1. Nate Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis: I understand that UFC President Dana White said that Diaz has earned a title shot and will wait for the winner of Henderson/Edgar 2. However, that fight has not even been scheduled yet, so Diaz would have to wait at least eight months and maybe more. Pettis/Diaz would be a great No. 1 contender match between two of the top strikers in the lightweight division. Pettis is 2-0 since his loss to Clay Guida in June of 2011 including a highlight reel headkick KO of Joe Lauzon. Diaz proved his is one of the best strikers in the lightweight division with his destruction of Jim Miller. A fight between Pettis and Diaz would decide the true No. 1 contender in the lightweight division.
2. Johny Hendricks vs. Winner of Kampmann/Ellenberger: Hendricks is another fighter with the case of the waits, as after his spilt decision victory over Josh Koscheck, Hendricks said he is willing to wait for the winner of the title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit. GSP and Condit will probably not fight until November, meaning Hendricks could be out for 11 months. Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann meet inside the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter Finale on June 1st. I believe that Hendricks should meet the winner that bout in a true contender fight. Ellenberger has won six straight UFC fights since his lost to Carlos Condit in September of 2009. This includes victories over Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez. Kampman is coming off a submission victory over Thiago Alves in March. All three men have impressive resumes and the winner of Kampmann/Ellenberger should meet Hendricks to decide who is the next welterweight contender.
3. Alan Belcher vs. Loser of Munoz/Weidman: Belcher surprised a lot of people with his first round TKO victory over Rousimar Palhares at UFC on FOX 3. Belcher is on a four-fight winning streak since his loss at UFC 100 to Yoshihrio Akiyama. Belcher came out and said he is ready for a title shot, not so fast my friend. Right now, Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman face of on July 11th in a No. 1 contender bout in the middleweight division. The winner of that fight will get the shot at the middleweight champion, the loser should get Belcher. Belcher is a savvy UFC veteran with nine UFC victories. Belcher proved in his last two fights that he deserves to be in the conversation at 185-pounds, a victory over another contender would get him very close to a title shot.
4. Lavar Johnson vs. Winner of Nelson/Herman: I believe Johnson will get matched up with one of the heavyweights fighting on UFC 146. Johnson has been very impressive in his two UFC fights, two victories and two "Knockout of the Night" awards. Nelson started off his UFC career with two straight wins, and then he ran into Junior Dos Santos. Nelson has big fight experience and has a big enough name to vault Johnson into title contention if Johnson were to beat Neslon. One thing if for sure, Johnson is a rising UFC heavyweight.