One of the most fun discussions in our sport is that of title contention. After all, it is the main goal of every fighter who puts on the gloves, so the debate over who deserves the shot, and when, can be rather entertaining. Without further ado, here are the respective title pictures for June 2009.

Heavyweights: These are the most challenging for me to work on, largely due in part to the many contenders with losses that preclude them from earning a title shot any time this decade. Guys like Nogueira and Couture have lost title fights too recently to be considered. Even worse, the Gonzagas, Kongos, and Werdums of the organization either had their chance in the past and blew it, or lost to the aforementioned contenders. The leaves us with the top of the heap (Lesnar and Mir) followed a slew of promising new guns eyeing a shot. Among the top choices are Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez. I believe that the loser of Lesnar-Mir will get the winner of Nogueira-Couture. That winner will get the title shot first, followed by Carwin or Velasquez, whichever is still undefeated at that time.

2009: Loser of Lesnar/Mir vs. Nogueira/Couture
2010: Carwin/Velasquez, loser of 2009 fight

Light Heavyweights: This picture is obviously much clearer. Machida and Rua will face off in the fall, with the winner of Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson eventually taking the winner. Beyond that, though, there are a few question marks. If Forrest Griffin can beat Anderson Silva, will that guarantee him the following shot? If Anderson wins, will they let him make a play for a second belt? Whoever wins, it is likely that they would have to take another fight before the title shot, so pending that second win on the part of the Griffin/Silva winner, we'll see one of them next. I believe that this scenario, followed by Luiz Cane or Rich Franklin, could account for much of 2010. Additionally, it is safe to say that with the competitive nature of this division, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Keith Jardine will never see a title shot during the remainder of their respective careers.

2009: Rua
2010: Evans/Jackson, Griffin/A. Silva, Cane/Franklin

Middleweights: I'm not sure this set of scenarios matters due to the fact that the end of the road is Anderson Silva, but it is fun discussion. After who many consider to be the best fighter in the world, there is a slight drop off where numerous top fighters are then closely clustered together. It appears that the winner of Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson will get the first title shot, followed by the winner of Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt. However, there is the potential that the winner of Maia/Marquardt could need another fight to fill the gap in between fights, and so names like Yushin Okami or Patrick Cote may enter the discussion.

2009: Bisping/Henderson
2010: Maia/Marquardt, Okami/Cote, loser of Bisping/Henderson

Welterweights: What a fascinating combination of old and new we have in this division. On one hand, there's Alves, Koscheck, Hazelett, Johnson, and a million other talented youngsters. On the other, we have Serra, Hughes, Swick, Fitch, and equally numerous veterans. The question remains: who can beat Georges St. Pierre? My answer is "none of them," but that does not mean fighters...