Sometimes, the path is pretty clear when it comes to matchmaking in the UFC. Sometimes, two dogs are snarling at each other through the chain link, and you've just got to put them together and let them hash it out.
After UFC Fight Night 45 and the remarkable showing by one Donald Cerrone, it's pretty clear who he should fight next.
Prospect turned contender Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Cerrone looked excellent in stopping Jim Miller in Atlantic City on Wednesday night. He was smooth and confident, tackling the ever game hometown slugger with the type of slick grace that is always evident when he's on his game.
He was focused and committed to his plan of attack, and when the chance came to end the fight he very calmly stalked his way to doing as much.
It was a textbook Cowboy victory, the type he's had on occasion in the past and the type that truly makes one wonder if he could be a champion. When he's going like he was going in AC, there really aren't many men who can match him.
Cerrone vs. Khabib: Yay or nay?
One way to find out about that championship potential? Give him Nurmagomedov.
The young Russian is a chore for anyone in the game, a cold-blooded 22-0 who has found it increasingly difficult to find opponents with each passing dominant win. One thing Cerrone isn't, however, is afraid of a fight.
He'll sign on the dotted line.
That fight would accomplish two things: It would settle, once and for all, whether or not Cerrone has the skills to contend for a title before his time in the sport is complete, and it would give Nurmagomedov the chance at a big signature win before he challenges for the title himself.
Whoever walks out of their meeting would have a pretty obvious claim to a title shot, especially considering the relative flux at the top of the lightweight heap these days.
Benson Henderson won't get a shot any time soon, Josh Thomson is fighting in a week and TJ Grant has been out for a year with a concussion. After Gilbert Melendez gets his chance in a few months, there is no clear top guy to challenge for gold.
A few months ago the UFC got it incredibly correct when they matched Cerrone and Miller, and Fight Night 45's thrilling main event proved as much. Now they have the chance to get it right with Cerrone again, only this time against a tougher opponent and with higher stakes.
Cerrone-Nurmagomedov isn't just a fight to make; it's the only fight to make.
