MMA betting expert Luca Fury plays matchmaker for potential upcoming fights based on UFC 149 results from July 21, 2012. Bantamweights: Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland After putting on a great, although not a very exciting, performance in his interim-UFC bantamweight title-capturing effort over Urijah Faber, Renan Barao has guaranteed himself a title shot against the real champion of the division. Unfortunately, that man is Dominick Cruz, who is sidelined with an ACL injury until early 2013. Barao, who is undefeated in his last 33 bouts, said he’d be willing to defend his interim title in the meantime. However, there aren’t many matches that make sense for him. A bout vs Michael McDonald seems appropriate at first glance, but Zuffa needs all the contenders it can get in their relatively thin 135-pound division, and signing that matchup would send one of the division’s top potential challengers down the ladder. The only other feasible option is to have the interim champ fight someone who has a name, but is probably not a future contender. Former champion Eddie Wineland, coming off a big KO win over Scott Jorgensen, is the man for the job. Bantamweights: Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen Faber lost his interim-UFC bantamweight title shot dominating fashion. He wasn’t knocked down, he wasn’t ever in danger of being finished, but he failed to land any kind of real offense over the course of 25 minutes with Barao, losing all five round in the process. Faber is 0-5 in his last five title bouts, and while he is still one of the very best fighters in the division, he’ll have to put together at least a couple good wins before he gets another shot at UFC gold. A fight against Scott Jorgensen seems like a good first step. Both men are coming off losses where they were handily beaten with similar styles as solid wrestlers who prefer to brawl. This bout makes all kinds of sense. Middleweights: Tim Boetsch vs. Chris Weidman While the decision was controversial and the fight was lackluster, Tim Boetsch ultimately got the nod over Hector Lombard is what was expected to be a showcase fight for debuting Cuban. Nearing title contention, Boestch finds him in need of a Top 10 middleweight opponent to get him one step closer to a crack at the belt. Of the 10 best middleweights, pickings are slim since most are either coming of losses or already have a fight booked, so the surging prospect Chris Weidman seems like the only fit. Weidman scored a big win over Mark Munoz a few weeks ago at UFC on Fuel 4 and solidified his place as a top UFC middleweight, but he could still use another fight or two before challenging champion Anderson Silva for the title. Silva himself doesn’t seem interested in a fight against the New York native at this time, and since the champ just fought and typically takes six months or so between bouts, this gives Weidman the opportunity to get some more ring time against the always game Boetsch. Get the latest MMA odds on current UFC bouts.
