UFC 94 - Subsequent Events

Subsequent Events

Following the main event at UFC 94, top welterweight contender Thiago Alves made his way into the cage to congratulate St-Pierre on the victory. After interviews with both fighters, it was announced that Alves would be next to challenge for St-Pierre's championship. This fight has since taken place and was the co-main event of the UFC 100 card. St-Pierre's dominant victory also opened up discussion for a possible "superfight" with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in 2010. Dana White stated that this bout was a possibility, and he would like to see it. St-Pierre has also expressed interest in the fight.

After Penn's loss to St-Pierre, reports surfaced that the UFC Lightweight Champion was contemplating retirement. However, during his first public appearance since the loss in Honolulu, Hawaii, he announced that he would continue to fight. He admitted that he was affected by the loss, and that "a lot of things were going through his head." In regards to his next bout, Penn stated that he was in negotiation to fight top contender Kenny Florian in the summer of 2009. Penn would go on and defeat Florian at UFC 101, winning in the fourth round by rear naked choke.

In the wake of the Vaseline controversy, the UFC responded by implementing immediate rule changes on February 7, 2009. These changes were discussed by long time cutman Jacob "Stitch" Duran. According to Duran, under the new rules, only cutmen who are independent of both corners will be allowed to apply Vaseline to the fighter's faces. However, Duran was not able to confirm whether the rules will apply at all UFC events or just the events that take place in Nevada.

Despite Lyoto Machida's knockout of Thiago Silva, Dana White indicated that he was not the number one contender for a title shot. Instead, a scheduled fight between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine would determine Machida's title fate. A victory for Jackson would earn him a fight with champion Rashad Evans, but a win for Jardine would mean Machida will be awarded with a title shot. Jackson won the fight via unanimous decision, but torn ligaments in his jaw forced the former champion out of the bout. Instead, Machida will challenge Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Jackson will retain his title shot against the winner of that match upon returning from injury. Following the loss to Machida, Thiago Silva was scheduled to return to action against former champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, but his opponent was later changed to Keith Jardine.

Karo Parisyan's next fight was to be against American Kickboxing Academy's Josh Koscheck at UFC 98. However, due to Parisyan's nine-month suspension from the NSAC for a failed drug test due to painkillers, the future of this fight is uncertain.