Each week, ESPN.com MMA writer Brett Okamoto, ESPN Insider senior editor Mike Huang and a guest panelist tackle hot topics that are buzzing in the world of mixed martial arts.
This week, UFC veteran Dan Miller joins the panel. Miller, who hasn't fought since March 2013, has been busy opening up a training center in New Jersey with younger brother, and UFC lightweight, Jim Miller.
1. What will Chad Mendes have to do differently in order to upset Jose Aldo in their rematch?
Dan Miller: I don't think he's going to have to do too much different. He got caught with a good knee. But if Chad fights the way he has been fighting and stays aggressive, Chad has got a chance to take that. I don't know how much he has to change. He just has to fight smart and be at the top of his game. [Before the knee, the fight] was a little bit of a fence-grab and hopefully that doesn't happen again. Aldo's a freak of an athlete. But I think Mendes is due. As long as something weird doesn't happen, Chad has a real good shot at taking it.
Brett Okamoto: Trust his hands. And I think he does now. He didn't in the first fight. Mendes came out throwing -- but once action picked up, he went to his comfort zone and continually shot in on Aldo. Since then, Mendes' mentality has changed. He's looking to hurt people on the feet far more than he used to. It's not that he needs to abandon trying to take Aldo down, that should still probably happen at some point if he intends to win, but he's got to give him something else to think about early with his stand-up.
Mike Huang: I do think Mendes has a very good shot at taking Aldo, who seems to gas right about late in Round 4, which plays into Mendes' strength. Aldo's so creative, but if Mendes keeps up the pressure and closes the distance, he could take it. It's pretty cool because Aldo and Renan Barao are both Nova Uniao fighters and Team Alpha Male's TJ Dillashaw already took out Barao. So now it's Mendes' turn. Two teams going head to head -- bring back the old IFL, right Dan? [Miller was the IFL's last welterweight champion.]
2. How would Joe Warren fare in the UFC?
Miller: Well, he might be top 10. But the UFC is just so deep in every division. We have some fantastic fighters, the best in the world. I think he'd do alright, do well. But in Bellator, they just don't face the same competition. I can't speak for everyone, but Bellator has talented fighters. Look at Hector Lombard and Eddie Alvarez who have come over, but [Bellator] just doesn't have the depth the UFC has. To compare the talent level of Bellator and other leagues to the UFC isn't fair.
Okamoto: Well, going into the weekend I felt Eduardo Dantas would fare fine in the UFC, so it's hard now to say Warren -- the man who just beat him -- wouldn't do the same. Warren would hang in the UFC. He wouldn't get ran out of the Octagon by any means. Good defensive wrestlers (with terrific cardio) would await him at the top, though. Dillashaw, Dominick Cruz, Barao, Urijah Faber -- I'd pick all of them to beat Warren. Of course, I've been wrong before.
Huang: Congratulations to Joe, first of all. It was a tough, close bout against Dantas. He ground it out. But like we've seen with other Bellator fighters, there's a period of adjustment and improvement. They simply don't face on a consistent basis the same level of competition as UFC fighters do. That's not to say the UFC doesn't have success stories of guys from other leagues -- they bought Strikeforce and many of those fighters have found success in the UFC. But Warren would have some adjustments and improvements -- namely in the stand-up.
3. Buy or sell: Anderson Silva fights for a UFC title before his career is through?
Miller: Heh, as much as I don't want to, I guess I'd buy that. Look, it's a big sell. I get it. I just think there are a lot of guys who should be in line before Anderson. He had two shots. He got a rematch with Chris [Weidman], and the way he lost [broken leg] was a fluke thing, but Chris was beating him up pretty good.
Okamoto: Buy -- a million times over. How many fights does he realistically have to win to get there? Two? Stylistically, I think Silva is a bad matchup for Nick Diaz, who will be undersized and isn't afraid to leave his chin out. It's not crazy to think the UFC would promote Silva to a title fight immediately after Diaz, but if I had to guess, I think he would take one more fight. Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, Yoel Romero, CB Dollaway -- Silva is still fully capable of beating any of these guys. Things can happen in this sport, obviously, and any one of Silva's fights could be his last. But chances are very high he'll fight for a title again.
Huang: I'm with Dan here. Silva will get a shot because people will still shell out the money for him. And Diaz is an awesome fight -- two elite strikers with terrific jiu-jitsu. But to get another shot at Weidman? That's a little unfair to [Ronaldo] "Jacare" [Souza] and Rockhold, both of whom I think should be in front of Silva for a shot at Weidman.
4. Who should be next in line for a crack at the UFC featherweight title?
Miller: I think the winner of the Frankie Edgar-Cub Swanson fight [on Nov. 22] should be the next one in line to get a featherweight title shot. That's who is the next in line. Conor McGregor still needs to prove himself more, I think. And in that fight, as much as I love Cub -- and I love the way he fights -- I'm rooting for Frankie in that one. Jersey boy!.
Okamoto: It depends how you want to look at it. The most deserving right now is the winner of next month's fight between Swanson and Edgar. That's a five-round, No. 1 contender fight -- done and done. As we like to say about mixed martial arts, however, it's not just a sport. It's a sport/entertainment/business. And for entertainment/business sake, McGregor is a home run title contender. As I've written before, I would still book McGregor to one more fight before the belt. If it were up to me, the Swanson-Edgar winner would be next.
Huang: Yeah, McGregor definitely needs to beat another big name at least or someone more convincingly. Dustin Poirier was a pretty good name, but it left doubts. Edgar and Swanson have both ground it out and deserve a shot at the title. Swanson is light years from where he was when he fought Aldo for the WEC featherweight title. He got that huge gash from Aldo's flying knee. I bet Swanson would love another shot to erase that one.
5. How should the UFC deal with repeat PED offenders?
Miller: I think it should be strict. Harsh penalties. Someone who's a repeat offender, he deserves to be reprimanded. Harshly. A repeat offender is like just sticking it in the [athletic commission's] face and saying, "I don't care what you say and what the rules are. I'm gonna do it." But what that penalty is, I don't know. But it's got to be harsher than it is now.
Okamoto: First of all, a standard should be set and stuck to, so we're not asking ourselves this question every time a fighter tests hot. In my opinion, nine months for a first offense and two years for a second offense seems right. Anderson Silva's suggestion of a one-and-done, lifetime ban on a single positive test seems extreme. That said, one serious injury or death linked to performance-enhancing drug use and the party is over (not literally over, but can you imagine the black eye it would leave on the sport?). If a person runs from a test -- see Wanderlei Silva -- I would be in favor of an instant two-year suspension as opposed to an immediate lifetime ban (which Silva got this year).
Huang: Funny, Anderson Silva just said something the other day that cheaters should be banned from fighting. While I think that's a bit draconian, it's on the right track. It casts a pall over the sport for sure, and if you see how baseball has struggled for a decade to excise that, you understand it could do the same to MMA, which already fights its own legitimacy battles.