What Now for Griffin, Nogueira and Others?

Many people ranted and raved about the quality of the UFC 91 card that featured Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture in the main event.

MMA fans received more of the same on Saturday night, as UFC 92 delivered once again. There was plenty of drama, and many fights were ended via quick, brutal knockouts. Not only that, but the relative quickness of many of the fights on the main card allowed the viewer to watch some of the better undercard matches. UFC 92 provided a little something for everyone.

Some fighters took a huge step forward on Saturday night (namely, Frank Mir, Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans), while others will have now have a great deal of trouble fighting their way back into the title picture.

So what now for some of the major fighters involved with UFC 92? Here are our best guesses:

1. Frank Mir. This one is obvious. Frank Mir looks amazing on Saturday night as he completed dominated Nogueira. Mir earned himself a rematch against Lesnar as the UFC looks to unify the heavyweight title - this will take place sometime in the spring. Lesnar wanted this rematch, as Mir is the only fighter to ever stop him. Mir wanted this fight as well, as he wants to reclaim the top spot in the heavyweight division. Mir/Lesnar II will likely go down sometime in the spring of 2009. If Mir stays in phenomenal shape, then Lesnar could very well have a big problem on his hands.

2. Rashad Evans. Completed his stunning march to the top of the light heavyweight division by stopping Forrest Griffin. Evans is an extremely intelligent and impressive fighter. Next up for Evans? A likely title defense against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

3. Quinton Jackson. This was a must-win fight for Jackson. I'm not sure that Jackson could have recovered from another devastating knock-out at the hands of Wanderlei Silva. Jackson dispatched of his arch-nemesis with a crippling first-round knockout, and has now put himself into a position to win back his light heavyweight title. This was likely a very pivotal night in the life of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, for a number of different reasons.

4. Wanderlei Silva. Silva is still one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, but you can't argue with the fact that he has lost four of his last five fights. Silva will have to string together three or four straight victories to find himself back in the hunt for the light heavyweight title. Next up for Silva? A possible rematch against Chuck Liddell - this fight would seem to make sense for both fighters.

5. Forrest Griffin. Like Silva, Griffin is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. Griffin won't fall too far out of the light heavyweight title picture with this loss. There are a number of possibilities for Griffin at this point, including a fight against the winner of the Machida/Alves fight or even a fight against Chuck Liddell (maybe at UFC 100). Assuming that Jackson beats Evans for the light heavyweight title and Griffin wins his next fight, I think that you are going to see Jackson/Griffin II sometime in 2009. The fans want to see this fight.

6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. A very disappointing night for the legend, as he was completely outclassed by Frank Mir. This was the first time that Nogueira has ever been stopped in a fight - how will he rebound from this loss? I see a Couture / Nogueira fight looming on the horizon, with the winner earning themselves a shot at the winner of Mir/Lesnar II. This seems to make the most sense for everybody involved right now.

2009 is shaping up to be another very big year for the UFC. St. Pierre/Penn II, Lesnar/Mir II, possible Couture/Nogueira, Liddell/Silva II, St. Pierre/Anderson Silva fights .. the mind races at the possibilities.

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