After each major Mixed Martial Arts event, our very own matchmaker, Jason Comack, does his best Joe Silva and breaks down all the possibilities for the fighters who waged war last night in a little feature we like to call: What’s Next?

Chris Lytle: Lytle is a much better fighter then he shows in the ring.  He’s content with banging out KO’s, fights and submissions of the night and banking the extra cash.  Lytle is a much crisper boxer then we’ve seen as of late but the truth is his giant hay-maker of doom punches have put money in his wallet so he’s unlikely to stop them.  Against Brian Foster we were reminded that Lytle does in fact have a submission game as he won with a devastating knee bar.

Lytle has settled nicely into the gate keeper role.  He’s a guy you can put either on the under-card or a Spike TV Prelim/Fight Night and know your going to get a solid fight.  His role is taking on young guys who are ready to move up in competition and while there’s a bunch of fights that make sense a lot of the young welterweights are already booked in fights.

Rory MacDonald;  The 20 year old Canadian welterweight  is an exciting prospect.  However he’s been rumored to be fighting Carlos Condit at UFC 115. Rick Story and Nick Osipczak are fighting each other at UFC 112. Amir Sadollah and Dong Hyun Kim are fighting each other at UFC 114. T.J Grant and Johny Hendricks are fighting at UFC 113.

So due to timing issues most of those guys are out of the equation.  So whose left?

Paulo Thiago: Thiago has been fighting top guys non-stop.  This fight would give him a chance to hone his skills, he’s still very raw, and give him a win against a solid welterweight.  Let’s not kid ourselves though Thiago isn’t going to take such a drastic step down in competition.

Matt Serra: That already happened and my wallet still is hurting.

Rob Kimmons and Mike Pierce: Pierce and Kimmons are fighting on UFC Live: Vera/Jones on March 21rst so the timing works out nicely.  Pierce, 10-3 (1-1 UFC), took out Brock Larson is his UFC debut and then lost to Jon Fitch.  Obviously there’s no shame in losing to Jon Fitch and in fact he looked very good in that fight.  Kimmons hasn’t enjoyed much UFC success, 2-2, but is moving down to welterweight for the first time.

Ben Saunders and Jake Ellenberger: Saunders was originally set to take out Martin Kampman before a horrifying gash knocked hm out of the fight.  Ellenberger is 1-1 in the UFC and much like Pierce has looked good even when he’s lost.  He lost to Carlos Condit in his UFC debut but lost a close split decision, he followed that up by beating Mike Pyle.

Saunders is 4-1 in the UFC and a win over Ellenberger would probably put him in line to fight bigger fish then Lytle. If Ellenberger does win however Lytle would probably be a fight in his range.

Ricardo Almeida and Matt Brown: Almeida is moving down from middleweight, where he had sucess and draws Matt Brown as his first opponent.  Brown is riding a fight win streak and is 4-1 in the UFC.  Almedia would probably draw a bigger name if he wins considering his original opponent before injury was Jon Fitch.  Brown already fought and lost to Lytle although it was outside of the UFC.

Nate Diaz and Rory Markham: The less sane Diaz brother is moving up in weight because well in his own words “I don’t make enough money to cut to 155.”  Diaz is 6-3 in the UFC and  a marketable fighter because of his personality.  Markham had success in the IFL but has struggled as of late.  He lost is UFC debut to Dan Hardy and has struggled with injuries since.

If Diaz can beat Markham I can’t think of a  more perfect fight then Diaz/Lylte.  Your bound to get a fight of the night with both guys winning wild hay-makers at each other.  Unlike Gray Maynard Lytle actually has the boxing acumen to make Diaz pay for his goofy striking style.  Also unlike Gray Maynard if he gets KO’d he really doesn’t care.  Lytle and Diaz would also be a wildly entertaining scrap if it hit the ground.

Diaz has to get by Markham first but, Lytle Vs. Diaz would be awesome as a Spike TV Prelim or Fight Night fight.