UFC 116 Aftermath: Lesnar tops Carwin, Velasquez next in UFC line

Leben unlikely to get Wanderlei Silva next, winner of Dos Santos vs Nelson likely to get a title shot

UFC 116 proved to be even better in real life that it looked on paper and while the recap and UFC 116 results tell a lot of the story, more storylines emerged from the event in Las Vegas. UFC 116 saw Shane Carwin nearly TKO Brock Lesnar only to gas out and see Lesnar remain the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Meanwhile, not only did Chris Leben fight for an insane second time in two weeks, he won for the second time in two weeks securing a 3rd round submission of Yoshihiro Akiyama. Here are a few of the post-UFC 116 storylines:

Lesnar vs. Velasquez next, Dos Santos vs. Nelson winner on deck

With Brock Lesnar having successfully defended his title on Saturday night it appears that waiting for the next title shot will indeed be Cain Velasquez. Velasquez is coming off his TKO win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 and is 8-0 with a shot at Lesnar next. While both are world-class wrestlers, Velasquez is a smaller fighters, and like Lesnar, does not have a powerful or polished stand-up game. Expect to see Lesnar vs. Velasquez during the fall of 2010.

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Meanwhile, the UFC 117 results will be even more important with Dana White having told reporters that the winner of Junior dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson will get a title shot as well. Thus, the winner of Lesnar vs. Velasquez will face the winner of dos Santos vs. Nelson in the next UFC Heavyweight title fight. Here's hoping that everyone stays healthy and that the Heavyweight title gets fit into the every 3-4 months cycle that the other divisions typically are in.

UFC 116 Bonuses Announced

For a fight card that did not look too impressive outside of the main event on paper, UFC 116 proved to be action-packed and thrilling for the fans. With plently of holiday fireworks for the fans, the UFC has rewarded six fighters with $75,000 checks. Gerald scored the "Knockout of the Night," Brock Lesnar earned the "Submission of the Night" bonus, and Bonnar, Soszynski, Leben & Akiyama all earned "Fight of the Night" awards. With several other great fights and finishes Dana White has said that other fighters will also be rewarded for their efforts.