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Deciding who should challenge Johny Hendricks March Madness-style
The seeding
Not buying it: GSP doesn't want it. Not now, anyway.
Not buying it: The fight description actually should say that Woodley "knocked out" (note the ironic quotation marks) or even "knocked out*" (note the added asterisk) Condit because the fight ended only when Carlos tore up his knee. True, Tyron had won the first round and was looking strong early in the second, but he's been known to fade and Condit is a cardio wonder. Can we see a little more, Tyron?
Not buying it: After the emptying his tank faster than a gridlocked SUV in Saturday's three-rounder, Lombard now wants to show us what he can do in the championship rounds? Better have a medic and an oxygen mask at cageside. That aside, Hector has fought as a welterweight only twice, and before that he lost two of his first three UFC bouts. Does Lombard have the stamina to be in this for the long haul?
Not buying it: Been there, done that. Unless the UFC puts Francis Ford Coppola in charge of the production, how likely is it that the sequel would live up to the original?
Not buying it: MacDonald should know better than most that being a champion is stressful. How many times did he sit next to GSP, patting him on the back and saying, "Breeeeeathe," as Georges hyperventilated into a paper bag? Rory, meanwhile, sometimes seems to not even have a pulse. Before the win over Maia, he'd taken the air out of two arenas with somnolent performances against Lawler and Jake Ellenberger.
It's not the biggest pay-per-view fight the UFC can book, but Johny Hendricks's first challenger should be Tyron Woodley.
Paradoxically, Jeff Wagenheim considers himself a pacifist (except when driving in traffic) but nonetheless writes about mixed martial arts, the world's most combative sport (other than driving in traffic). As a veteran of three decades in magazines and newspapers, he's a bit grayer than most who attend UFC fights, even along press row. (A fan watching an MMA media panel show recently referred to him as "that crazy hippie uncle," to which Jeff responds, "Groovy, man!") Wagenheim also has tackled pro football for SI.com, and writes about sports and the arts for The Boston Globe. When he's not on the road chasing the UFC, Jeff spends Sunday afternoons spinning Sleepy LaBeef and Boozoo Chavis records for a popular (but not pop) radio show in western Massachusetts.