What Now in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division?

Forrest Griffin shocked many in the MMA world when he defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for the Light Heavyweight belt last night at UFC 86. Many were predicting that Jackson would make quick work of Griffin - instead, Griffin seemed to want the fight more, and bested Jackson in a five-round battle.

Now that Griffin is the new Light Heavyweight champion, what fights could we possibly see in the near-future in that division?

I don't think there is any doubt that Dana White wants to see a Chuck Liddell - Forrest Griffin fight in late 2008 - early 2009. White loves both of these fighters, and any fight between the two would be a great one. Obviously Liddell has to take care of business first at UFC 88, when he takes on the undefeated Rashad Evans. Liddell is a good friend of White's and easily the most popular fighter in the UFC. There is no question that Liddell will be the next in line for a shot at the title if he beats Evans at UFC 88.

What if Liddell doesn't win? Many people are calling for a rematch between Jackson and Griffin. This will all depend on the PPV buyrate for UFC 86 - if the show did well, then a rematch would be very likely. If the show suffered compared to some of the shows in the past few months, then you can forget about it. Jackson seemed largely uninspired in his fight against Griffin, and there just wasn't the heat between the two main event fighters that we normally see. People love it when the two fighters in the main event legitimately hate each other, and there just wasn't any of that between Jackson and Griffin. I have a feeling that the PPV numbers will be a bit disappointing to the UFC brass - if so, this rematch will never happen.

I think that the next fighter in line for Jackson is Wanderlei Silva. This match sells itself - Silva is on an upswing after losing three straight fights. He has history with Jackson (defeated him twice, once at Pride 28: High Octane and once at Pride Final Conflict 2003) and is one of the UFC's most popular fighters. If Liddell gets past Evans at UFC 88, then put Griffin up against Liddell, and then have Silva fight Jackson for a shot at the title.

What about Lyoto Machida? There is NO way that he will be Griffin's next opponent. First off, Griffin has already stated that there are "20" guys that he would rather fight than Machida. Dana White will not put Machida against Griffin in his first title defense. I just don't see it happening.

Dan Henderson would be an interesting match-up for Griffin. This would be a much better fight than a Machida - Griffin bout. I believe that Henderson is rumored to be fighting at UFC 88, so assuming that he wins that fight, maybe he'll have the next shot at Griffin? Who knows.

We're obviously just speculating here. Griffin's victory certainly surprised many fans, and has now thrown a wrench into some of the plans that the UFC might have had for the light heavyweight division.

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