Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: If Alistair Overeem is denied a license for UFC 146, who should replace him against Junior dos Santos?
Apr 9, 2012 - 8:45:01 PM ROUNDTABLE: If Alistair Overeem is denied a license for UFC 146, who should replace him against Junior dos Santos?

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If Alistair Overeem is pulled out of the UFC 146 main event, who would you most like to see face Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and why?


RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Pretty much from the beginning, my thought has been to put Dan Henderson in against JDS, if in fact Alistair Overeem's license application gets denied. And that's no sure thing, mind you. I doubt Overeem would have applied for a license after news of his positive test came out, unless he had a legal proceeding up his sleeve (ala Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers). It doesn't matter if Overeem tested positive, since the UFC has shown time and time again it will support drug cheats as long as it serves their bottom line. If there's a penny to be made, they'll turn their heads and cough.

Now, that said, if Overeem can't fight on May 26, Dan Henderson is the best replacement candidate. 1.)  Henderson will sell more PPVs than Alistair Overeem. 2.) Henderson isn't foreign to the heavyweight division, having recently defeated Fedor Emelianenko at heavyweight. 3.) Sliding Henderson into the main event would be the solution that presents the fewest disruptions to the rest of the card. Let's expand on that a little bit.

Currently, the UFC 146 main card looks like this:

* JDS vs. Overeem (for the title)
* Velasquez vs. Mir (for the next title shot)
* Nelson vs. Bigfoot Silva
* Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane del Rosario
* Stefan Struve vs. Mark Hunt

A lot of people were speculating that Frank Mir should get the shot, even after Dana White tweeted that Cain vs. Mir will happen. I, being a cynic, noted that White didn't say it would happen at 146, just that it would happen, you know, sometime in the future. Maybe even at UFC 4,246,931. So, theoretically, if Mir got that shot, then Velasquez would need an opponent. A lot of people would then move Bigfoot into Mir's slot (a fight which makes no sense, but had been rumored upon Silva's joining the UFC). Then Nelson would need an opponent, so slide in Mark Hunt (Hunt v. Nelson is a fight that HAS to happen, BTW). Which would leave Struve without an opponent (give him Mitrione, or any of a dozen similar HWs). Point being, there are like 42 different fights that get changed, which would totally overwhelm their graphic designers who come up with their ever so elegant posters, and we couldn't have that, no could we?

Anyhoooo, if we make those changes, we'd be left (stuck?) with:

* JDS vs. Mir (for the title)
* Cain vs. Bigfoot (for, um, what would that be for?)
* Nelson for Hunt (for the ages, admittedly)
* Gonzaga vs. del Rosario (for shits and giggles, I guess)
* Struve vs. Someone who is decent-mediocre.

Card #2 sucks. Period. Mir can't beat JDS. Silva vs. Cain makes no sense. The most intriguing fight on that card involves Roy Nelson. And while I champion the idea of booking Hunt vs. Nelson, if that's the most intriguing fight on your card, your card had better be on Fuel, dig?

One other option would be to move Cain into the main event (I know, I know), and force Fabricio Werdum off of the Brazil card and into a fight with Frank Mir. I mean, you could make JDS vs. Mir (which no one wants to see just yet), and you could make Cain vs. Werdum, but no one is clamoring to see either of those fights. But 64 seconds or not, almost 10,000,000 people saw Cain Velasquez fight JDS last November. Add to that the fact that Cain went into that fight injured, and I'm sure the rematch would be far more competitive than the shellacking we saw on Fox. And who wouldn't want to see Mir vs. Werdum? Anyone? Bueller? That's what I thought. But, Werdum practically begged to get on the Brazil card, I don't think they're going to deprive him of that fight. And even if they did, it's still nowhere as attractive of a solution as JDS vs. Henderson in the main event, and the rest of the card in tact.

That said, my jaw won't drop even an inch if Overeem vs. JDS for the title happens next month.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

If Dan Henderson is willing to fight dos Santos, I say they should go with that fight. Who else would they give the fight to? Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir is still on, so it's not like there's a bunch of other good options out there. I'd like to see what Henderson could do against JDS.


ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

The popular pick seems to be Frank Mir. There has been an online presence to have Mark Hunt fight Dos Santos as well. In this instance, the popular pick is also the right one. Granted, his most impressive win as of late was against an aging Rodrigo Nogueira, but nonetheless, Mir gets the nod if Overeem is out. He has a three fight win streak, plus, he's a former champion that's closest to a title fight.


BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Bear with me because my answer might be so ridiculous and outlandish that the great fans of MMA throw odd and unexpected inanimate objects at me for saying this. My first choice would have to be the man that Overeem defeated to get a title shot in the first place; Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately for us MMA fans, he opted to return to WWE and make a paycheck without taking nearly as much punishment. So, with Brock out of the picture, naturally we all want to focus on Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez, but with Dana White ruling that out – who is really left that’s relevant to the title picture? Shane Carwin is still sidelined, and he got taken apart by JDS in their fight. There are plenty of guys out there who would jump at the chance, the big problem is there is not exactly a large amount of heavyweights who deserve a shot at the belt, and if an undeserving fighter gets a shot, and wins – then we have a huge problem on our hands, and a title belt that has lost nearly all of its value. People have mentioned Mark Hunt, I have replied with laughter, that I took the time to audio-record and echo for the rest of the supporters, because if he won the UFC heavyweight belt, he would immediately make it a joke – and I would quote Jason Amadi here, but I really don’t want to get Jamie Penick pissed off.

So now that we know it can’t be Lesnar, Velasquez, Mir, Hunt or Carwin, I have decided that the only logical option in the field at heavyweight is Fabricio Werdum. Outside of him, the only guy I would want to see take a crack at JDS is Dan Henderson, but realistically that could go very badly for Hendo. I would really enjoy seeing Dana White take this chance to bring Fedor into the UFC fold, but I have a better chance of lightning striking the Easter bunny while he tries to steal Chuck E Cheese tokens out of my car. So, let’s go with Werdum or Hendo.


ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Mark Hunt. He may be the only heavyweight besides Alistair Overeem who could possibly outstrike Junior Dos Santos. From a sporting perspective, does Hunt deserve the shot above Cain Velasquez or Frank Mir? Not at all. But it's a great Rocky-esque storyline and he's put together enough wins (including the impressive KO of Cheick Kongo) that his receiving the opportunity is not totally ridiculous.


ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I think the fight that makes the most sense at UFC 146 is JDS versus Dan Henderson. The UFC needs a fighter who can realistically challenge for the title and also have a name that will sell tickets and PPV's. It may not be the most obvious choice, because Hendo typically fights at middleweight or light heavyweight, but you only need to look back to July of last year when Henderson knocked out Fedor in the first round of their Strikeforce fight to see that he can challenge anyone in the heavyweight division. It has already been established by the UFC, Henderson’s next fight will be for a title. Dana White recently tweeted the fight between Frank Mir and Cain Valasquez would proceed as originally planned. I know this can change at his whim, but that fight makes sense to establish a true number one contender. I think if Dan Henderson is awarded this title shot, it will be an excellent fight and the PPV buys will not be terrible.


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR

From an embarrassingly limited cast, only one name stands out, and that is Fabricio Werdum. My personal preference would have been for Frank Mir to step up, with Werdum and Velasquez in a No. 1 contender fight. That's not going to happen, so it's got to be Werdum who gets the opportunity. Dan Henderson should avoid this fight at all cost, and simply concentrate on facing Jones or Evans later this year. Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett are both pre occupied. Mark Hunt doesn't even deserve to be considered. Brock Lesnar is now wrestling men in underpants, and i've got more chance of fighting in the UFC than Fedor Emelianenko. Rather disturbingly, that's every potential contender covered which leaves us with Werdum. The same Werdum who was knocked out in 90 seconds by a debuting Junior dos Santos at UFC 90!


JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
 
I'd like to see Dan Henderson step up and get his crack at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. "Hendo" has wins over the two greatest heavyweights of all time and is in possession of perhaps the greatest resume in MMA history.

I think Henderson would get blown away by dos Santos, but it would be nice to see him once again go out and prove why he's the most badass MMA fighter of all time.