Saturday night, UFC Fight Night 60 emanated live on Fox Sports 1 from the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The main event saw former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson move up in weight to defeat Colorado native Brandon Thatch on short notice in an excellent, back-and-forth bout. However, the rest of the card was a bit slow. Below, LWOS books the fights for the main card winners and losers, and hopefully, the next time these fighters get back in the cage, their fights will be as exciting as the main event was:
Benson Henderson: Henderson showed why he’s a former champion, as he implemented a great gameplan against the much bigger Thatch. Henderson avoided the early onslaught, dragged Thatch into the deep water, and then jumped on the submission finish like a shark latching onto its prey. Henderson has a few options as far as what’s next for him. He could go back to lightweight, but his path back to the title is not that clear. He lost a month ago to Donald Cerrone, he has a loss to current number one contender Rafael dos Anjos, and he has two losses to current champion Anthony Pettis. The path to the welterweight belt is much clearer. He called out Rory MacDonald right after the fight, but UFC President Dana White said MacDonald already has opponent booked. A top welterweight without an opponent booked? Tyron Woodley. Like Thatch, Woodley is a mammoth welterweight, but he tends to stagnate during his fights. Henderson would bring the fight to him, and if he could beat Woodley, he puts himself fight in the welterweight title hunt.
Brandon Thatch: Thatch is known for finishing his opponents in the first round. Saturday night though, he showed Henderson a little too much respect, didn’t surge out of the gate as hard as he normally does, and paid the price for it by getting choked out in the fourth round. Thatch’s future is still bright though, and up next, he should fight Jordan Mein. Mein lost to Thiago Alves two weeks ago at UFC 183 in a bout he was controlling on the feet until Alves dropped him with a kick to the body. Thatch and Mein are two of the best strikers in the welterweight division, and both have the potential to be future champions. A fight between them would be automatic fireworks.
Max Holloway: Holloway picked up his fifth win a row with his battering of Cole Miller on Saturday night. We already know his next opponent too: post-fight, UFC commentator Jon Anik informed Holloway inside the octagon that the UFC has booked him opposite Cub Swanson at UFC on FOX 15 in Newark, New Jersey on April 18th. That will be one hell of a fight.
Cole Miller: The biggest blow Holloway landed on Miller wasn’t a kick or a punch, but an accidental head butt in the second round. From that point on, Miller wasn’t the same fighter, and Holloway dominated the back half of the bout. Miller has been with the UFC since 2007, and he’s fought a litany of fighters. One man whose path he’s yet to cross with though is Dennis Siver. Both men are former lightweights now in the featherweight division, and both are coming off of losses to superior strikers. The strong striking and underrated grappling of Siver, meshed with the underrated striking and phenomenal grappling of Miller, would make for one intriguing fight.
Neil Magny: Magny picked up his sixth win in a row with his submission of Kiichi Kunimoto on Saturday night. While the win streak is impressive, the names on it are not. Magny needs a top 15 opponent next time out, and Thiago Alves is the man for the job. Alves is coming off of a win over Jordan Mein two weeks ago, and if Magny could defeat Alves, not only would it be the biggest win of his career, but it could catapult Magny himself into the top 15.
Kiichi Kunimoto: The loss to Magny was the first of Kunimoto’s UFC career. His UFC debut came 13 months ago when he defeated Luiz Dutra by disqualification. Dutra was disqualified for landing illegal blows to the back of Kunimoto’s head, and the decision left a bad taste in the mouth of both men. Now is as good a time as any to do the rematch.
Daniel Kelly: Despite an uninspiring showing on TUF Nations, Kelly is now 2-0 in the UFC. His win over Patrick Walsh Saturday night though was rather pedestrian though. Kelly is 37, and it’s doubtful he’ll ever challenge for a spot in the division’s top 15, let alone for the title. So, give him fun fights. Daniel Sarafian is a fun opponent. If Kelly can beat Sarafian, maybe he’s better than I’m giving him credit for.
Patrick Walsh: Not only did Walsh look poor Saturday night, but he missed weight by an incredibly disrespectful 5.5 lbs. He should take on Richardson Moreira next, with the loser most likely being cut from the promotion.
Kevin Lee: Lee continues to slowly but surely move up the lightweight ranks. Lightweight is the deepest division in all of MMA, and since he’s just 22-years-old, Lee has plenty of time to keep developing and avoid the deep end of the division. The next hurdle on his path should be Efrain Escudero, who picked up a win on Saturday night’s undercard.
Michel Prazeres: Coming into the UFC, Prazeres was 16-0. Since then, he’s just 2-2, with all four of his UFC bouts going to the scorecards. Maybe Justin Salas could drag a fun fight out of the Brazilian.
Ray Borg: At just 21-years-old, Borg appears to be the future of the flyweight division. Six of his eight career wins have come by submission, and he’s always exciting to watch. His ascent up the ladder should continue with a bout versus Irish striker Neil Seery. It would be a great clash of styles, and a definite contender for Fight of the Night.
Chris Kelades: Kelades didn’t look bad Saturday night, but Borg was just too good for him. Up next, a fight against Willie Gates would be a fun scrap between two of the longer guys at flyweight.
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