The defeat leaves The Ultimate Fighter season three winners record in the octagon at a respectable 8-3, though two of those losses have come in his last three fights.

What’s troubling though is that he has now been dropped at some stage in each of those fights,  and on two of those occasions basic errors have proven costly.

In the Dan Henderson fight his insistence on circling into his opponents power allowed his opponent to land the knockout blow, while at this weekend’s bout he retreated straight backwards as Silva charged forward, rather than circling out and away from danger caused him to eat leather.

I believe this tendency to get flustered and make basic mistakes under pressure is likely to continue to prevent Bisping from reaching his over-riding goal to fight for the middleweight title.

That aside he does still have a solid and fairly well rounded skill set, and good conditioning that will continue to present a challenge to anyone he faces.  Coupled with the fact that he is firmly cast as the fighter many fans love-to-hate, that means he will remain a significant presence in the upper half of the middleweight division.

So who is he likely to fight next?

There’s a lot of potential match-ups for the UK fighter.  He stated in the post-fight press conference that he wants to get into action as soon as possible though, and if his wish is granted that may narrow down the options somewhat.

For instance either Patrick Cote or Alan Belcher immediately strike me as being competitive match-ups for Bisping, but those two are currently set to fight each other in May at UFC 113.

Another name that springs to mind is Kendall Grove.  There is a little extra spice to this pairing since both fighters were champions on TUF season 3 (Grove won the middleweight competition while Bisping won the light-heavyweight tournament).

Grove is currently scheduled to fight Mark Munoz at UFC 112 in early April though.  If Bisping was willing to wait then I think the winner of this bout would be a decent opponent for the Brit.

Yushin Okami is another likely target, assuming he gets past Lucio Linhares at the UFC on Versus event on the 31st of March.

As far as opponents who are not currently booked to fight, Nate Marquardt is the obvious choice.  Out of all the choices mentioned above, this is the one that would generate the most interest among fans.  Interestingly Marquardt also shares the same record in the UFC as Bisping, 8-3, and they are both coming off a loss.

While that would certainly be a fight that could immediately put Bisping back into contention in the division I believe it’s a bad match-up for ‘The Count’, and coming off a loss it’s one he should be aiming to avoid.

If he remains determined to fight again in the near future, and wants to fight another big name, then this may well be the bout that he’s talking himself into though.

Personally, I feel holding off for the winner of Belcher Vs Cote makes the most sense for all parties, but as always I’m curious to see what the UFC will come up with.

In the early stages of the fight it seemed as if that may well have been the case when Kang connected with a right hook to his temple as he lunged forward with a strike of his own.  Though his legs buckled sending him to the canvas his spirit did not, and he displayed impressive defense from his back for the rest of the round before taking the fight to Kang in the second.

Though understandably still tentative on his feet in the 2nd, Bisping showed an ability to change up his gameplan by opting to take Kang down and break him down via ground and pound.  It was reminiscent of his win over Jason Day back at UFC 85, and the fight ended in the same way, with his opponent turtling up to avoid further punishment, forcing the referee to call a halt to the proceedings.

Showing his relief at having won in a fight in which he was under intense scrutiny Bisping stated in the post-fight press conference that, “I cannot put into words how much pressure has come off me right now.”

With that crucial win under his belt, who comes next for the British fighter?  One thing we do know is that he has stated an interest in fighting at February’s UFC 110 event in Australia where his fiancee is originally from.

If that comes about then it would rule out a fight with the man he was originally set to fight on Saturday – Wanderlei Silva.  At the time Silva pulled out due to surgery, and has since been booked to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at the event in Oz.

Bisping admitted after his fight on Saturday that he needs at least a couple of fights before he can have a shot at the title and I agree and suspect that will also rule him out of a potential bout with Nate Marquardt, as well as with Vitor Belfort who is widely expected to face Anderson Silva next.

There are plenty of other options in the middleweight division to keep Bisping occupied though.

Is Patrick Cote Next For Bisping?

One fighter currently looking to return to the octagon in the near future is Patrick Cote (13-5).  After getting injured during his title fight against Anderson Silva back in October 2008, Cote has been left on the sidelines for over a year rehabilitating.  He has stated several times that he is interested in facing Bisping, and it appears to be a fight that would make a lot of sense for both men.

Another challenging match-up would be against Demian Maia, who, like Bisping was being highly touted as Anderson Silva’s next opponent before suffering a devastating knockout (to Nate Marquardt) at UFC 102.   Maia is still a highly regarded fighter though with one of the most highly regarded Jiu Jitsu games in the sport and so  a win for either fighter could push them back into title contention.    Bisping has shown that he has a solid ground game himself, and after facing two heavy handed strikers in his last two fights he may relish the opportunity to take on someone with less striking acumen.

Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) looked impressive recently in his defeat over Yushin Okami, and with rumors circulating that he could appear at the Australian event in February that could make for a convenient match-up.   After his win the outspoken Sonnen bemoaned the fact that it had been hard to hype his fight with Okami which ended up on the undercard of UFC 104, but he would have no such trouble with Bisping.

Kendall Grove Is An Option

If Kendall Grove (10-6-1) were to win his fight with Jake Rosholt on Saturday night at UFC 106 then he may be an option, particularly if the UFC are looking to steer Bisping clear of the top contenders for the time being.

Coincidentally, both Grove and Bisping appeared on The Ultimate Fighter season 3, though Bisping competed in the light heavyweight division on the show while Grove fought at middleweight.  They both won their respective categories on the show which gives the UFC an interesting storyline to help promote the fight.

Other possibilities include Ricardo Ameida (11-3), Alan Belcher (13-5) or perhaps even TUF veteran Nathan Quarry, (12-3) so it’s clear to see the UFC is not short on options here either to set him back on the road to title contention, or just to put him in relatively entertaining ‘mid-rank’ matches.

Personally I believe Patrick Cote is perhaps the best option (though stylistically Damien Maia is also very tempting), assuming he has regained full fitness by that stage.   Though Cote’s title fight with Anderson Silva is noted as a loss it was purely down to an accidental injury, and it shouldn’t be forgotten that until that bout he had recorded five straight victories.

Cote would be a dangerous opponent for Bisping, particularly since he is another fighter with knockout power.  On the other hand he would have an advantage in that Cote is bound to have somewhat rusty after such a long period out.

A victory would be significant for either fighter and puts them on the track for a potential title shot in the future making it a win-win situation for the UFC.

Just a few days ago Patrick Cote posted the following message on his Facebook page…

“Next fight in 5 months!! Who I want a fight for my comeback ?? _I_PI_G”

Now we must wait to see if the UFC will grant him his wish.

Article By RossC

Pictures courtesy of sherdog.com