Dan Hornbuckle: Where do we go now?

As you read this right now I am in a bar watching the U.S.A. hopefully we are about to embarrass Slovenia.  Come on 2-0, stick it to em.  Seriously, the scoring has been ridiculously low and everyone is air mailing the ball 40 yards over bar.  Maybe soccer player bitching (the new ball) was accurate for once.  Due to my watching Soccer (a.k.a. drinking at a bar) at 9:30 in the morning you can assume I am going to be feeling the World Cup buzz.  Please excuse spelling errors throughout the day and hopefully no one spills a Lasko Light on my computer.  Yea, I've had it, but I am more a PBR man.  Go Yanks

Last night Dan Hornbuckle lost a unanimous decision in his wrestling  MMA match against former Olympian Ben Askren.  Zak already mentioned that Askren used superior wrestling to take Hornbuckle down at will and control him when on the mat.  Hornbuckle was a favorite coming into the fight and many thought a win over Askren and Good (in the future) could mean a shot at the UFC, but that is not to be.  So, what does the future hold for Dan now?

Despite a loss, it is not that detrimental to his career.  Hornbuckle's biggest weakness is his wrestling and he lost to an Olympic wrestler...shocker.  I thought Hornbuckle would submit Ben and was wrong with my prediction (as usual), but the loss is not a huge upset.  In addition, Hornbuckle still has the striking and grappling to compete in any promotion.  That includes the UFC.  Yes, I would be very surprised if Hornbuckle got an offer or headed there next, but there are many UFC welterweights that I feel he could defeat.  In fact, a Carlos Condit comparison is not out the window and Condit is a respectable 2-1 in the UFC over quality competition.  Plus, Hornbuckle presents a unique background, an exciting style, and can sell a fight.  Will he head to the UFC, no.  Is it unreasonable, no.

As we work our way down the list, the next obvious promotion is Strikeforce.  Strikeforce has a thin welterweight division and Hornbuckle has instant match ups against Zaromskis, Santos, or that other guy.  What is his name? Trainer at Xtreme Couture, 19-4, and seven straight wins.  This is weird because he sounds talented yet I feel as if I have never seen him, strange.  Nevermind, the never showed him so Jay Hieron is now a free agent.  Seriously, Strikeforce has practically no quality Welterweights.  Hornbuckle could definitely sign and be an instant contender.  While Strikeforce is an obvious fit, him getting an offer and accepting is far from easy going.

Finally we end up where we started.  Hornbuckle mentioned it briefly after the fight and I suspect a return (assuming welterweights fight in season 3) to Bellator is what happens.  Imada lost in the finals, had a highlight moment, and he got a second crack at the belt.  The same could definitely happen for Hornbuckle.  He demolished his two opponents that were not "hippies" "Frisbee golfers" "guy with wife much hotter than him (so jealous)"Olympic wrestlers and despite the loss he was never in danger of being finished.  A potential rematch would not be a guaranteed repeat decision and the fight is something fans could accept.  Hornbuckle can take a few fights between now and then to stay fresh and enter next year's tournament.  Hopefully he does not pull a Masvidal and lose his spot with a disappointing loss.

P.S. It is painfully obvious that wrestling is hands down the best pedigree for MMA.  This is nothing new or surprising, but the shut down performances of Askren and King Mo show us how easy wrestling equates to victory.

P.P.S. Jimmy Smith's response to Vega getting paid a dollar from his Uncle to punch another kid was Ha-Larious.

SBN coverage of Bellator XXII