Moving Forward from 208

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By: Andrew Bailey@Andy_Bailey1As UFC 208 comes to a close, it is time to look toward the future.Germaine de Randamie def. Holly Holm via unanimous decisionde Randamie: Cyborg. End of discussion. Another controversial decision and one the most controversial fights in recent memory found de Randamie victorious. De Randamie did not win over any fans with this performance, but a looming striking match-up between she and Cris "Cyborg" Justino is what this new division needs to generate buzz.Holm: In a very close fight, Holm once again came up on the wrong end of a decision. She has plenty of options for her future, however. She can stay at this new weight class or drop back down to bantamweight. The benefit of staying at featherweight is there are much fewer contenders and she could realistically contend for the title before the end of the year.Anderson Silva def. Derek Brunson via unanimous decisionSilva: Firstly, Silva did not win this fight and whichever judge scored this 30-27 in favor of Silva should be reprimanded. Secondly, there are limited options for Silva. Looking at free fighters above him in the division, there is Robert Whitaker, Luke Rockhold, and Jacare. More than likely Whitaker will get Rockhold and Jacare will earn his coveted title shot, so that leaves Silva with a lower ranked opponent.....or......... the loser of Weidman/ Mousasi. Assuming Weidman loses and does not go up to light heavyweight, can you imagine these two fighting one more time? Options are limited, so I'm obviously over reaching, but in all fairness, Silva did look far from his prime form and one must begin to sense that the end is near for the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.Brunson: Once again, Brunson won this fight. He looked sharp and his wrestling was very impressive. The bottom half of the division is crowded much like the top, but a fight with Krzysztof Jotko seems likely. Jotko is only 27 and is currently ranked eleventh without a scheduled fight. Jotko would be a tough fight bouncing back, but this loss should motivate him and I would not be surprised to see him go on another winning streak like 2016.Ronaldo Souza def. Tim Boetsch via first round submissionSouza: Title shot. If the shot takes too long he will probably accept a fight with Luke Rockhold (or anyone for that matter to stay active), but "Jacare" wants an opportunity for UFC gold. With his submission skills, he is a danger to everyone and seems more dangerous at this point in his career than he ever has.Boetsch:Boetsch's style will keep him around because of the entertainment, but this was his last shot at climbing the ladder in a stacked division. Up next will probably be a rising talent as he is entering the "stepping stone" part of his career. However, his power at middleweight willkeep him as a formidable gate-keeper for younger prospects to overcome.Glover Teixeira def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decisionTeixeira: Alexander Gustafsson. Their scheduled fight fell through last year and this is the best fight in a division with an immense talent drop-off. Teixeira lacked confidence striking tonight so the fight with Gustafsson could match Teixeira's grappling with Gustafsson's striking. This clash of styles is thrilling and will help establish order for the number one contender not named Jon Jones.Cannonier: Despite an impressive striking performance, I think Cannonier should take nine or so months off and strictly work grappling. He proved he can out strike an elite in the division, but he needs to work on his take-down defense so he isn't so easily neutralized. When he does fight again, I think he is ready for an opponent ranked around 13-15 and that fight could launch his career into orbit.Dustin Poirier def. Jim Miller via majority decisionPoirier: Michael Chiesa. Chiesa is ranked two ahead of Poirier as of tonight and besides that, it is slim pickings because most fighters ranked higher are already match-up with each other. Nate Diaz is in limbo, Dariush is fighting Barboza in March, and Michael Johnson defeated him inside of one round last year. Moreover, Eddie Alvarez and Michael Johnson seems logical in the near future. Chiesa makes the most sense as both are jostling for position in this CROWDED lightweight division.Miller: DAMN JIM MILLER IS EXCITING! Despite being diagnosed with Lyme disease, Miller has remained as one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. Honestly, with the damage he did to Poirier's leg, Poirier was fortunate that this fight was not five rounds. Miller still has something in the tank. He has slowed down some in recent years, but his chin remains legendary. He will probably face a younger prospect or a fighter on the border of being ranked in his next outing.