would be that Kampmann will go up against Johny Hendricks who’s cultivated a four fight unbeaten run of his own.
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Michael Chiesa:
Chiesa’s done terrifically well to emerge as the new ‘Ultimate Fighter’ despite not being the most skilled fighter on the show and having to battle through the adversity of losing his Father early in the show.
In the long run I think he’ll struggle in the hugely competitive lightweight division though, and the UFC would be wise to start him off slowly rather than pitching him in with high profile fighters right away.
Someone like Aaron Riley who’s already been established as something of a gatekeeper for other TUF winners like Ross Pearson and Tony Ferguson should be a decent starting point for him.
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Charles Oliveira:
Oliveira is a real talent in the featherweight ranks and at only 22 years of age I believe he has the potential to challenge for a title one day.
He’s already got a good amount of experience in the UFC and I don’t see any reason to hold him back from some of the division’s best talents.
Therefore I’d put him in with another fighter who’s moved down from the lightweight division looking to make a big impact at 145lbs, Dennis Siver.
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Max Holloway:
I wondered why the UFC’s had put the relatively unknown Holloway on the main card of last night’s show given that he was coming off a loss, but all became clear as the young fighter put on an excellent display of striking that marked him out as ‘one for the future’.
I liked his work to the body a lot, which reminded me of another 145lb striker Nam Phan who’s scheduled to face Cole Miller next, and the winner of that one would be a good next step for Holloway.
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Justin Lawrence:
Lawrence was one of the favorites to win the TUF: Live show and I still think he could end up making the biggest impact in the UFC of the current crop from this season.
There’s been some talk of Lawrence moving down to featherweight after the show, and that doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
If he does so then let’s see how he copes against another talented striker and recent TUF competitor Marcus Brimage.
