What Now For Some of the Main Participants of UFC 87?

after fight bud light video - brock lesnar talks into the camera from the change room

UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" is now in the books. Fans were treated to a strong card which was capped off by a fantastic main event, as Georges St. Pierre successfully defended his Welterweight title to the always game Jon Fitch. This card had just about everything - definitely one of the best PPVs of the year (maybe just one notch below UFC 84).

Anyways, the big question after this event is: where to now for names such as St. Pierre, Florian, Lesnar and Fitch? Here are our thoughts:

Georges St. Pierre - It should be fairly obvious to just about everyone that Georges St. Pierre vs B.J. Penn will be happening later this year. Who else would St. Pierre fight? Maybe Thiago Alves, but I can't see why the UFC would have that match before a St. Pierre / Penn fight. Alves can wait until after that fight, which will almost certainly take place in Montreal, Quebec near the end of December. St. Pierre completely dominated and took apart the number #2 Welterweight in the world, Jon Fitch. As you could tell if you watched UFC 87 tonight, Penn clearly has his sights set on St. Pierre, and Dana White doesn't seem to be against the fight happening. Book it - Penn vs St. Pierre for the Welterweight title in late December.

Kenny Florian - Dana White publicly backed off of the winner of Huerta - Florian being given an automatic title shot. In my opinion he just did this because Huerta's stock had fallen so much in his eyes over recent months (due to public complaining and griping by Huerta). If there is anything that White hates, it's his fighters publicly complaining about their contracts (see: Tito Ortiz). White DID NOT want to give Huerta a title shot if he won against Florian (which he didn't). Florian will get a title shot against Penn, but he'll have to wait until the spring of 2009 to do so (as Penn will be moving up to fight St. Pierre). Penn has publicly stated that he wants to jump back and forth between Lightweight and Welterweight. So who does this leave for Florian in the meantime? Maybe the winner of Sherk and Griffin at UFC 90? Or maybe he'll just wait until the spring to get his shot against Penn? I would guess it will be one of these two scenarios - I can't see Florian fighting anyone else.

Roger Huerta - I believe that he has one fight left on his deal with the UFC. I'm trying to figure out where he fits now in the lightweight division after his loss to Kenny Florian tonight. I'm having trouble figuring it out. I can't see the UFC extending the contract of Huerta past his current one. As mentioned, Dana White hates fighters that speak out against himself and the UFC, so I think that Huerta's days in the UFC are numbered. Maybe he takes on the loser of Sherk and Griffin. Maybe he takes on someone like Frankie Edgar - I'm not sure. I would be willing to bet that Huerta doesn't factor much in the UFC's planning for the lightweight division now though.

Jon Fitch - Sure he lost to Georges St. Pierre, but what a warrior. He earned high points with the management of the UFC for his spirited battle against St. Pierre tonight. Dana White (and most MMA fans, I imagine) love scrappy fighters who can take some serious punishment. Fitch still has a long career ahead of him and he should play a prominent role in the UFC's welterweight division for a long time to come. I'm having some trouble thinking of a logical next opponent for Fitch - he's already beaten Alves, Sanchez and Burkman. He'll be back soon though, I guarantee you that.

Brock Lesnar - Huge win tonight for Lesnar. If he had lost tonight, then I believe his days in the UFC would have been numbered. The UFC has no problem in getting rid of big-money guys who drop a few fights in a row (see Cro-Cop). Lesnar scored an impressive and lopsided victory against Herring tonight. He proved that he can go a full three rounds. Like him or not (and I know that many of you don't), he is a major part of the UFC's future plans for the heavyweight division. The Brock Lesnar hype train will be back on the tracks - the UFC didn't want to feature him too much in UFC 87 promos, just in case he dropped another fight. Now that he has won, expect him to be featured prominently in the next PPV that he fights in. Lesnar is a scary athlete and seems hell-bent on improving - I'm not sure why anyone would doubt that he could eventually compete for the heavyweight title. Sure, it might take a few years, but he'll get to the point of at least fighting for the title. That's the reason the UFC brought him in. His next opponent? I'm guessing Kongo.. maybe Gonzaga? One of these two fighters seems to make the most sense.. it won't be Werdum like many people are speculating..

All in all, the UFC got exactly what they wanted tonight. They got a dominant performance by St. Pierre in the main event, which will lead nicely into a Penn / St. Pierre mega-fight in late December. They also got an impressive victory by Lesnar which was desperately needed to maintain some of the buzz in the heavyweight division. Also, they got a strong performance from Kenny Florian which will set up a Florian / Penn fight in early 2009. A great night for fight fans, but a better night for the UFC. A St. Pierre or Lesnar loss would have been disastrous for the future plans of the company.

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